Christian books distributed in a government school in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh to promote conversion from Hinduism to Christianity
Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India 
18 July, 2024
Case Summary
In Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, a girl claiming to be from an NGO was found distributing Christian books at a government school on July 19th. She refused to disclose her identity and claimed to distribute the books for free. The books, titled "Pavitra Shashtra, Bhajan Sanhita, and Niti Vachan," were found to promote Christianity and glorify Jesus Christ, misleadingly appearing as Hindu texts. When school teachers opposed her, an altercation ensued, and the girl fled when threatened with police involvement. The girl from Hyderabad was accompanied by two other women distributing similar materials in nearby villages. Teacher Sanjay Lodhi, who stopped her, revealed that the books praised Christianity and condemned Hindu saints. Lodhi also recorded the interaction and noted that the girl targeted poor and Scheduled Caste communities. The girl admitted to distributing books in Sagar and Itarsi regions. On July 20th, Bajrang Dal co-convenor Ravi Lodhi and other officials announced to lodge a police complaint.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added under the category of- Predatory Proselytisation of the tracker. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism. In several cases, Hindus are converted or an attempt is made to convert Hindus by denigrating their faith, Hinduism. In such cases, the Hindus associate with the non-Hindu perpetrators often by choice and then, the attempt to convert them by insulting their faith, showing the faith down etc begins. An example of this would be a non-Hindu gathering where the Hindus are attending the gathering of their own free will. However, once they attend the gathering, there is an explicit attempt to convert them by abusing their faith and hailing the faith of the perpetrator. The denigration of the Hindu faith is often based on misrepresentation of the Hindu faith, its doctrine and scriptures and insult to espoused traditions if not blatant lies about Hindu beliefs and ways. Such conversions or attempts at conversions are driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The second sub-category selected under the aforementioned category is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, under which one tertiary category named 'Conversion of minor' has been selected. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In an effort to indoctrinate Hindus against their religion—which itself is a product of hostility towards the Hindu faith—the Christian missionaries were selling books that extolled Christianity and disparaged Hinduism. Insulting Hinduism in attempts to brainwash Hindus against their religion, itself stems from the animosity against the Hindu faith, which is why this case qualifies as a hate crime against Hindus and has been documented here. Further, it is evident from the details that the Hindu victims here were children, which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Since the underlying offence in this case was against children of a specific faith and involved subtle tactics of indoctrination, which obviously stems from a bias against the Hindu faith, this case is a clear case of religious hate.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
