Religious freedom at risk: NBCC cautions Arunachal govt
The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has expressed deep concern over the Arunachal Pradesh government’s move to revisit the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, commonly referred to as the Anti-Conversion Bill.
In an open letter addressed to chief minister Pema Khandu and a copy forwarded to the home minister Mama Natung, NBCC general secretary Rev. Dr. Zelhou Keyho, on behalf of the Christian community, urged the government to reconsider its stance, citing potential threats to religious freedom and peaceful coexistence in the region.
The letter emphasized the deep historical ties between the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, particularly within the Christian community. “Therefore, when one is bleeding, it is our responsibility to see that we stand up for each other in such a time,” Keyho asserted.
It noted that India’s Freedom of Religion Acts, or Anti-Conversion laws, have been enacted in several states like Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and including Arunachal Pradesh, the only North Eastern state, over the past four decades.
However, Keyho emphasized that Arunachal Pradesh, despite enacting the law, never fully implemented it due to strong public opposition since politics was at play at that time to suppress the people of the State and the region.
He alleged that Arunachal was used as a testing ground to penetrate with bad politics of the Act, stating that the real intention of the Anti-Conversion Bill was not to preserve traditional religion but to suppress a particular religious group of those days.
NJCF supports Arunachal Christians
DIMAPUR, FEB 22 (NPN): As deadlock between Arunachal Pradesh government and Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) over the controversial Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA) continued, the Nagaland Joint Christian Forum (NJCF) has expressed solidarity with Arunachal Christians and appreciated their “resolute stand” against the Act.
The ACF, apex body of the Christians in Arunachal Pradesh, has been agitating against the implementation of the APFRA, 1978, claiming that the law, when implemented, would harm the Christians in the state and curtail their freedom of religion.
In a statement, NJCF president Rev. Dr. N. Paphino described as “very disheartening” the Arunachal government’s move to dig on decades old Anti-conversion Bill on the pretext that it was forced upon them by the High Court. “This is just a lame excuse because the Bill is a State subject and unless the State choose to do so no authority can force the Bill to become an Act,” NJCF stated.
The forum stated that that Arunachal Pradesh government’s decision to implement the Act was “just another move to please the master.” NJCF pointed out that in the late 1970s when the Bill was passed and left to the State it could not be taken forward because of the strong opposition then.
The forum said the Christians within Arunachal have come out strong more than ever.
NJCF appreciated the “resolute stand” of the Arunachal Christians for “speaking out their mind boldly” because the Bill was specifically targeted at the Christians, which has seen a phenomenal growth in the last four decades.
The forum maintained that Bill if enacted and become an Act would curtail the freedom of religion and speech in the State, adding that much of the things, which were happening in the mainland, would become the order of the day.
In this context, NJCF has cautioned the authority in the government that they would be responsible in dividing the people on religious line. “This picture which can be foreseen will be very unfortunate for the region,” the forum stated.
In this regard, the NJCF has appealed to the responsible authority to be sensitive to the ethos and those who were against the move. Affirming to stand with the Christian Community in this crucial moment, the forum further appealed to the authority to be considerate to the wearisome situation on behalf of the Christian community in Arunachal.
“Our region is a peace-loving region and the people are closely intertwined in so many things that it is difficult to separate one people group from the other,” NJCF stated.
The forum stated that at any cost, they would stand together to defend the secular flavour of the country. NJCF stated that lately, Christians have been cornered from different angles where the mainland Christians were finding hard to even breath freely. “This should not and should never happen with our community in the region,” NJCF underlined.