Christian evangelist Paul Dhinakaran is a well-known figure in the field of evangelism and conversion efforts in India. He recently visited Arunachal Pradesh to take part in the Jesus Calls Arunachal Prayer Festival alongside his family. Notably, the Chief Minister of the state, Pema Khandu, and several ministers also attended the event.

On the first day of the event, Paul Dinakaran expressed his intention to offer prayers for Pema Khandu, the council of ministers, and the state of Arunachal Pradesh. He referred to the state as “God’s garden,” Pema Khandu, and the ministers joined the prayer.

He said, “It is you (Jesus) who chooses to rule the state from time to time; thank you for choosing our dear Hon’ble CM and cabinet. May the government be blessed by you and your guidance to do whatever you want to do for the people. Let your hand be on this state, let it progress as a great tourist destination, bless the family of CM and families of the ministers”.

Following this, Pema Khandu delivered a speech at the event’s inauguration. During his address, he expressed gratitude to Paul for offering prayers for government employees. As reported in The Commune, he said, “We are all god-fearing people. We worship God with full devotion, and we must believe. If anything is difficult, then the first thing we remember is God. So I request all of you gathered here, whatever religion you believe in, if you are Christian, then we must believe from the bottom of our hearts. You saw the miracle of this a little while ago. When needed, Jesus will give blessings from above to everyone. God always helps us in life by giving us blessings. We are all children of God. We know that there are several tribes in Arunachal Pradesh. This is God’s gift that despite having so many tribes, no bad accidents have occurred in the state. So all of you keep praying like this, then our future life of all settled here will be very good”. 

He then talked about his deceased father, Dorjee Khandu. He said, “I joined politics in 2011, and you all know the reason why, because of the accident of my father Dorjee Khandu. I am from a business background. After the accident, I had to come into politics all of a sudden in 2016 when a big political gap started forming in the state, and a unique thing happened in Arunachal Pradesh. The 60 Assembly seats comprise all parties – the Congress, the BJP, and others. And for the first time, everyone told my name and pushed me forward. They said that if anyone can take care of the state, it is you. I was not politically mature, but with all your blessing and blessings of God.”

Hinting at the upcoming parliamentary elections, he said, “We had appealed to all religious leaders to say no to money culture in politics, and I’d like to thank all the Christian denominations. In 2009, after our request, the Christian community spread the message of money culture and openly expressed their opposition to it and even convinced people about it. I request that in the 2024 elections that we have a stronger sentiment against money culture and come together and Say No To Money Culture.”

He added, “We thank Paul Dinakaran and his family for coming so far to the state and pray for the well-being of the state, and we have to implement that prayer in our lives practically. If you listen to the prayer and do not implement it in your life, there is no use for it. So my request to all the people who have come from various districts of Arunachal Pradesh is to remember these points.”

He articulated the grants initiated by his late father, Dorjee Khandu. “My late father Dorjee Khand started the corpus fund, and he started giving grants; after that, I became the CM in 2016, and I continued the good work he did, especially in the education sector. We provide grants in aid and corpus to institutions every year. We gave it this year and will do it next year, too. I am doing all that I can for the Don Bosco College in Itanagar and Ziro. Education is a priority for the government, so all the organisations of the Christian community and RK Mission, too, who are working in the sector, we have been helping all the organisations, and we will continue to do it.”

The festival spanned three days, and video footage from each of these days suggested that prayers were presented as the means to “resolve” the health issues of patients.

According to reports, numerous tribal children attended the event and were exposed to what was described as unscientific “magic healing” by the well-known Christian Evangelist. During these sessions, he claimed to heal them through special prayers.

The Social Justice Forum of Arunachal Pradesh, an organization dedicated to safeguarding the faith, culture, and identity of the Indigenous Tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh, has raised concerns about instances where Paul Dhinakaran used children in his “magic healing” performances. They pointed out that the Christian pastor may violate the Drugs & Magical Remedies Act of 1954 by exposing tribal children to superstition.

During one of the sessions, he asserted that he had enabled a girl to walk again after she had been bound to a wheelchair for 15 years.

He is also involved in proselytization efforts, asserting that one must embrace Jesus as God in order to be cured of ailments.

Legal Rights Observatory took notice of this issue and reported it to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The NCPCR has issued notices to the Director General of Police (DGP) in Arunachal Pradesh and the Chief Minister for their alleged official endorsement of fraudster pastor Paul Dhinakaran’s “magic healing” of tribal individuals in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.

In the complaint issued by the NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights), it says, “The Commission has received a complaint that a Pastor named Paul Dinakaran, during his Healing Crusade, is claiming to cure illnesses using magical healing powers. Upon further investigation, it has come to the Commission’s attention that Pastor Paul Dinakaran has been displaying children he claims to have healed in front of large crowds”. Furthermore, the Commission has pointed out that Paul Dinakaran may be in violation of the Drugs & Magic Remedies Act of 1954. To address these allegations, the NCPCR has taken action under Section 13 (1) of the CPCR (Child Protection) Act, 2005.”

It’s worth mentioning that missionary organizations, like that of Paul Dinakaran, have played a significant role in the conversion of the indigenous population in Arunachal Pradesh, leading to its transformation into a majority-Christian state. According to the 2011 Census, the Christian population exceeded 30%.

Notably, based on specific intelligence information, officials from the Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate conducted raids on 28 locations associated with the “Jesus Calls” and “Karunya” group of educational institutions, which are managed by the evangelist Paul Dinakaran.