Recently, Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma distanced himself from an official letter dated 16 December seeking information on religious conversions and the number of churches in the state and termed the letter as unwarranted.

“I think we should not seek information like how many churches are there in Assam. We should avoid these things in order to not hurt the sentiments of a particular religious community,” Chief Minister Sarma said.

“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 disassociate myself from the unwarranted letter. It was never discussed in any government forum. If at all the government wants to issue such a letter, it should go from the Home Department or the DGP, the Chief Minister further said.

“As an Assamese citizen of Assam, we want to live in peace and harmony with all communities. I think the DGP will take corrective measures immediately,” the CM added.

An official letter from the special branch of Assam police to the district administrations seeking information by December 22 on religious conversions and the number of churches was recently in circulation.

The letter, written by a superintendent of police (SP) with the special branch, sought information on the number of churches established within the past one year, the number of existing churches, instances of religious conversion in the past six years, and the people involved in conversion activities.

The letter also sought to know about any cases registered against people involved in forcible conversions, or conversions effected through inducement, and about the factors responsible for religious conversions. The letter further sought suggestions for checking conversions.