GUWAHATI: The North East Catholic Research Forum (NECRF), a non-partisan organisation, has written to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his alleged silence in reining in certain organisations targeting Christians and tribals in the state.
In a letter signed by 38 members of the forum, the NECRF, on Sunday, has urged Chief Minister Sarma to “crack down on these disturbing signs within Assam” and reconsider the use of “controversial terms” in the recently passed Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024.
“The Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill 2024 contains misleading terms like ‘magic healing’ or ‘magical healing’, which have the potential to be misinterpreted and criminalised. We suspect that these terms could be used to target the Christian community, as simple prayer services may also be interpreted as healing sessions,” read the letter.
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Citing five instances, the forum, in its letter, has expressed fear that such incidents might have negative repercussions on all the sister states in the region and might lead to a “spillover effect” on others.
From Janjati Dharam Suraksha Manch’s “unreasonable demand” for delisting Christians from list of Schedule Tribes to Kutumbha Suraksha Parishad’s 15-day ultimatum to remove Christian symbols from missionary schools, the forum has listed five incidents in the letter, claiming them to be attacks on their faith.
Stressing how Christians have contributed to nation-building, particularly in education and social services, the NECRF highlighted the inclusive nature of Christian institutions, claiming that the majority of students in them are Hindus.
“We see no reason why a particular religion, namely Christianity, should be subjected to undue pressure in some of the states of the Northeast region, above all, Assam, from where all other sister states of the Northeast were created. We feel that such selective targeting jeopardizes peace, harmony, and peaceful co-existence,” the letter read.
