Poor and vulnerable tribal Hindus targeted for conversion through denigrating Hinduism by Christian evangelists in Khatima, Uttarakhand
Khatima, Uttarakhand, India 
12 May, 2026
Case Summary
In Khatima, Uttarakhand, economically weaker Hindu families of the Tharu tribal community were targeted for religious conversion to Christianity through inducements, denigrating Hinduism, spreading anti-Hindu propaganda, and sustained pressure by local Christian evangelists. The matter came to light after Hindu complainant Ankit Singh Rana approached the Khatima police station and stated that Pastor Dan Singh Rana was misleading members of the Tharu community and attempting to spread hatred towards Hinduism. According to the complaint, under the guise of ending social discrimination and social upliftment, the pastor was influencing vulnerable Hindus to abandon their faith and convert to Christianity through false inducements and continuous denigration of Hindu beliefs and practices. The complainant stated that religious gatherings and outreach activities were organised in the area where Hindu traditions and deities were criticised, while Christianity was promoted as superior. Members of economically weaker and tribal Hindu communities were specifically targeted and persuaded that their social and personal difficulties stemmed from Hindu practices, while conversion to Christianity was presented as a pathway to dignity, equality, and better living conditions. Following the complaint, the police registered a case under the relevant legal provisions and initiated an investigation. Acting on the instructions of Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Ganpati, authorities stated that strict action would be taken in all cases involving religious conversion through greed, fear, coercion, pressure, or false inducements. Police confirmed that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to ensure a fair and detailed probe into the incidents in all matters related to religious conversion that had surfaced in different areas of the district. The police action followed directions issued by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, under whose instructions law enforcement authorities had begun treating religious conversion cases in the state with increased seriousness and scrutiny. SSP Ajay Ganpati stated that any attempt to convert individuals through inducement, intimidation, deception, or exploitation of vulnerability would invite strict legal consequences. Subsequently, investigations into the matter were initiated by the district police. This was not the first time that such incidents involving targeted conversion activities had surfaced in Uttarakhand. Hinduphobia Tracker had previously documented similar cases from different districts of the state. Earlier, in Deennagar village in the Nanakmatta area of Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, Hindu families were lured, threatened, and offered inducements for conversion to Christianity by Christian missionaries, following which police registered a case against nine named individuals on 5 April and began an investigation. Similarly, on 22 April 2026, Hindu tribal communities in Khatima and adjoining border areas of Uttarakhand faced sustained proselytisation campaigns carried out across multiple tribal-majority villages. Poor and economically vulnerable Hindu families residing in areas including Khetalsanda, Kham Pachauriya, Ganna Centre Halwari, Saina, Badi Baguliya, 22 Pul, and Bhudakishni were identified and targeted as part of an organised conversion drive conducted by Christian missionary groups operating in the region. In another incident reported on 30 April 2026 from Kanwali village in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Hindu residents were offered inducements and influenced against their own religion for conversion by two Christian women. Police later registered a case under the Uttarakhand Religious Freedom Act, 2018, and initiated an investigation into the matter. The recurrence of such incidents across multiple districts contributed to growing concerns regarding organised and systematic religious conversion activities targeting vulnerable Hindu communities in Uttarakhand. Recently, another similar incident surfaced in Khatima, where Rampal and his family were targeted for religious conversion to Christianity through inducements, anti-Hindu messaging, and sustained pressure by Christian evangelists operating in the area. According to the complaint, the accused individuals repeatedly attempted to influence the family to abandon Hinduism and accept Christianity through organised prayer meetings, ideological persuasion, and promises of social and financial support.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the 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. Another sub-category selected for this case 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. Another sub-category selected for this case is "Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination." The tertiary category selected within it 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 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 incident qualified as a religiously motivated hate crime because vulnerable Hindu families and members of the Tharu tribal community were deliberately targeted on the basis of their Hindu religious identity with the objective of separating them from their ancestral faith and integrating them into another religion. The activities described in the complaint were not isolated expressions of personal belief or voluntary religious discussion. Rather, they reflected organised and sustained efforts aimed specifically at Hindu communities through ideological influence, inducements, and systematic religious targeting. The repeated focus on Hindu tribal families, prayer meetings, and anti-Hindu messaging demonstrated that the intent extended beyond religious preaching and entered the realm of deliberate hostility directed towards a specific faith community. A central feature of this case was the denigration of Hinduism and the creation of hostility towards Hindu beliefs and practices. According to the complaint, Pastor Dan Singh Rana attempted to spread hatred towards Hinduism while portraying Christianity as socially and spiritually superior. Such conduct directly attacked the dignity and legitimacy of the Hindu faith. Hindu traditions, deities, customs, and rituals formed an inseparable part of the social and cultural identity of tribal Hindu communities. When missionaries portrayed Hinduism as backward, discriminatory, or spiritually inferior in order to persuade people to abandon it, the objective was not theological discussion but the psychological destabilisation of religious identity. This method operated by weakening emotional attachment to one’s own faith while fostering shame, doubt, and alienation regarding inherited beliefs. The exploitation of social and economic vulnerability further established the coercive and hate-driven nature of the incident. Tribal and economically weaker Hindu communities were specifically targeted because they were more susceptible to social pressure, material inducements, and promises of upliftment. The accused individuals reportedly framed conversion as a path to dignity, equality, and social acceptance while simultaneously portraying Hinduism as responsible for social suffering and discrimination. This weaponisation of vulnerability transformed social hardship into an opportunity for religious extraction. Such targeting could not be viewed as free or informed religious choice because the pressure operated within conditions of deprivation and dependency. The repeated organisation of prayer meetings and ideological gatherings also reflected a sustained process of grooming and indoctrination. These gatherings reportedly functioned as spaces where Hindu beliefs were criticised, Christian teachings were normalised, and emotional influence was gradually built over vulnerable families. Through repetition, authority projection, and social persuasion, individuals were encouraged to emotionally detach themselves from Hindu practices and accept a new religious identity. This gradual erosion of faith through sustained exposure and pressure constituted psychological coercion rather than independent spiritual transformation. The recurrence of similar incidents across Uttarakhand strengthened the indication that the targeting was systematic rather than accidental. Previous incidents documented in Khatima, Rudrapur, and Dehradun involved similar patterns of inducements, anti-Hindu messaging, pressure tactics, and attempts to influence vulnerable Hindu communities for conversion to Christianity. The repeated emergence of comparable methods across multiple districts pointed towards organised missionary activity directed specifically at vulnerable Hindus, particularly tribal and economically disadvantaged groups. Taken together, the deliberate denigration of Hinduism, targeting of vulnerable Hindu tribal families, use of inducements and social pressure, and sustained ideological manipulation established this incident as a clear case of religious persecution motivated by hostility towards Hindu religious identity. The conduct described in the complaint was not confined to the peaceful propagation of faith but constituted a structured attempt to erode Hindu belief systems and replace them through pressure, manipulation, and psychological influence directed at a vulnerable community. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred, not when it was reported or published. The exact date on which the conversion activity began was not confirmed in the source; therefore, the date when the report was published has been recorded as the indicative incident date for documentation purposes.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
