The Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) has issued a definitive 15-day ultimatum to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, demanding the immediate suspension of the process of framing and notifying rules under the controversial Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978.
In a formal memorandum submitted directly to Chief Minister Pema Khandu, the top leadership of the ACF expressed deep resentment over what they describe as “undue haste” by a state-appointed High-Powered Committee (HPC) to operationalize the decades-old, dormant legislation.
1. Core Demands Placed Before the State Government
The ACF—led by President James Techi Tara, Secretary General Yomrik Lombi, and Senior Vice-President Nabam Niba Hina—has laid out three non-negotiable points in their communication to Itanagar:
-
Immediate Suspension: Total halt to the current drafting and notification process of rules under APFRA, 1978.
-
Non-Enforcement: A binding commitment that no proposed rules under this act will be notified, implemented, or legally enforced.
-
Public Declaration & Dialogue: A public announcement by the Pema Khandu administration halting the process, alongside the initiation of a comprehensive stakeholder dialogue aimed at the repeal of the 1978 Act entirely.
2. The Civil Unrest Warning
The forum has warned that if the state government fails to formally communicate a positive response within 15 days, the Christian community will be mobilized for large-scale democratic protests.
The leadership maintains that these drastic measures will only be used as a last resort to safeguard the fundamental and constitutional rights of the state’s Christian demographic, while emphasizing that the ultimate goal remains the preservation of long-term communal harmony.
3. The Geopolitical and Social Context
The Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act of 1978 is a classic “anti-conversion” law. It was originally enacted to prohibit religious conversions brought about by force, fraud, inducement, or allurement. However, for nearly five decades, the law lacked teeth because the specific administrative rules required to enforce it were never formally codified or implemented.
The ongoing effort to finalize these enforcement rules has reignited long-standing apprehensions:
-
Lack of Consensus: The ACF claims that despite multiple written appeals from various religious groups and secular citizens, the state government is moving forward unilaterally without broad-based community consensus.
-
Constitutional Frustration: The community fears that the strict implementation of the act could be weaponized to infringe upon the constitutional right to freely practice and propagate religion, potentially disrupting the delicate social fabric of the border state.
Copies of the memorandum have also been formally dispatched to the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and the Chief Secretary to ensure the gravity of the ultimatum is recognized at all institutional levels.
