Reciever of the Chisti Harmony Award, and 16^th witness in the Babri Masjid Demolition case, Yugal Kishore Shastri who has just returned from the "Citizen Harmony Walk", a walk from Ayodhya to Kanyakumari condemned and expressed rage over the communal attacks on the three-day Awaam Ka Cinema Ayodhya Film Festival commemorating freedom martyrs Ashfaqullah Khan and Pandit Ram Prasad Bismal.

Awaam ka Cinema has successfully organised such fests all over India and has played an important role in strengthening the idea of Common Heritage among the locals. The last six years that it has been active in Ayodhya, it has seen overwhelming participation by young Indians and social and cultural activists. The communal forces have tried to attack the fabric of our common heritage but have failed to destroy it.

He said it was a direct attack on an important part of our secular Constitution. He added the conspirators won’t be successful as the public sentiments doesn’t play into their hands anymore and has vowed to strengthen the legacy of secularism and common heritage in Ayodhya. He gave the credit for India’s vastness to its secular ways and commented that if its secularism is lost, its unity and integrity will be compromised. Shastri said that vigilante groups were keeping an eye on such forces and would not let them succeed.

HE added that such forces did not contribute to India’s freedom struggle and have only used Nationalism as an agenda for furthering their anti-national propaganda and it’s only because of their anti-national sentiments they felt compelled to attack and disrupt an event honoring Kakori heroes. He clarified that Awaam Cinema focusses of concerns of the people and does not have communal/religious flavor.

- Yugal Kisore Shastri