ITANAGAR, 1 Nov: The Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) condemned the remark made by state NPP president and MLA Mutchu Mithi on his Facebook page that “the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978 is malicious, targeted and bigoted towards a specific faith.”
“Being a regional party member, he should instead support the act in the interest of preserving and protecting the tradition, culture, languages and faiths of regional ethnic groups,” the IFCSAP said in a press statement on Monday.
“The act was passed by the state legislative assembly with the president’s assent on 25 October, 1978, which has been made with spirit of secularism in the interest of the indigenous people of Arunachal,” it added.
The Tribal Identity Movement of Arunachal Pradesh also denounced the statement made by Mithi and said that the statement has deeply upset the feelings of the indigenous people, “whose cultural identity is on the verge of extinction owing to the growing influence of the western culture.”
“There exists no anti-conversion law in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. An act enacted during the Congress government in 1978 by the name APFRA-1978 (Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act-1978) has been in existence since last 43 years, wherein conversions are allowed. However, the act has been suppressed till date for reasons best known to the government,” the organization said in a press statement.
It also said: “Nowhere in the act is the name of the Christian faith or any other faith been mentioned. The APFRA-1978 enacted during the then Congress government is a very secular act intended to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh.”
“The act only requires a person willing to convert to a new religion of his or her choice to report to the district administration, informing about his or her decision. The district administration would inquire if any force, inducement or any fraudulent means was used to persuade the applicant for the conversion. And if found genuine, the district administration would maintain a register, including the name of the applicant in the list of converts to the religion he or she had opted for. This would not only help the government maintain its religious census records but also help the government to identify the minority indigenous people who are still practicing and preserving the rapidly vanishing centuries old rich cultural heritage of their ancestors,” it said.
“Our culture is a reflection of our faith and that the APFRA-1978 is a protective law for the dying culture of the indigenous tribes of Arunachal. APFRA-1978 only restricts the conversions made with force, inducement or with fraudulent means and without the act, there would be rampant conversions, leading to loss of the very identity of the indigenous tribals of the state,” the organization said.
“It is very unfortunate to note that a young and dynamic leader like Mithi is in favour of forceful conversions of the people of his own state,” the organization said, noting that his support for conversion would only facilitate the destruction of the rich and unique culture, traditions, rituals and beliefs of not only his own ancestors but also of the other tribes.
The organization called upon Mithi to “withdraw his statement from his Facebook page immediately if he values the faith and beliefs of his ancestors.”
Mithi stands by statement
Meanwhile, Mithi has responded to the criticism, saying that he stands by his statement.
“I welcome opinions based on one’s own set of wisdom. At the same juncture, we are firm in our views that divisions have been sowed in the ground via a divisive law, a law intentionally lopsided, disproportionately against a certain religion and against the spirit of our constitutional framers intent.
“There is no reason for me to retrospect or think otherwise and nor have my opinions changed,” he said.
