St James’ School held a special assembly on Friday to condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam and also to reinforce the ideals of brotherhood, unity and amity among the students.

“We stand here today as Indians united in grief, cutting across all barriers of caste, creed and religious beliefs to pray for a country which fosters peace, amity and friendship among all,” Joseph Chacko, English teacher and senior school coordinator, told the boys.

As many as 500 students from Classes IX to XII attended the assembly. The boys observed two minutes of silence, praying for the victims of the Pahalgam carnage and their families.

Principal Terence Ireland laid a wreath in front of photographs of the men who died at Baisaran meadow, where most of them were on holiday with their loved ones.

“Children are exposed to a lot of information that can sometimes cause them to build wrong opinions. We have to teach them from the beginning that the world is made of people from different communities and nationalities, and it is a place where all should be allowed to co-exist,” Ireland told Metro. “When terrorism strikes, we need to stand together against it,” he said.

The school is a microcosm of the larger society with students from different faiths, religions and backgrounds, he said.

“We gather today to pray for the shattered families who went for a well-deserved holiday and should have come back with fond memories, but instead returned with coffins of their dear ones,” said Chacko.

“We, as a school, condemn such heinous acts of terror and violence.”

Speaking to Metro later, Chacko said it was important for students to understand that when there is “terror in our land”, there is a greater need to “stand as one force instead of being divided on the basis of caste, creed and religion”.

“Our first identity is that we are Indians, and we should stand together as one when there is terror in our land. We as a school want to counter any divisive feelings,” said Chacko.

In the second part of the assembly, the boys recognised the efforts of the labourers who helped the tourists after the attack. Rudra Singh, a student, acknowledged the role of the pony handlers and tourist guides in Kashmir.