The Social Justice Forum of Arunachal Pradesh on January 7 has lodged an official complaint against the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boleng in Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh for abetting desecration of Siang Unyying Ekum, a community hall that is also a sacred place for the followers of Donyi Polo faith.
According to Vijay Taram, the founder of the Social Justice Forum of Arunachal Pradesh, this is nothing but a serious Christian attack on the followers of the Donyi Polo faith which is a minority community in Arunachal Pradesh. Allegedly, the Christian converts threw out everything related to the Donyi Polo faith from the Unyying Aran Ekum and decorated it with items related to the Christian faith. The complaint states that the culprits are the followers of preacher Rev Avon Vax SFX, and it was done so that he can perform his activities at the hall.
#FIR filed against Preacher Rev Fr Avon Vaz SFX of Sacred Heart Catholic Church for inciting his followers to Desecrate Siang Unyying Ekum, a Sacred place for the followers of Donyi Polo faith. Such attack on Indigenous faith will not be tolerated. @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/rsMc1yCtZp
— Social Justice Forum Of Arunachal Pradesh (@JuticeForumAP) January 7, 2022
This is after Preacher Rev Fr Avon Vaz SFX of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church allegedly incited his followers to desecrate Siang Unyying Ekum for its ‘Healing and Deliverance Retreat’ crusade scheduled from 7-9 January.
The Donyi Polo faith is a minority community in Arunachal Pradesh and adds up just to around 5 lakh of the total state population. Vijay Taram informed OpIndia that though FIR has been filed, the police has not yet taken any appropriate action in the case. The Boleng Police said that they could not initiate any action as the matter was already settled and both the parties had decided to take back the complaints.
Meanwhile, one of the complainants Jopir Mize has refuted the claims made by Police and has said, “We have not withdrawn the complaint and the matter is not yet solved. We have not been informed anything by the Police and no action by them has been taken in the case”. According to the Social Justice Forum, the tribal complainants were also threatened by the authorities for filing FIR in the matter.
‘The Church obtained illegal permission’
Taram, who also belongs to the tribal community, informed that he has no objection to Christians holding their prayers or programmes ‘but why don’t they do it in their places of worship, in Churches’, he asked. “The Siang Unyying Ekum, the community hall in Boleng which in question right now is a holy place to the people of Donyi Polo faith. They perform all their functions, pujas, prayers here. What made the Church fix this as a venue for its healing programme”, he pondered.
“The Christian converts have ruined the Unyying Ekum and have decorated it according to the Christian religion. This cannot be tolerated. In fact the Church has obtained illegal permission from the Dy Commissioner one sided and favors the Christians in the area”, he said. Taram also went on to say that the Dy Commissioner Atul Tayeng has hurt the sentiments of the tribal community by allowing the Church to hold such a ‘healing programme’ in a hoply place.
Church should consider hospitals for ‘healing programmes’-
In a point to explain in veils the intentions of the Church to hold ‘healing programmes’ in places of worship of tribals, Taram said that the Church should rather consider hospital as a venue as the patients there actually need to be cured. “We will always welcome our Christian brothers ‘healing’ the patients in the government hospitals or private hospitals, medical camps through their programmes. There’s no need to disturb the other religion people”, he said.
It is important to note that the Donyi faith followers are innocent and naive and so become easy targets of coversion to Christianity through ‘Church Healing Sessions’. The other important member of the Social Justice Forum confirmed that there have been many cases earlier where the Christians have conducted such programmes and converted the tribal people.
Christians call Tribal deities as ‘Shaitan’-
Siang Unyying Ekum belongs to the indigenous tribe where they perform all sacred tribal rites and rituals to invoke the dieties ‘Kiine Naane’. The Christians call the deities worshipped by the indigenous faith people as shaitan, devil, Lucifer and satan and encourage the converts to desecrate and destroy the places of worship of DonyiPolo faith believers.
As reported, the administration of Siang District had given permission to the Pastor to conduct the healing crusade in Siang Unyying Ekum without consulting or informing the Donyi Polo faith believers. “This has hurt the entire community”, said Taram who awaits the appropriate police movement against the Church and the Pastor.
