Revered Hindu scripture Shri Bhagavad Gita distorted and downgraded with Christian references and circulated by Christian missionaries in Telangana
Telangana, India 
3 May, 2026
Case Summary
In Telangana, the revered Hindu scripture Shri Bhagavad Gita was distorted and downgraded by Christian missionaries by replacing Lord Krishna with Jesus Christ. The missionaries distributed copies of a book titled “Thraitha Siddhanta Bhagavad Gita”, in which references to Jesus had been inserted into the sacred Hindu text. The incident occurred in April 2026 and later went viral on social media after videos of the interaction surfaced online. In the video, Christian missionaries were seen persuading a Hindu man to read the book and accept it. One of them told the man, “You could read and decide whether you want it or not.” After reading portions of the text, the Hindu man discovered references to Jesus inside what was presented as the Bhagavad Gita and immediately objected. The Hindu man questioned the Christians, asking, “This is a Hindu scripture, why is there a reference to Jesus in this? Why try to mix the two religions?” He further questioned why the text did not instead contain references to Bhagwan Krishna or Bhagwan Ram. Angered by what he identified as deliberate distortion of a sacred Hindu scripture, he threatened to tear the book. The incident triggered outrage on social media, where several users accused Christian missionaries of attempting to appropriate and alter Hindu scriptures for conversion and proselytisation purposes. Many users stated that core Hindu references and teachings had been replaced or overshadowed with references to Jesus in an attempt to dilute the distinct religious identity of the Bhagavad Gita and mislead Hindus through deceptive religious messaging.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Hate speech against Hindus. The sub-category selected under it is Subversion of scriptures. Subverting the religious scriptures of Hindus has particularly devastating consequences. Subversion of the scriptures of Hindus is often done to justify or promote hatred, discrimination, or violence against specific individuals or groups of Hindus. Religious scriptures are often nuanced, and those who harbour religious animosity towards Hindus often misquote or misrepresent the scripture to legitimise their animosity and hate towards the faith and its adherents. Any such misquoting of scriptures or subversion to justify hate, violence and discrimination against Hindus owing to religious animosity is hate speech and is categorised as such. Another primary category selected is- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. 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 perpetrator's contrasting faith. 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 transmits owing to the existence of a 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. The first indication of religious hostility in this case was the deliberate alteration of a sacred Hindu scripture to insert Christian religious references into it. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered scriptures in Hinduism and is regarded by Hindus as the direct spiritual discourse of Bhagwan Krishna. It forms a foundational pillar of Sanatan Dharma and is deeply tied to Hindu philosophy, worship, and spiritual identity. By inserting references to Jesus into a text presented as the Bhagavad Gita, the missionaries altered the scripture’s original theological framework and attempted to reinterpret it through a Christian lens. The Hindu man who examined the book immediately objected after discovering references to Jesus inside what was presented as the Bhagavad Gita. Importantly, he objected not to the existence of Christian beliefs themselves, but to the insertion of those beliefs into a sacred Hindu scripture in a manner that displaced or overshadowed the teachings of Bhagwan Krishna. His reaction reflected the outrage felt when a living religious text central to millions of Hindus is modified in ways that compromise its original meaning and identity. Another important religious marker in this case was the deceptive method through which the altered text was circulated. The book retained the appearance, identity, and familiarity of the Bhagavad Gita while subtly introducing Christian theological messaging. Because the text was presented as a Hindu scripture, Hindus encountering it would naturally approach it with reverence and trust. The missionaries used that familiarity and sacred authority as a pathway to gradually introduce Christian doctrine under the cover of a trusted Hindu religious framework. This was not transparent religious preaching or open theological discussion. The method relied on subtle indoctrination through familiarity, where the authority and sanctity associated with the Bhagavad Gita were used to lower suspicion and make Christian messaging more psychologically acceptable to Hindu readers. The circulation of such altered material, therefore, reflected a manipulative form of proselytisation rather than honest religious engagement. The conduct also reflected deeper hostility towards Hindu beliefs because the missionaries treated a sacred Hindu scripture not as something worthy of preservation and respect in its own right, but as a vehicle to promote another religion. By inserting Christian references into the Bhagavad Gita, they implicitly conveyed that the original Hindu scripture was incomplete or insufficient unless reframed through Christian theology. Such actions subverted the integrity of a sacred Hindu text and weakened the distinct religious identity associated with it. The organised nature of the distribution further aggravated the incident. The altered scripture was being circulated publicly and repeatedly rather than remaining an isolated or private act. Such dissemination increases the likelihood that unsuspecting Hindus will accept the material, believing it to be an authentic version of the Bhagavad Gita. The method, therefore, depended on gradual influence, religious misrepresentation, and exploitation of trust associated with Hindu scripture. Taken together, the deliberate alteration of the Bhagavad Gita, the insertion of Christian doctrine into a sacred Hindu text, and the organised attempt to circulate such material among Hindus demonstrated clear religious hostility and manipulative proselytisation. Since the incident involved the distortion and subversion of Hindu scripture alongside attempts at subtle religious indoctrination, it was documented as a religiously motivated hate incident in the tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred, not when it was reported or published in the media. In this case, the exact date when the video was recorded was not specified in the available sources. Therefore, 4th May 2026, the date on which the incident went viral, was used as the indicative incident date for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
