[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 9 Mar: The Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Sunil Ambekar said there should be in-depth discussion on the contentious Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978.
Reacting to the heated debates raging in the state over the APFRA, he said that everyone is giving their opinion and the RSS welcomes the discussion.
“There should be extensive discussion from every angle on this Act,” he said. However, he did not properly specify the stand of the RSS on the APFRA and said that discussion is the way forward.
On the issue of the beef ban and food choice, Ambekar said that food habits are a personal choice, and that the RSS does not comment on this. Regarding the allegation of the Hindutva group diluting the indigenous faith, he said that Hindutva’s main motive is to preserve indigenous faiths in their purest form. “But with time, changes do happen, which is a natural process,” the prachar pramukh said.
Further, he said that the RSS is not against the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873. “We always advocated repealing Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. But we know that the BEFR is a completely different case, and we have nothing against this provision,” he said.
On the issue of religious conversion and spread of Christian missionaries in the NE region through schools and hospitals, he cited a census report which he claimed “shows changes in religious demography.”
“Census report says everything. But today, people across India and the world are asking if it is correct to make people change faith in return for providing facilities,” he said.
Also, he said that the middle path is the solution to the Siang dam issue. “Both sides need to be heard on the Siang dam issue. Local people’s concerns should be addressed, and people need to understand the national security issue. A solution acceptable to both will have to be worked out,” he said.
The RSS formally started working in Arunachal Pradesh from 1990 onwards. “We are working with a long-term goal. But definitely, we have achieved the target to spread our message in the state. People of Arunachal support us, and that’s why we have been able to spread,” said Ambekar.
At present, the RSS convenes shakhas (daily) in 54 places, saptahik milans (weekly) in 119 places, and mashik mandals (monthly) in 221 places.
On being asked as to whether the RSS is against minorities and Christianity in the context of the NE region, he said that an image of the RSS being anti-minorities was created by a section of the establishment in the past, and that the RSS focuses on nation-building.
