Christian missionaries attempt conversion, distribute anti-Hindu material and Bible for free in Delhi book fair
Central Delhi, Delhi, India 
1 March, 2023
Case Summary
The United Hindu Front launched a protest at a book fair in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan World Book Fair after several Christian missionaries attempted to distribute objectionable content against Hindus. Individuals working for Christian missionaries were disparaging Hindus by distributing propaganda-laden material slandering Sanatan Dharma. They were distributing the Bible for free even to small children, indicating to the non-Christian attendees to accept Christianity as their new religion. A protest broke out thwarting proselytisation after United Hindu Front's National Vice President Dharmendra Bedi reached the venue. Jai Bhagwan Goyal, International Executive President of the Front and National President of Rashtrawadi Shiv Sena demanded the police and the administration to take strict action and immediately remove the stalls.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory proselytisation. 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 above mentioned category is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination and within this, one tertiary category- Conversion of minor, has also 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 grooming or 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 grooming or 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 this case, the Christian evangelists were explicitly attempting to convert non-Christian individuals visiting the Delhi book fair by abusing and denigrating the Hindu faith and hailing their faith. They were distributing Bibles for free and also giving away anti-Hindu material to insult Hinduism. The Christian evangelists also targeted minor children, which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. This was a clear attempt to brainwash Hindus against their religion, which 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.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
