Hindu students harassed for their religious identity: Christian teacher forcefully cuts Kalava and wipes off Tilak worn for Navratri

Case ID : 25aa4d5 | Location : Betul, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 24 September, 2025

Case ID : 25aa4d5

Betul, Madhya Pradesh, India

24 September, 2025

Hindu students harassed for their religious identity: Christian teacher forcefully cuts Kalava and wipes off Tilak worn for Navratri

Restriction/ban on Hindu practices

Restriction on expression of Hindu identity

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion of minor

Case Summary

In Betul, Madhya Pradesh, a Hindu student was harassed for donning his religious identity by the school authorities at a Christian missionary school. According to reports, at the Little Flower Missionary School in Pathakheda, the school authorities forcibly wiped off the Tilak from the Hindu student’s forehead. The student was wearing the Tilak due to the festival of Navratri. The news of the incident quickly spread through the area, leading to strong reactions from local Hindu organisations. Hindu activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and NSUI reached the school the following day and staged protests, surrounding the institution and raising slogans. Hindu activists strongly objected to the incident, calling it against the Hindu faith and tradition. Locals reported that a similar incident also occurred at the same school where a student's kalava (sacred thread) was cut off. The situation grew tense, prompting the police to intervene. Police arrived at the spot and attempted to pacify the crowd. Under mounting pressure, the school principal, Vinshi, reapplied the tilak to the student’s forehead and apologised for the act, which calmed the situation. The Bajrang Dal warned that if such an incident occurs again, the school will be closed, and the administration will be held responsible. Student leader Rohan Singh Thakur stressed that removing such marks of worship from children was unacceptable and against cultural practices. As of the date of writing this report, a complaint regarding the incident was filed by Hindu activists, and the investigation was ongoing.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Restriction/ban on Hindu religious practice. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The other primary category selected here is- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being - Conversion of minor. 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. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu child’s Tilak, an auspicious Hindu religious symbol, was forcibly removed by the school authorities at a Christian missionary school. Hindu activists informed that prior to this, the school authorities had also cut off the Kalava of another Hindu student. Both these incidents stand as a clear example of religious intolerance and a hate crime against Hindu children and their faith. It goes beyond mere disciplinary action and constitutes targeted hostility towards Hindu students for their religious identity, raising serious concerns about the safety and protection of Hindus in educational institutions. The Tilak and Kalawa are not merely decorative things; they hold profound spiritual and cultural significance for Hindus. They are emblems of Hindu religious identity, often worn during prayers, rituals, and as a daily affirmation of faith. Forcing Hindu students to remove these religious symbols is a deliberate effort to erase their religious identity and expression. Such an act is deeply disrespectful and constitutes a direct attack on the values and practices of Hinduism. Locals also reported that a similar incident had occurred at the same school in the past, where a Hindu student’s Kalawa (sacred thread) was cut off, indicating a recurring pattern of prejudice. This incident reflects a blatant restriction on the religious expression of Hindu children. The message it sends is that Hindu symbols are not welcome in the school and that these symbols would be forcibly removed if Hindu students display them. This not only violates a Hindu child’s fundamental right to practise and express his religion but also creates an atmosphere of fear and suppression, where Hindu children may feel compelled to conceal their faith to avoid similar treatment. Such actions are common tactics in environments where subtle or overt pressure is used to alienate Hindu children from their religious identity. It serves as the first step in a larger pattern of grooming, where consistent ridicule, punishment, and forced removal of Hindu symbols and practices make a child more susceptible to abandoning their faith and embracing another under pressure. Such actions are overt in that they directly attack Hindu symbols, but they are also gradual because repeated suppression of Hindu practices in a Christian missionary school setting works to erode the child’s confidence in their own religion over time, normalising the idea that Hindu identity must be hidden or discarded to fit in. These are meant to alienate Hindu children from their own faith. Such actions are rooted in bias and disdain for Hinduism, its adherents, and its practices, making it a religiously motivated crime. The fact that the victims are minors, who are not yet cognitively developed to critically resist such pressure, makes this even more serious, since their impressionable minds are far easier to manipulate and reshape against their own faith. Here, it is important to mention that in 2022, a massive controversy erupted in Karnataka, which took a national form, after Muslim women insisted that they should be allowed to wear burqas and hijabs in their schools and classrooms. At that time, the argument that was given by several politicians, social commentators, Hindu activists and even the judiciary was that schools have the right to enforce uniform rules, since wearing uniforms brings harmony and equality in the classroom, and therefore, schools not allowing girls to wear hijab in the classroom is not religious discrimination, but merely an enforcement of widely accepted uniform norms. The pseudo-seculars and leftist groups may argue that a similar line of reasoning should be applied in this case. However, it becomes important to mention here that most uniform codes focus on standardising clothing and accessories like shoes, belts, and hair. A Tilak and Kalawa do not change the appearance of the uniform itself. These religious symbols are benign and do not cause disruption or harm, raising serious concerns about the motivations behind such enforcement. When an ostensibly secular institution imposes restrictions specifically targeting Hindu religious symbols, it reflects institutional prejudice against Hinduism. This form of targeted suppression echoes broader patterns where Hindu practices are curtailed under the guise of neutrality or discipline, often to appease other religious groups. The actions of the school authorities amount to religious discrimination and are consistent with the framework of a hate crime, where Hindus are penalised solely for adhering to their Hindu religious practices. Since this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on the date when the victim’s ordeal began. The Tilak was removed by the school authorities on 25 September 2025; therefore, the date of the incident has been recorded as such.