3/14/2025 India (International Christian Concern) — On March 6, nearly 200,000 Christians in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh in India peacefully protested a proposal to implement an anti-conversion law that had remained dormant for 45 years.

The Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF), the state’s largest Christian organization, led the protest.

The Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA) was enacted in October 1978 to safeguard the traditional religious practices of indigenous communities from external influence or coercion. But it was never implemented.

In September 2024, however, the Gauhati High Court gave the government of Arunachal Pradesh an ultimatum to draft the rules by this March to implement the act after a public interest litigation was filed by people tied to an indigenous faith organization.

ACF President Tarh Miri told the media that the APFRA violates the freedom of accepting another faith and religious belief.

More than 30% of Arunachal’s population is Christian and Hindus follow closely at 29%, according to the 2011 Census of India. The Donyi-Polo, indigenous animist faith followers, and Buddhists, respectively, form the other dominant religious groups.

Arunachal Pradesh is currently being ruled by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is also heading the federal government of India.

The BJP is the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organization of the Sangh Parivar, a collection of Hindu nationalist organizations, including religious, student, political, and paramilitary organizations, with similar ideological goals and often overlapping membership.

While the Christians reject APFRA, the followers of indigenous faiths under the banner of the Indigenous Faiths and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) have extended their support to the implementation of the anti-conversion law.

And they in turn also launched a counter-rally and demanded its early adoption. They also organized a “Sadbhavna Pad Yatra” (a foot march) to show support for the state government’s decision to enact the act.

It may be noted that the members of the IFCSAP held a meeting with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat a few days before launching their counter-rally in favor of the anti-conversion law. This indicates that the RSS is concerned about the increase of the Christian population in the state. 

Meanwhile, the ACF warned that the enforcement of APFRA would create hatred among people of different faiths. The ACF also stated that it will escalate its protests and conduct a “referendum rally” if the APFRA is not repealed within this month.

The APFRA forbids religious conversion “by use of force or inducement or by fraudulent means” and punishes “converting or attempting to convert forcefully from one religious faith to another” with a maximum fine of 10,000 Indian rupees or two years in prison. It also requires that every conversion activity be reported to the district’s deputy commissioner and the individual involved in the conversion will be penalized if they don’t adhere to the rule.