Don’t mix religion and politics

The people of Arunachal Pradesh have always been proud of keeping religious politics at bay while participating in the democratic process. But unfortunately, this year the Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association (APCA) and the Arunachal Pradesh Christian Revival Church Council (APCRCC) allegedly campaigned on religious lines. Both the organizations had to apologize to the election commission after the poll body took exception to their tactics. The issue took on a political colour with the BJP and its affiliate organizations raking it up at the national level. For now the apology seems to have worked and everyone has moved on from the controversy.
However, organizations like the APCA and the APCRCC should keep religion out of the purview of politics. They should concentrate on religious activities and leave politics to the politicians. The two organizations have let down their own believers by trying to interfere with their political allegiance. Not only Christian bodies, other religious organizations, too, should refrain from interfering in politics. The mixing of religion and politics has the potential to cause immense harm to the state. The people of Arunachal Pradesh are very emotive and the state is still backward in every sense. A large section of the people are illiterate and do not have access to modern education. Therefore the religious leaders and organizations play an important role in the lives of these people. Keeping this in mind, these organizations should act responsibly.