[ Bengia Ajum ]
In March 2023, the Manipur High Court ordered the Manipur government to include Meities in the ST list. The order leads to ethnic clashes between majority Meities and the other minority ethnic communities, including the Kukis. Since then, Manipur has changed forever. The violence has led to the loss of lives on both sides and displaced more than 60,000 people. Manipur is facing civil war.
People are starting to draw similarities between the Manipur high court judgment and an order by two bench judges in September 2024, which ordered the government of Arunachal to finalise draft rules of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA) 1978 within six months based on PIL by advocate Tambo Tamin. While it is too early to make comparisons, there is no denying that the court order has created deep religious division in the state. Karl Marx once stated that religion is the opium of the masses, and it looks like religious opium is now grappling the state.
While the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) is opposing the move to draft rules, the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) is seeking for its early implementation. The rallies in support of APFRA and counter rallies against it have been conducted in the state. In the history of the state, Arunachal Pradesh is experiencing deep religious division and is entering into an unchartered territory. In the past, there has been a dispute between tribes which has been resolved mutually over the years.
The religious division happening in the state is fraught with danger. Today, families are divided along religious lines. Everyone knows that Arunachal Pradesh is a very secular state, and people follow the faith of their choice. Even though both Christian missionaries and Hindu missionaries are very active in the state, the people usually keep religion to themselves and mostly align on a tribe and clan basis. But this APFRA controversy is opening a can of worms, and people are openly abusing each other’s religions and making provocative statements. Though this act was passed in 1978, it was never implemented. With court orders for the framing of rules and Chief Minister Pema Khandu announcing that rules will be framed, all sorts of conspiracy theories are floating. The APFRA Act is an anti-conversion law, and it is known that right-wing groups have always advocated for it. However, the BJP and RSS should not commit the mistake of treating Arunachal like any other mainland Indian state and, for that matter, even like Assam, where they have completely overrun minorities using a brute majority vote bank.
Arunachal is the most peaceful state in the entire country, and it shares international boundaries with countries like China, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Any wrong move can have a devastating effect on this tribal state. Perhaps, the BJP and RSS can learn a lesson from its Manipur misadventure. The BJP completely destroyed Manipur, and the state is now under president rule.
Now, the onus lies with state leadership, led by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, to calm down tension in the state. This growing religious division needs to be doused before the fire spreads further. The APFRA Act issue needs sensitive handling, and all eyes will be on the leadership. This issue has overshadowed all other important issues, including development, unemployment, etc.
