Vulnerable Hindu tribals lured and deceived by Christian pastor to convert to Christianity in Bastar, Chhattisgarh
Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India 
25 April, 2026
Case Summary
In the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, vulnerable Hindu tribal families were targeted and converted to Christianity by a Christian pastor, who had been living in Bastar for over one and a half years. The incident came to light when the Christian pastor was beaten by a large number of locals, along with the Hindus who had already converted, in Retavand village. The pastor, a resident of the Nabarangpur region in Odisha, had been staying in the village with his family for nearly one and a half years. Villagers said he had been living there for some time and was trying to convert poor local people to Christianity. This became a major concern for many families in the village. Two days before the incident, on Sunday, 26th April, a meeting was called in the village where a large number of residents gathered, including members of families who had already converted. During the meeting, villagers, upset with the conversion activities of the pastor, asked him to leave the village along with his family. Upon which the pastor refused. This escalated the argument, and the pastor was beaten. After receiving information about the incident, police and local administration officials rushed to the village and brought the situation under control. According to the police, the pastor assured villagers that he would leave the village soon. This was not happening for the first time in Bastar. Earlier as well, Hinduphobia Tracker had recorded cases where innocent tribal Hindus were lured, induced, and even forced to convert to Christianity, indicating a recurring pattern of targeting vulnerable communities in the region. For instance, on 27 December 2025, in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, Hindu tribal families were converted to Christianity by Christian missionaries under the guise of miraculous cures for serious illnesses and through enforced attendance at missionary prayer meetings. In another case on 18 January, 2026, in the Peedhapal area of Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, over 200 Hindus were forcibly converted to Christianity through inducements and false promises of curing diseases. This incident came to light on Sunday (18 January 2026), when the victims from various villages left Christianity and returned en masse to their original faith, Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism), in a Gharwapsi event. 'Gharwpasi' is a ceremony through which Hindus who have converted to other faiths can return to their original faith. Those who returned home said they were initially lured into converting by promises of curing their illnesses and other inducements, but now, after introspection, they embraced their original religion.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is "Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation and subtle indoctrination". The tertiary category here for this case is "Pattern of targeting Hindus". 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 the 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 proselytisation, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. This incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime because Hindu tribal families were deliberately targeted based on their Hindu religious identity, with the explicit aim of severing them from their ancestral faith. The pastor’s prolonged presence in the village and his sustained engagement with economically vulnerable Hindu tribals were not incidental; rather, they formed part of a structured effort to influence and convert them. Moreover, the focus on poor Hindu households, combined with persistent outreach over time, demonstrated clear and intentional religious targeting within a marginalised community. Furthermore, a key element of this targeting was the systematic attempt to weaken and displace Hindu belief systems among tribal families. In such communities, faith is inseparable from identity, tradition, and daily life. Therefore, any organised effort to draw individuals away from their deities and practices is not a neutral act of persuasion but a direct challenge to the religious and cultural foundation of the community. In this context, the pattern of engagement indicated a deliberate attempt to replace indigenous Hindu traditions with a different religious framework. Additionally, the exploitation of economic vulnerability further establishes the coercive nature of this case. The targeted families lived in conditions of financial hardship and limited access to essential services. Notably, the pastor specifically focused on these vulnerable sections, using their helpless condition as a means to advance conversion activities. Consequently, in such circumstances, choices are not made freely but under pressure created by deprivation. Thus, targeting disadvantaged Hindu tribals in this manner transforms religious outreach into a mechanism of control rather than a matter of personal faith. Subsequently, the assault on the pastor occurred after villagers clearly understood that he was systematically targeting financially poor tribal Hindus and leveraging their vulnerable circumstances to carry out conversions. Initially, the community had attempted a peaceful resolution by asking him to leave the village during a collective meeting. However, his refusal to comply escalated tensions, ultimately leading to the physical confrontation. Hence, the sequence of events shows that the villagers' reaction was rooted in sustained distress over ongoing religious interference, not a sudden or unprovoked act. Importantly, this was not happening for the first time in Bastar. Earlier as well, Hinduphobia Tracker had recorded cases where innocent tribal Hindus were lured, induced, and even forced to convert to Christianity, indicating a recurring pattern of targeting vulnerable communities in the region. Therefore, the repetition of such incidents reinforces the conclusion that these are not isolated events but part of a broader and continuing practice. Taken together, the deliberate targeting of Hindu tribals, exploitation of poverty, sustained conversion efforts, and the recurring pattern of similar incidents firmly establish this case as one of religious persecution. Ultimately, it reflects a systematic attempt to alter the religious identity of a vulnerable Hindu population, creating fear, disruption, and deep insecurity within the community.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
