{"id":44399,"date":"2025-01-06T03:42:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T22:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=44399"},"modified":"2025-05-06T11:01:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T05:31:48","slug":"arunachal-pradeshs-dormant-anti-conversion-law-revived-after-46-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/arunachal-pradeshs-dormant-anti-conversion-law-revived-after-46-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Arunachal Pradesh&#8217;s Dormant Anti-Conversion Law Revived After 46 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>What\u2019s in the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act?<\/li>\n<li>Why was the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Introduced?<\/li>\n<li>Why has the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Remained Dormant?<\/li>\n<li>Why is the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Back Now?<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Arunachal Pradesh government is framing rules to implement <strong>the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978<\/strong>, which has been dormant for 46 years.<\/li>\n<li>The move has reignited debates on religious freedom, indigenous culture, and state intervention in faith matters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What\u2019s in the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Enacted: <\/strong>1978 by Arunachal\u2019s first Legislative Assembly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Purpose:<\/strong> To prohibit religious conversion by force, inducement, or fraudulent means.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Penalties:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Imprisonment up to two years.<\/li>\n<li>Fine up to \u20b910,000 for forced conversions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reporting requirement:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>All conversions must be reported to the Deputy Commissioner.<\/li>\n<li>Non-compliance penalizes the individual performing the conversion.<\/li>\n<li>The Act remained dormant due to the absence of implementation rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why was the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Introduced?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Diverse ethnic communities: <\/strong>Arunachal has a rich tapestry of indigenous beliefs, including Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, and polytheistic practices like Donyi Polo worship.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Missionary inroads:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Christianity entered Arunachal in the 1950s, later than other northeastern states, due to colonial isolation policies and difficult terrain.<\/li>\n<li>First church was established in 1957 at Rayang village.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Debates on conversion: <\/strong>Conversion led to socio-cultural changes in tribes like the Adi, Nocte, and Nyishi, sparking discussions on preserving indigenous cultures in the Assembly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why has the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Remained Dormant?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Opposition by Christian groups:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Arunachal Christian Forum (formed in 1979) has consistently opposed the Act, calling it \u201canti-Christian\u201d and prone to misuse.<\/li>\n<li>Christianity now constitutes 30.26% of the population (2011 Census), the largest religious group in the state.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Political sensitivities: <\/strong>Successive Chief Ministers avoided implementing the Act due to fears of alienating a significant voter base.<\/li>\n<li><strong>External influences: <\/strong>The BJP government and RSS\u2019s support for institutionalizing indigenous faiths renewed attention on the Act.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why is the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act Back Now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Legal push:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2022, advocate Tambo Tamin filed a PIL in the Guwahati High Court, seeking rules for the Act\u2019s implementation.<\/li>\n<li>The court directed the state to finalize draft rules within six months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Preserving indigenous culture: <\/strong>Advocates like Maya Murtem emphasize the Act\u2019s role in preventing the erosion of traditional practices amid rising conversions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>RSS\u2019s role: <\/strong>While RSS activities in documenting indigenous faiths are viewed positively by proponents, critics raise concerns about their broader agenda.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The revival of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, underscores the ongoing tensions between protecting indigenous cultures and safeguarding religious freedom.<\/li>\n<li>As implementation looms, debates are expected to intensify, reflecting the delicate balance between faith, politics, and identity in the state.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. Which constitutional provision prohibits forceful religious conversion in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The SC stated in the Rev. Stainislaus v. State of MP case that Article 25(1) guarantees &#8216;freedom of conscience&#8217; to all citizens, not just those who practice a specific religion. This implies that there is no fundamental right to convert someone else to one&#8217;s own religion.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What is the status of anti-conversion laws in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>India has state-level laws that prohibit forced, fraudulent, or coerced religious conversions, known as &#8220;Freedom of Religion&#8221; or &#8220;anti-conversion&#8221; laws. These laws vary by state, but generally require individuals to obtain government permission before converting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/why-1978-anti-conversion-law-in-arunachal-could-now-be-enforced-9761646\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Arunachal Pradesh government is framing rules to implement the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, which has been dormant for 46 years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}