The Assam Cabinet has approved the creation of a directorate and posts under the newly-established Indigenous Faith and Culture Department that was notified in the month of September 2021.
? The directorate is expected to kick-start the process of preserving indigenous faiths such as Bathou of the Bodo community and Heraka of the Zeme Naga community, considered to be endangered because of conversions to mainstream religions. A department for has been created the preservation and promotion of indigenous faiths and cultures.
? Such a department would not be tagged with other departments such as Culture or Welfare of Plains Tribes and Backward Classes.
? Assam has many tribes with their unique customs and religious beliefs. The government has decided to preserve their culture and faith with institutional support through this new department.
? Indigenous faiths need insulation as they are fading away due to the preaching and professional management systems of mainstream religions. Modernity and global religious communities have taken a toll on tribal cultures, practices, languages, livelihoods and faiths in Assam.
Department in Arunachal
Assam is not the first State in the Northeast to come up with such a department. Arunachal Pradesh had formed the Department of Indigenous Affairs five years ago to insulate the indigenous faiths perceived to be threatened by conversion.