Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu announced on Monday, June 8, 2026, that the High-Powered Committee on the Draft Rules of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978, has officially submitted its report and recommendations to the State Government. The committee was chaired by retired judge Justice Brojendra Prasad Katakey and included senior cabinet ministers.

Context

The Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, is one of India's earliest state-level statutes regulating religious conversions, specifically prohibiting conversions carried out by force, inducement, or fraud. Despite being on the books for nearly five decades, the Act had long lacked operational rules — a gap that the High-Powered Committee was constituted to address by drafting a comprehensive regulatory framework.

Chief Minister Khandu extended congratulations to Justice (Retd.) Brojendra Prasad Katakey, the committee chairman, and all its members for what he described as 'tremendous work, commitment, and dedication.' He offered special appreciation to three cabinet ministers — Mama Natung, Balo Raja, and Kento Jini — for their 'leadership and valuable contributions throughout the process.'

Policy Backdrop

The APFRA, 1978, was enacted at a time when Arunachal Pradesh's predominantly tribal communities were at the centre of debates over religious identity and missionary activity in the northeastern frontier. The law predates similar anti-conversion statutes in several other Indian states, making Arunachal Pradesh a pioneer in this legislative domain.

Over the past decade, multiple Indian states have revisited or strengthened their anti-conversion frameworks, citing concerns over demographic change and unregulated proselytisation in tribal regions. States such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have undertaken comparable rule-framing exercises, particularly after BJP governments assumed office. The committee's report in Arunachal Pradesh fits within this broader national pattern of renewed regulatory attention to conversion-related legislation.

Stakeholders and Impact

Arunachal Pradesh's tribal communities — who constitute the majority of the state's population — are the primary stakeholders in any rules framed under the APFRA. Religious minorities and civil society groups active in the state will also watch the recommendations closely, as the final rules will define the procedural and enforcement architecture of the Act.

The committee's composition — chaired by a retired Gauhati High Court judge and supported by three serving cabinet ministers — signals that the State Government has treated this exercise as a high-priority legal and administrative undertaking. The involvement of Justice Katakey lends judicial credibility to the recommendations that will eventually go before the state cabinet.

What's Next

The report now moves to the Arunachal Pradesh State Government for review and deliberation. The next critical step is cabinet approval of the committee's recommendations, after which the final rules would be notified in the official gazette to bring the APFRA's enforcement mechanism into full legal effect.

How the government balances the rights of tribal communities with constitutional protections for religious minorities will determine the political and legal reception of the final rules — both within the state and at the national level, where anti-conversion legislation remains a closely watched policy area.