In a significant development Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu has announced that his government was framing rules to implement the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, which would prohibit religious conversion by use of force or inducement or by fraudulent means. It is significant that the Act was passed by the state Assembly and received the President’s assent in 1978 amid debates on the effects of missionary activities in foothill areas on the state’s tribes and “indigenous religions” of the region. The act remained dormant since then as the state had failed to frame rule to implement it.
Mr Khandu made this announcement recently in a programme organised by the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) in Itanagar on Friday, Mr Khandu said that the Act would play a significant role in “preserving Arunachal’s indigenous faith and cultures”. Indicating that on many occasions issues came up but the state failed to frame the rule to implement the act. In fact, in 2018, Mr Khandu even stated at an event organised by the Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association that the government was considering the repeal of the Act.
He had been reported as saying then that the law “could undermine secularism and is probably targeted towards Christians”. In response to a petition filed by former IFCSAP general secretary Tambo Tamin against the state government for failing to frame the requisite rules for over 45 years after the enactme.
