Aizawl: An RTI query filed by Seventh-Day Adventist Church members has revealed possible internalised religious discriminatory policies within the Mizoram government. The query sheds light on the challenges faced by minority religious groups when seeking permission to use government facilities for events on days that align with the majority’s worship practices.
On May 7, 2024, H Lalsangliana and Noel Lalchawilena, staff members of Helen Lowry Adventist School and members of the Adventist Youth Federation, Aizawl West Circle, a youth organization associated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, approached the office of the 1MAP commandant at Armed Veng in Aizawl. They sought permission to use the 1st Bn. MAP Ground for a church youth sports event scheduled for June 16, 2024. While the initial response was positive, with the officer suggesting that permission would likely be granted, things took a turn just days before the event.
On June 14, Lalsangliana received a phone call informing him that permission to use the ground was denied. With limited time and no alternatives, the youth group reached out to various government officials in a last-ditch effort to secure the venue. “The main reason we were denied is because we are a minority and we do not have religious liberty,” said Lalsangliana. Eventually, permission was granted, but the event still faced backlash, with a prominent Seventh-Day Adventist minister of state, Lalnilawma, being specifically targeted.
The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Church of God Seventh-Day and other denominations that hold church services on Saturday constitute minorities in the predominantly Christian Mizoram, leading to occasional conflicts with government regulations and societal expectations.
In an effort to understand the government’s stance on such permissions, Lalmuansanga Khiangte, Associate Director of the Communications Department in the Mizo Conference of Seventh Day Adventists and Zairemthanga, a church member, filed two RTI queries with the Mizoram Sports and Youth Services Directorate on June 29 and September 7, 2024.
In the first RTI query on July 19, 2024, Zairemthanga inquired whether government fields and halls could be used on Sundays. The response from the official at the Sports and Youth Services Directorate indicated that permission was not possible because Sunday is regarded as a government holiday. When asked under what law this restriction was imposed, the official’s response merely reiterated that Sunday is a holiday. Khiangte also sought clarity on whether previous permissions had been revoked, to which the government denied any cancellations.
Contrary to the government’s claim, Khiangte shared instances where permission had been both granted and later revoked. “The first was of the Armed Veng field where H Lalsangliana and Noel Lalchawilena had gone,” he said. “The second was permission to use the Hawla Indoor Stadium located in Republic Vengthlang.”
On June 30, 2024, the Adventist Youth Ministries, a Seventh-Day Adventist youth group, sought permission to use the basketball court at Hawla Indoor Stadium. Although the allotment order was issued on June 26, the permission was abruptly withdrawn on June 28, just two days before the event.
In a second RTI query, Khiangte and Zairemthanga questioned the logic behind allowing events on Saturdays, which are also government holidays, while denying permissions on Sundays for the same reason. The government’s response admitted that permission is granted on Saturdays and other government holidays but failed to provide a clear explanation for the inconsistency.
The response from the government official said there is no specific reason why permission is granted on Saturdays, and that it is issued similarly to permissions granted on other holidays, excluding Sundays. Khiangte told EastMojo, “If it is government property, why is access denied to minorities based on religious grounds? If restrictions apply because it is a holiday, then all public places in Mizoram should be restricted accordingly. Denying us the use of government property on Sundays due to religious reasons infringes on our fundamental rights and undermines the rights of minority religious groups.”
According to the Economics and Statistics Handbook 2022, the Seventh Day Adventist community, which comprises 18,979 members across ten listed churches, make up only 1.65% of the total population of the ten churches which is 1,148,766.
Religious bias has surfaced in other areas as well. In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mizoram Disaster Management & Rehabilitation Minister initially designated Saturdays for opening markets but later reversed the decision. The Seventh-Day Adventists were also prohibited from operating Sunday stalls in certain localities, impacting their livelihood.
A resident of Chawlhhmun locality, Ramsangpuii, recounted an incident where her tenants, who ran a small food stall on Sundays to support their family, were forced to cease operations due to religious restrictions. “Our tenants used to sell noodles and rice on Sunday, it was their main source of income to feed their three children. However, they were asked to stop setting up a stall on Sunday and later moved out of the state as they were unable to fend for themselves.”
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