Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 27 Nov: Members of the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) on Thursday commenced a two-day ‘maun vrat’ (silent dharna) at the tennis court here, intensifying its agitation against the state government’s continued failure to frame and notify the rules for the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978.
“We sit in silence so Justice can speak” is the theme our Protest” stated Dr Emi Rumi president IFSCAP.
The silent protest, which began on Thursday morning, will continue for 12 hours daily on 27 and 28 November, with participants observing complete silence and wearing black badges as a symbol of dissent. The IFCSAP has warned of escalating agitation if the government fails to issue the gazette notification for the APFRA rules without further delay.
The maun vrat forms part of a phased protest programme announced after the state government missed its own deadline of 18 November for notifying the rules. The first phase, a three-day ‘black badge campaign’ from 19-21 November, saw citizens across Arunachal Pradesh wear black badges daily from 7 am to 7 pm in solidarity.
The IFCSAP has further declared that all its members and supporters will wear black badges during the upcoming IFCSAP Day 2025, transforming the annual celebration into an act of protest until the rules are notified.
Reiterating its resolve, the organisation stated, “Silence is not an option when principles are compromised.”
It cautioned that stronger measures – including hunger strikes, relay hunger strikes, statewide bandhs, and even a ‘hunger strike unto death’ – would follow if the government persists with the delay.
Enacted in 1978 to prohibit religious conversions through force, inducement, or fraud, the APFRA has remained largely inoperative for over four decades due to the absence of notified rules, leaving critical procedures, safeguards, and enforcement mechanisms undefined – an issue the IFCSAP has consistently raised with successive governments.
The society had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pema Khandu on 18 October, following its ‘APFRA, 1978: Ab Tak Kyun Nahin, Kab Tak? Chalo Itanagar’ rally, demanding notification of the rules by 18 November.
The IFCSAP has made it clear that all ongoing and planned agitations will be immediately withdrawn the moment the government issues the long-pending gazette notification.
