Around 200,000 Christians gathered in Borum village, Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern Indian state, to protest the impending enforcement of an anti-conversion law, which many view as a means to target the Christian community.
The protest, organized by the Arunachal Pradesh Christian Forum, took place last week and represents the culmination of weeks of opposition to the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act.
According to a statement from the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the law has been dormant since its enactment in 1978, but the Gauhati High Court ordered its implementation last September, directing the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government to finalize the regulations within six months.
The law prohibits conversions achieved through “force, inducement, or fraudulent means” and requires individuals seeking religious conversion to obtain prior approval from district authorities.
The Christian community, which comprises over 30% of Arunachal Pradesh’s population, argues that the law infringes upon their constitutional right to freedom of religion. They contend that the legislation disproportionately targets Christians while leaving other religious groups, such as Buddhists and followers of indigenous faiths, unaffected.
The push for this law was initiated by a Public Interest Litigation filed by Tambo Tamin, a former general secretary of the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh, which advocates for the preservation of traditional tribal religions.
During a meeting with the state’s interior minister in February, Christian leaders requested the repeal of the law but were told that the government must comply with the court’s directive. In light of this, the Forum has vowed to escalate its protests, including plans for a “referendum rally” if the law is not repealed by the end of March.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society argues that conversions to Christianity threaten tribal cultural practices. They have organized a counter-rally and a “Sadbhavna Pad Yatra” (foot march) in favor of the legislation, calling for its swift implementation. Reports indicate that the BJP’s ideological parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is a prominent Hindu nationalist group in India, has influenced the Society.
Supporters of the anti-conversion law claim that Christians “force” or provide monetary incentives to Hindus to persuade them to convert. They assert that no one can use the “threat” of “divine displeasure” in their arguments against the law.
Christians, making up 2.3% of India’s population, are often subjected to violence under the guise of preventing “forcible” conversions, as similar anti-conversion laws are enforced in 11 states across the country.
While Hindu nationalists often allege that forced or coerced conversions occur, only a handful of individuals have been convicted under these laws, with those convictions often still under appeal.
