The Arunachal Christian Forum is scheduled to begin a series of protests in the state against the implementation of the contentious Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978, by the state government.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu has stated that the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, will soon have its rules framed and implemented in the state.
On Monday, 17 February, the multi-denominational organisations will hold a hunger strike across the state to register their protest against the government’s move to implement the Act, which seeks to penalise anyone involved in religious conversion.
In September 2024, two judges of the Gauhati High Court (Itanagar bench) ordered the state government to finalise the draft rules of the Act within six months while closing a public interest litigation on the matter.
The Act had been dormant until now. However, it appears that the government will proceed to finalise the rules of the Act, which is set to upset the large Christian population in the state.
The government must hold negotiations with church leaders before framing any rules for an Act for which rules were never framed decades after its passage. There is no need to hurry now.