Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today distanced himself from a controversial letter by the Assam police asking for data on religious conversions, and church credentials. Corrective measures have been taken, he said.
As the country celebrated Christmas, a letter from the special branch of Assam police to the district administrations seeking information on religious conversions and the number of churches got leaked to the media, triggered a fresh controversy even as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tried to disassociate from the letter.
The letter, written by a Superintendent of Police (SP) with the special branch, a copy of which is available with NDTV, has asked the district SPs for information by December 22 on the number of churches established within the past year, the number of existing churches, instances of religious conversion in the past six years, and the people involved in conversion activities.
"I think we should not ask for such kind of information, like how many churches (are there) in Assam. This might hurt the sentiments of a particular religious community....I would like to clarify the position of the government of Assam. We don't want to have any survey on any church or, for that matter, on any other religious institution...In short, I completely dissociate myself from the letter. It was never discussed at any government forum. The letter is wholly unwarranted. As an Assamese, as a citizen of Assam, we want to live in peace and harmony with all communities. I think the DGP will take corrective measures immediately," Chief Minister Sarma said.
The letter was issued on December 16, and copies of it were also marked to special Director General of Police (DGP) GP Singh and the home department Principal Secretary Niraj Verma.
In October this year, Assam police detained three Swedish nationals, and later seven German nationals, for violating tourist visa norms by engaging in missionary activities in the Dibrugarh and Karbi Anglong districts. They were deported after paying a fine of $500 each for violating visa rules.
This development comes at a time when assembly elections are due within the next two months in Meghalaya and Nagaland, two Christian majority states of the Northeast.
