Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 21 Mar: The Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) has expressed concern over the notice issued by the Upper Siang deputy commissioner, “restricting Christian festivals and crusades in the district.”
The Upper Siang district administration had issued an order banning “prayer healing, healing crusades, healing through local priests (epak), pujas,” etc, “by whatsoever name/nomenclature called,” in public areas, through an order issued on 28 February.
Addressing a press conference at the press club here on Tuesday, ACF president Tarh Miri condemned the order and said that “the motto of healing crusade is for healing of one’s health and clearing of drug addicts and other social elements of the state, and has nothing to do with drug and magic acts.”
Miri demanded that the order be repealed, and informed that the ACF on Monday submitted a representation to the chief minister in this regard, besides regarding the Tawang church issue “and non-allocation of funds for Christian educational institutes.”
ACF secretary-general James Techi Tara said that the DC “has being misled with the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954,” and added that “healing services and prayers are totally different than the Act.”
“We are also saddened to know that the government is now restricting all kinds of prayers in hospitals,” he said.
The ACF further said that “Christianity does not believe in magic healing; that is why Christian churches established hospitals all over the world.”
It said that it has submitted a letter to the chief minister, stating that “the district administration has gone overboard in declaring a total ban on all religious gatherings to promote possible healing of psychosomatic illness.”
Questioning the “allocation of huge funds to RSS ideologies schools such as VKV and RK Mission,” Tara said that the current budget contains provision for funding “most of the RSS-oriented schools, such as VKVs and RKMS’.”
ACF vice president Nabam Niba was also present at the press meet.
