Itanagar, Jun 14 (PTI): The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) has strongly opposed the implementation of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APRA), demanding that the state government immediately convene a special assembly session to discuss its relevance.
PPA president Nabam Vivek on Saturday disclosed that the party passed a formal resolution against the law during its state executive meeting on June 11, which was attended by state office bearers and heads of various frontal wings.
A high-powered committee headed by retired justice BP Katakey submitted the draft rules to the state government on June 8, nearly 48 years after the legislation was enacted.
The Act, passed in 1978, prohibits religious conversion through force, fraud, or inducement, but remained unimplemented due to the absence of operational rules.
Vivek questioned the government’s intent behind collecting religious demographic data under the draft rules of the act.
“What will the government do with data regarding a citizen’s religion? Whether an individual chooses to practice Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Hinduism, keeping a record of this information serves no governance purpose,” Vivek said. The act aims to regulate religious conversions. However, the PPA chief argued that the law has lost all relevance in 2026 and warned that its enforcement could severely disrupt the long-standing communal harmony, tribal identity, and peace in the state.
“This law will not save tribal identity, nor will it successfully stop anyone from choosing their faith. Instead, enforcing it creates a high risk of communal disharmony, leading to potential conflicts within families and tribes on religious lines,” he said.
Highlighting Arunachal Pradesh’s historic reputation as a peaceful state, Vivek drew a contrast with the rest of the Northeast region, noting that while other states historically battled terrorism, Arunachal Pradesh remained largely peaceful.
“Arunachal has always been a peace-loving state, and we intend to keep it that way. The PPA opposes this act from the bottom of our hearts and will challenge it through every democratic and legislative process available,” Vivek added, while urging the state government to halt the implementation of the act in the wider public interest.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights of Arunachal (HRA) has urged the state government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reconsider and reject the recommendations of the High-Power Committee concerning the implementation of the APFRA, 1978.
In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday, HRA expressed deep concern about the potential fallout if the Act is enforced and explicitly urged the state government not to implement APFRA in Arunachal Pradesh. Highlighting the state’s long-standing tradition of peaceful coexistence among various faiths and communities, the rights body cautioned that enforcing the decades-old Act could severely disrupt the prevailing peace, brotherhood, and communal harmony.
It further contended that the implementation of APFRA yields limited public or administrative benefit. “In our view, the implementation of APFRA is unlikely to bring any significant benefit either to the people of Arunachal Pradesh or to the state government. Instead, it may create misunderstanding and division among communities,” it said in the memorandum.
Critiquing the High-Power Committee’s recent findings, the organisation claimed that the recommendations fail to adequately represent the true aspirations and concerns of a vast section of the state’s population, warning of unintended consequences for Arunachal’s social fabric.
