The saffronisation of Arunachal Pradesh has been taken to another level with the laying of the foundation stone of a 51 feet tall bronze statue of Parshuram at Parshuram Kund in Lohit district on Saturday afternoon by union Home Minister Amit Shah. Ever since the BJP came to power, a massive effort is being made to fully saffronise the tribal population of the state. The tribal culture and faith were already facing the inroad of Christian missionaries, and now the massive saffronisation effort is expected to further dent the tribal faith and culture. The majority of the population has also silently accepted the dominance of the BJP/RSS and are following whatever is dictated to them in terms of tribal faith and culture by outsiders.
Another interesting development was the appeal of Chief Minister Pema Khandu to the central government to name the upcoming Hollongi airport as Donyi Polo airport. This seems more like an attempt to divert the attention of the people from the laying of the foundation stone of a massive 51 feet tall bronze statue of Parshuram. The CM is wading into religious politics and this is a new beginning in the politics of Arunachal Pradesh. One thing which has kept Arunachal secular to a large extent is that politicians of the state have always kept religion out of politics. It is unfortunate that slowly but surely the state is witnessing a rise in religious politics. This does not bode well for a tribal state. Any state or country which prioritises religion over development suffers in the long term.