Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud yesterday said Buddhist monk Suddhananda Mahathero is a real example of religious and communal harmony.
“There are a lot of religious leaders who talk about peace and religious harmony but very few of them can create example of religious and communal harmony. Suddhananda Mahathero was that kind of person who created the example”, he said.
Hasan, also joint general secretary of Awami League, was addressing as the chief guest the closing event of a three-day national funeral of Suddhananda Mahathero, who was a Buddhist religious leader and chief abbot of Kamalapur Dharmarajika Buddhist Mahabihar, at Buddhist temple at Basabo here.
He said Suddhananda had earned love and respect of the people irrespective of religions and communities through his works and humanitarian activities.
“A lot of people including some secretaries of the government spent crucial part of their academic life in the temple as it acted as a shelter for them,” he said.
“Suddhananda’s demise is definitely an irreparable loss to the Buddhist community but at the same time, I think his death is also a big loss to all the communities including Hindu, Muslim and Christian in the country,” he furthered.
Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Minister Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing, State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Bangladesh Makawadee Sumitmor and Awami League Office Secretary Barrister Biplob Barua, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Born in 1933, Suddhananda Mahathero died on March 4, 2020 after suffering from respiratory obstruction, diabetes and other old-age complications. He received prestigious Ekushey Padak in 2012 for his contribution to social service.
