Assam: Assembly to take up Bill on magical healing tomorrow

GUWAHATI: As the Assam Legislative Assembly will take up the Bill- “The Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, on the last day of the budget session on Monday, the Assam Tribal Christian Coordination Committee (ATCCC) on Sunday appealed to the Assam government to review the concept of the Bill, which was tabled in the House on February 21.

The Bill was introduced to eradicate unscientific healing practices with an ulterior motive to exploit innocent people and thereby destroy the fibre of the public health of society.

Once the Bill is enacted, the commission of all acts of healing practices and magic healing by any person with a sinister motive to exploit common people will be prohibited.

“The conscious sections of the Christian community have expressed apprehension on the integrity & spirit of the Bill. It is being felt that, if it is to be passed in the present form and concept highlighted in the media bite by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after the cabinet meeting on February 10, its wordings are likely to be corrupted and misinterpreted to mount pressure on the Christians and other weaker sections of society. Its concept should be unambiguous and should not intermingle the words like magic healing or magical healing with 'proselytization' or 'conversion' etc,” ATCCC secretary Sushil Daimary, assistant secretary Primingson Milick, joint secretaries Juron Baglari and Lazarus Deori said in a statement here on Sunday.

“The Christian Church always intends to give the teachings of Jesus Christ in a spirit of love and respect. Church believes that these teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ are good and helpful for building a happy family, and healthy society and also for ensuring peace, harmony and development in the nation and the world. Some of these moral teachings make peace in society and nation and live in peace,” they said.

“The believers in the churches always pray to God for the well-being of the destitute, the sick and the dying, the broken-hearted, the suppressed and the oppressed people and save their souls. But, they never ask people to convert or change their religion,” they also said.

The ATCCC could not understand the intention of the chief minister which was highlighted during his media bite. If the objective is for the betterment of all sections of people irrespective of religious affiliations and an effort to eradicate social evils and bring about peace and development, then the concept and wording in the Bill must be reviewed from the present form.

“Because, once the Bill is passed or becomes an 'Act' with such malicious and corrupt wordings and concept, it might encourage the fringe elements to do the reverse in misusing of the Bill, which in turn might lead to more evils than good,” the tribal leaders said.

“We on behalf of the ATCCC and all the tribal Christians of Assam appeal to the chief minister to ensure the confidence and integrity in the concept of the Bill and maintain a status quo vis-a-vis 'secular' entity enshrined in the Constitution of India (Article 25) while passing the Bill for the greater interest of the state,” they added.

Commenting on the Bill, Assam Christian Forum president and Archbishop of Guwahati Archdiocese, John Moolachira said: “We don’t simply go around healing — it is part of our prayer. We have healing prayers like every other religion — when sick people come, we pray for them — individually, or by making them stand together in a group.”

ACF spokesperson Allen Brooks said: “There is no magical healing in Christianity. We always depend on God for the healing of sick people. We seek God’s intervention into our life and he works.”

“But the content of the Bill and the statement of the chief minister is not the same. The chief minister is targeting a particular community,” he added