Arunachal Pradesh govt plans to repeal anti-conversion law ahead of 2019 polls; tribal leaders oppose move

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to repeal the Arunachal Pradesh’s anti-conversion law which was passed in 1978, according to several media reports. According to a Hindustan Times report, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act  “undermines secularism and is targetted towards the Christians” on Thursday. The report said Khandu spoke about overturning the law at Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association’s function organised in the memory of reverend brother Prem Bhai, a Benedictine missionary. [caption id=“attachment_2932674” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu. Image: Facebook[/caption] According to a report in The New Indian Express, the BJP is making this move to draw Christians to their side ahead of the 2019 elections. However, the leader of Arunachal Christian Forum denied that this was a political move. “The chief minister is educated and wise. He must have realised the futility of the dark and black law. Those days, most locals in the state were uneducated and the law was passed by uneducated legislators after being guided by outsiders” said Toko Teki, the forum’s leader, according to the report. Teki claimed Christians are not allowed much freedom in the state. He said Hindus could construct temples without any obstacles but Christians are likely to face a lot of hurdles if they plan to construct a church. The two main religions observed by people of Arunachal Pradesh are Christianity and Buddhism. People also follow many other indigenous faiths, according to another article in The New Indian Express. The report also added that over the past few decades, Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a steady growth in the number of people who have converted to Christianity. Most of them convert from indigenous faiths. The rate of conversion picked up pace in the 1990s. A census taken in 1981 indicated the percentage of people following Donyi-Polo (a coalition of indigenous beliefs that preaches the nature-worshipping) to be 51.6 percent. According to the 2011 census, the Christian population has increased from 18.7 percent in 2001 to 30.26 percent. The decision to overturn the anti-conversion law in Arunachal Pradesh may play well with the Christians of the state but it is looked upon with apprehension by the leaders of indigenous faiths, according to the report. Bai Taba, general secretary, Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) said that if the law was repealed, it would lead to the degradation of the indigenous cultures.