35 people in Uttar Pradesh lured and misled by Christain missionary into embracing Christianity
Etah, Uttar Pradesh, India 
31 December, 1994
Case Summary
In the year 1995, 35 members belonging to 10 families were lured and misled into embracing Christianity. They were residents of the Jaranikalan village in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district. They said Christian missionaries induced them into giving up their faith and adopting Christianity. However, 27 years later, these residents voluntarily returned to Hinduism in a ghar wapsi ceremony organised at the Pathwari Mata Temple. Here it becomes important to note that none of the media reports on this case mention the exact date when the conversion occurred in 1995. Therefore, to document this case, we have chosen a date, which is not accurate but only indicative of the year.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The sub-category under 'Predatory Proselytisation' relevant in this case is conversion by inducement. Predatory Proselytisation is not just limited to threat, harassment, force and violence, but it also has contours of stealth. In several cases, the Hindu victim is exploited to convert, with non-Hindus taking advantage of their poverty. In such cases, the Hindu victim who is suffering financially is offered monetary benefits, including lucrative offers for jobs, health treatment, education, etc, to induce the victim into changing his/her religion. In such cases, the religious identity of the victim and the aim to disenfranchise him from his faith form the heart of the crime. Also, taking advantage of and exploiting an individual’s economic vulnerabilities is widely acknowledged as exploitation, forms of which are often penalised by law. Such cases therefore are considered religiously motivated hate crimes since the victim’s religious identity forms the very heart of the crime itself. In this case, the victims, after almost two and a half decades, voluntarily decided to renounce Christianity and come back into the folds of Hinduism. Since the victims reverted to their original faith, people may be curious as to why then we are documenting this case under the category of predatory prostylisation. Basically, we have attempted to make a comprehensive list of all instances where Hindus, male or female, have been coerced, induced, harassed, threatened or brainwashed to leave their faith, Hinduism, and convert to another faith, typically Islam or Christianity. In this case, though the Hindu victims came back to the folds of Hinduism, they were induced to adopt Christianity nevertheless. The Christian missionaries in this instance, did coerce the Hindus into renunciating their professed faith, which is a direct result of their doctrinal and intrinsic animosity against Hinduism. Due to this specific fact, the case fits into the hate tracker's core category of 'predatory proselytization' and qualifies under the subcategory of 'conversion by inducement.'
Victim Details
Total Victim
33
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 33
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 33
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 33
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
