The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), taking note of the Tawang church construction issue has said it stands with the indigenous people of the state for the protection of their culture and tradition.
Religious sentiments should as such not be fanned among the people of the state, AAPSU president Hawa Bagang said in a statement on Monday.
“The indigenous people have their own faiths, religious practices, culture and tradition. We lived in harmony when there were no Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc. (among us),” he said, attributing the disharmony among the indigenous people to religious conversions in recent times.
“Arunachal Pradesh is a 100 percent tribal state. Though religious conversion has taken place post-independence, there is a great need to uphold the virtues of our cultures and we should respect each other,” Bagang said.
The AAPSU said religion is a vast concept and underlining the divisive aspect of religious sentiments has been the current trend. It appealed to all believers of different religions to maintain religious harmony and sort out the issues amicably.