This time, Arunachal Pradesh is facing a situation reminiscent of Manipur. A religious community has taken to the streets in opposition to a court verdict. On the other hand, demanding immediate compliance with the court’s decision, a branch of the RSS, ‘Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram,’ is also preparing to hit the roads. Significantly, the BJP has been in power in Arunachal Pradesh for nearly a decade.

However, the RSS-affiliated tribal organization is now planning to exert ‘pressure’ on that very government.

A national-level meeting of the organization was held in Kolkata. During the event, on Tuesday, the organization’s national president Satyendra Singh and co-president Techi Gubin announced their plans to launch this movement. Notably, Gubin himself is a tribal leader from Arunachal Pradesh. He primarily highlighted the “issues” in Arunachal Pradesh. He stated, “The state government must be compelled to immediately enforce the anti-conversion law in Arunachal Pradesh. That is why Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram is taking to the streets.”

The anti-conversion law in Arunachal Pradesh was passed in 1978. However, no government since then has formulated the rules necessary to enforce it. Since 2016, the BJP government led by Pema Khandu has been in power in the state. Even during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s prime ministership, the BJP government in the state was led by Gegong Apang. Yet, in none of these periods were the rules for the anti-conversion law framed. Recently, in response to a public interest lawsuit filed by a tribal lawyer, the Itanagar Bench of the Gauhati High Court ordered the formulation of these rules to make the law effective. In its ruling on September 30, 2024, the High Court directed the Arunachal Pradesh government to frame the rules for the 1978 law within six months.

Following the High Court’s verdict, the situation has started to heat up. Just as the Kuki community took to the streets opposing the court’s decision in Manipur, a similar form of resistance has begun in Arunachal Pradesh. The demand of Gubin, the national co-president of Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, is clear: “If this law is enforced, tribal people cannot be converted anymore, so protests have begun under the instructions of the church. They are trying to put pressure on the government. Therefore, we are also hitting the streets in retaliation. We will compel the government to enforce this law.”

It is rare for an RSS-affiliated organization to take to the streets against a BJP government. There is no clear explanation from the Sangh regarding why this situation has arisen. When the leaders of Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram made their announcement, Biplov Roy, the propaganda chief of South Bengal RSS, was present. Avoiding answering why the BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh had not enforced an RSS-supported law all these years, Biplov said, “No matter whose government it is, if there is a need to launch a movement, it must be done.”