The Arunachal Pradesh government’s move to implement the state’s long-dormant anti-conversion law following a Gauhati High Court directive is facing stiff opposition not only from Christian bodies in the state but is also being viewed with apprehension by other states in the Northeast.
The Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA) – the first such law in the region – had been passed by the first Assembly of the then Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh and received Presidential assent in 1978. However, it remained in cold storage for 46 years as Christian leaders opposed it.
In September last year, hearing a plea seeking its intervention against the state’s “failure” to implement the Act, the Itanagar Bench of the Gauhati High Court directed the government to finalise the draft for implementation within six months. With the deadline set to end this month-end, the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) has stepped up its efforts and is pushing for the repeal of the Act.
On Monday, following a meeting with Arunachal Pradesh Home and Indigenous Affairs Minister Mama Natung, ACF president Tarh Miri said the organisation will hold a rally against the Act on March 6. “The minister conveyed at the meeting that the Act cannot be repealed as it has Presidential assent and the government has been directed by court to implement it. However, he assured us that an inclusive committee would be constituted to oversee the issue. He also requested us to call off the March 6 rally, but we will go ahead with it,” Miri said.
While he added that the repeal of the Act was difficult “given the numbers in the Assembly”, Miri said: “The government is trying to implement it due to pressure from external communal forces.”
The BJP government in Arunachal has said that the Act is not directed at any particular religion, but that has not assuaged the concerns of Christian bodies.
Minister Natung did not respond to queries from The Indian Express but issued a statement about his meeting with the ACF president. He said that the state government would hold “consultative meetings with all religious leaders and other stakeholders” over framing of the rules for the Act.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
