Guwahati: The North East Catholic Research Forum has strongly opposed the proposed revival of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, terming it “unconstitutional” and an “infringement” on religious rights.
The forum has submitted a memorandum to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu objecting to the Act’s revival.
The forum is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to upholding constitutional liberties, social justice, democratic integrity, social harmony, and peace.
The forum stated that the revival of this Act, which remained dormant for 47 years, would vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in Arunachal Pradesh.
It said, “The Article 25 guarantees the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion. This Act, however, aims to restrict this constitutional safeguard through vague and sweeping definitions of “forced conversion” and empowers the state administrative machinery to infringe upon liberty and privacy in choosing one’s faith by making it mandatory to submit reports on so-called conversions.”
This amounts to nullifying the constitutional right to liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, it said.
“Article 14 of the constitution guarantees equality before the law. But under Section 5(1) of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 1978, targeting religious minorities is encouraged on the pretext of anti-conversion. The law, however, is silent on attempts to reconvert by powerful religious and political groups in the name of Ghar Wapasi,” the forum stated.
“The Supreme Court has consistently upheld the absolute right of adults to choose their religion, a right that takes precedence over the interests of family, society, or the state.
This Act clearly contravenes this fundamental right by attempting to restrict an individual’s religious freedom, a blatant violation of the Indian Constitution’s core principles,” it said.
The North East Catholic Research Forum stated if revived, will only strengthen the hands of divisive forces in the region who are trying to fuel inter-religious frictions, instigating tribal groups to discourage individuals from choosing the religion of their choice.
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The forum further added, “There are also groups habitually indulging in Christian bashing, charging them with false allegations of eroding tribal culture, language, and tradition. These groups even demand the delisting of tribal Christians from the list of Scheduled Tribes of the country.”
The organization has urged the state government not to revive the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978.
