Kolkata, Mar 11 (PTI) The Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (ABVKA), an RSS affiliate body, on Tuesday demanded that the rules of the Religious Freedom Act, 1978 be notified immediately in Arunachal Pradesh and strictly implemented to stop conversions in the state.
To protect the faith and culture of the indigenous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh and "to prevent conversions under greed, pressure or fraudulent means," the then Janata Party government had passed the Arunachal Pradesh Religious Freedom Act in 1978, ABVKA national president Satyendra Singh said.
"Unfortunately, its rules have not been framed yet, and this law has not been implemented for the last 47 years," Singh said addressing a press conference in Kolkata.
Singh and ABVKA's vice president Techi Gubin said that the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court, while passing an order on a PIL on September 30 last year, had directed the Arunachal Pradesh government to finalise draft rules for implementing this law within six months from the day of the order.
"In these nearly 50 years, conversion has swallowed almost half the population of the Sanatan - Swadharmi tribal society of Arunachal Pradesh," Singh said.
They demanded that the Arunachal Pradesh government immediately notify these rules and start strict implementation of this law.
They also urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene into this matter "to protect the cultural identity of the patriotic tribes of this border-sensitive state."
The Arunachal Christian Forum has been opposing the Act terming it “unconstitutional”.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu last month said, “The intention behind the rules is not to target any specific religious group, be it Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, or Muslims, but rather to offer greater support to the indigenous people of the state.”
