Legalizing illegality

The Arunachal Pradesh government’s decision to revive the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, has sparked unease, particularly among Christians in the Northeast. The move follows an October 1, 2024, directive from the Gauhati High Court’s Division Bench, comprising Justice Kardak Ete and Justice Budi Habung, instructing the state to finalize rules under Section 8 of the Act within six months. The push to enforce the Act accelerated after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in 2022, prompting the Gauhati High Court to intervene and demand its implementation. This comes nearly 46 years after its enactment, signaling a renewed push to regulate religious conversions. The law, originally passed in 1978, prohibits forced religious conversions through inducement, coercion, or misrepresentation. Violation of the Act can lead to up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000. Any religious conversion must be reported to the Deputy Commissioner of the respective district. As per the 2011 Census, Christians made up 30.26% of Arunachal Pradesh’s population, with recent estimates suggesting this figure may have risen beyond 40%. Despite this, Arunachal Pradesh remains a religiously diverse state with a significant indigenous tribal population, many of whom practice animist and folk traditions. The revival of this Act, therefore, reflects not only local tribal concerns but also the BJP’s national ideological strategy to curb Christian influence in the region. The revival of the law aligns with the broader Hindutva push to establish cultural and religious homogeneity, often framing conversions to Christianity and Islam as a threat to Indian identity. The anti-conversion law in Arunachal Pradesh is not an isolated case. Odisha became the first state to pass a similar law in 1967, followed by Madhya Pradesh (1968), Chhattisgarh (2000 and 2006), Gujarat (2003), Rajasthan (2006 and 2008), Himachal Pradesh (2006 and 2019), Tamil Nadu (2002-2004), Jharkhand (2017), Uttarakhand (2018), Uttar Pradesh (2021), and Haryana (2022). These laws, while ostensibly aimed at preventing forced conversions, are often selectively enforced, disproportionately targeting minorities-particularly Muslims and Christians. All these contradict Article 25 of the Indian Constitution that guarantees the freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice, and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality, and health. Since 2014, India has witnessed a growing climate of intolerance, with hate crimes, communal violence, and legal harassment disproportionately affecting Muslims, Christians, and Dalits. In BJP-ruled states, churches and Christian prayer meetings have been attacked, often under allegations of “forced conversions.” Meanwhile, hate speech and violence by right-wing groups go largely unpunished, while victims are often forced to prove their innocence. The broader Hindutva narrative seeks to frame Islam and Christianity as “foreign” religions, while advocating for a “One Nation, One People, One Religion” ideology. The ruling BJP has previously pushed for a nationwide anti-conversion law, with senior leaders advocating for legislative changes to criminalize religious conversion without state approval. However, India’s constitutional framework poses a challenge, as religious matters fall under the State List in Schedule Seven of the Constitution, making a national anti-conversion law legally untenable. This ‘hurdle’ can be done away with through amendment by parliament and state assemblies and pave way to a “One Nation, One Religion” framework which will defang these constitutional principles and change India’s secular soul.