The Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) is behind the action. The refusal to grant land and the arrest of Rev Joseph Singhi in early October triggered the protest. Temples, mosques, and monasteries dot the area, but no Christian church. For an ACF leader, this is a legal matter, not one pitting religions against each other.
Delhi (AsiaNews) – Hundreds of Christians from different denominations held a rally on Monday at the IG Park in Iatanagar, capital of the state of Arunachal Pradesh, demanding that land be granted to build churches.
Chanting “Justice for the church of Tawang,” people (pictured) heeded the call by the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) to protect the interests of local communities, including in Doimukh.
The protest was triggered by the arrest on 6 October of Rev Joseph Singhi, the pastor of the Tawang Revival church, on the basis of a complaint filed by local land authorities.
The clergyman was charged with backing the "illegal construction" of the church. This sparked negative reactions among some local Christian leaders, who condemn his arrest.
The authorities eventually released Rev Singhi on bail, based on the statements of eight other people who vouched for him.
Addressing protesters on Monday, ACT chairman Toko Teki explained that the controversy surrounding the Tawang Church “is not a confrontation with Buddhist brothers and sisters in Tawang and other parts of the state.”
ACF “does not believe this issue is Buddhist versus Christian that a few people are trying to paint on social media,” Teki added.
“We have no intention of converting Buddhists to Christianity and make Tawang a Christian district. We just need a place of worship” for, among others, “Christian government employees, event health workers,” and this “is our democratic right.”
The ACF president goes on to stress that the Church has always been committed to peace and brotherhood in the state, where members of other religions – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism – have mosques, temples, and monasteries. Only Christians have no place of worship to pray and celebrate their communal services.
"However, if our democratic right is denied, we will continue to fight,” Teki said. “We have submitted enough memorandums to the government, with no results so far.” For this reason, the community has decided to take to the streets to protest.
According to the ACF leader, the government "is trying to set up a high-power committee to resolve the dispute.” But if its “recommendations turn out to be unsatisfactory, we shall continue our movement in every district”.
The Christian community has been occupying the plot of land at the centre of the controversy since 1999, the year when the church was built. That year they also applied for land allotment, but no approval has been given yet.
The only response has been so far a Supreme Court directive in September 2009 ordering that no temple, mosque, church, or gurudwara can be built on public streets, parks, squares and other public places.
(Nirmala Carvalho contributed to this article)