The Assam government has instructed the superintendents of police (SPs) of the districts to keep a watch on foreigners who proselytise by violating tourist visa norms.
The instruction followed the detention and deportation of 27 foreign nationals — 17 Bangladeshi and 10 Europeans — from three districts of eastern Assam in about a month. All of them came on a tourist visa and not a missionary visa that allows restricted religious activities, police said.
“We have instructed the SPs of all the districts to monitor religious gatherings and check the travel documents of foreigners who attend them,” Assam’s Special Director-General of Police Gyanendra Pratap Singh told journalists.
The police are also trying to find out how and why the foreign tourists ended up proselytising. “One has to understand that there are two types of visas — tourist and missionary. The rules say a foreigner cannot get involved in religious activities on a tourist visa. The rules allow certain religious activities on a missionary visa, but not religious conversions or proselytisation,” he said.
Mr Singh said the police took action in all the cases after gathering evidence.
The 17 Bangladeshi nationals allegedly violated visa norms by attending and preaching at an Islamic programme in Biswanath district, while the 10 Europeans were caught sermonising at Christian events in Dibrugarh and Golaghat districts, police said.
Three Swedish nationals were detained after attending a religious programme for tea plantation workers in Naharkatiya on October 26. Two days later, seven Germans were detained on similar charges from a resort in Kaziranga National Park.
Each foreigner found guilty of violating the visa norms was fined $500 in keeping with an order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, officials said.
“We have details of which religious gathering they participated in and which churches they went to for preaching,” Mr. Singh said, adding that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been firm on not allowing any illegal activities by foreign nationals in Assam.
Assam Tourism officials said the action against the Europeans will not affect the tourism industry in the State. “We leave no stone unturned to ensure a pleasant stay for foreigners in Assam. Only about 4-5% of tourists violate visa conditions,” an official said.
