50-60 Hindus forced to convert to Christianity under the guise of prayer meeting in Jharkhand's school

Case ID : 2e1d573 | Location : Garhwa, Jharkhand, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 9 October, 2024

Case ID : 2e1d573

Garhwa, Jharkhand, India

9 October, 2024

50-60 Hindus forced to convert to Christianity under the guise of prayer meeting in Jharkhand's school

Predatory Proselytisation

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Tamge Kala village, Ranka, Garhwa, Jharkhand, at Bryan Philosophy School, villagers accused several individuals of promoting conversion to Christianity under the pretence of a prayer meeting. The incident began when local resident Banshi Ram and his wife attended the meeting on October 10, 2024, where 50–60 people had gathered. According to Ram, after the prayers concluded, attendees were encouraged to convert, with promises of benefits for those who complied. When he refused, Ram faced additional pressure, prompting him to alert other villagers. In response, a large group, including members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, gathered at the school. Police arrived with a heavy deployment, apprehending four individuals involved in the conversion activities. The SDPO, Rohit Ranjan Singh, and the police station in-charge, Surinder Singh Kuntia, later confirmed receiving a complaint regarding forced conversions. However, tensions persisted as villagers, dissatisfied with the initial police response, organised a dharna on the road outside the police station, demanding swift action against the accused. Villagers said that the school had been a site for conversion activities for years, further fuelling local resentment and demands for immediate government intervention.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under the core category of 'Predatory Proselytisation' because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and the deliberate attempt to alienate the victims from their Hindu identity. Further, it has been placed under two sub-categories within the above-mentioned category. The first is- Conversion/ attempts to convert 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. The second sub-category relevant here is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. In this subcategory, we would only include cases where the victim was harassed, threatened or coerced to convert. Cases where attempts were made to convert but the victim resisted would be documented in another sub-category. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. This case illustrates how promises of benefits were strategically employed to lure participants into abandoning their beliefs. This tactic exploits the socioeconomic challenges many face, especially in rural settings, effectively positioning conversion as a solution to their hardships. Further, pressure was exerted on those who resisted the conversion attempts. Reports indicate that Banshi Ram, who initially refused, experienced intensified coercion, prompting him to alert the community. The harassment and attempts to intimidate individuals who declined to convert highlight how such cases use fear and manipulation to compromise religious autonomy. Together, these components underscore the systematic approach of predatory proselytisation, where inducement, coupled with intimidation, is wielded to undermine Hindu identity actively and unethically. Since exploiting vulnerabilities for the explicit purpose of conversion is purely based on animosity towards the victim's faith, this case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime.