Prayagraj-based SHAUTS university officials, Chancellor and VC booked for coercing Hindus to convert to Christianity

Case ID : 2d528a3 | Location : Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 18 December, 2023

Case ID : 2d528a3

Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

18 December, 2023

Prayagraj-based SHAUTS university officials, Chancellor and VC booked for coercing Hindus to convert to Christianity

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

On January 27, 2023, Uttar Pradesh Police filed an FIR against eight officials of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences (SHUATS) and several unidentified persons in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh for allegedly luring Hindus and forcing them to convert their religion to Christianity. The case has been filed against the vice-chancellor, two pro-vice-chancellors, and 5 others under the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020. According to the reports, the FIR was filed based on the complaint registered by a University’s former student named Savendra Vikram Singh on January 20. The complainant stated that he was told that in exchange for converting to Christianity, he could have a job, Rs 15 thousand in cash, and ‘marriage to a beautiful girl’ in Fatehpur. The Supreme Court on 1st March 2023, granted anticipatory bail to the Vice Chancellor and senior officials of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Science (SHUATS) in an illegal mass religious conversion case.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

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. The accused in this instance attempted to entice the Hindu victims with offers of well-paying jobs and financial assistance. Young people who are looking for job stability and a comfortable life are typically drawn in by these alluring offers and agree to comply with requests in exchange for the benefits. This case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime because the act of taking advantage of vulnerabilities with the intention of explicitly converting someone is motivated only by hatred against the victim's religion.