Missionary school pressurises students to convert to Christianity, demotes principal when he refuses to participate in the conversion activities
Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, India 
30 January, 2024
Case Summary
In Pathariya block, a conversion controversy emerged involving Good Shepherd School, where the administration pressured students to convert. The issue surfaced when Ravi Shankar Bharti, demoted from principal to teacher and unpaid for six months, revealed the situation. Bharti stated that the school management pressured him to convert students and punished him for refusing. His wife, Kiran Bharti, also employed at the school, faced similar issues. The current in-charge principal, Shobha Rani Ikka, had been absent for six months, leaving only four to five teachers to educate approximately 700 students. An investigation was ordered by the District Program Coordinator (DPC). The school, run from Hyderabad, housed over 250 Christian-related books brought in 2017. DC Mukesh Dwivedi stated that a team, including the Block Education Officer and Block Resource Coordinator, was investigating. The team was instructed to confiscate all controversial books.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the category of 'Predatory proselytisation'. Within this, the sub-category selected is- Harassment, threat, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. In this subcategory, we would only include cases where the victim was harassed, threatened or coerced to convert. Cases where attempts were made to convert but the victim resisted would be documented in another sub-category. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. Classification of this case under the above-mentioned category stems from the reported actions of the missionary school, which pressured students to adopt Christianity and penalised the principal for refusing to comply with the conversion agenda. By using their institutional power to threaten or pressure students and staff, the school exemplifies the tactics that fall under predatory proselytisation and this is why this case has been added here to the tracker.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
