Hindu students pressured to convert to Christianity; lured through friendship, financial help by Christian groups
Central Delhi, Delhi, India 
26 August, 2026
Case Summary
At Delhi University, Hindu students were pressured to convert to Christianity through friendship, offers of financial and academic assistance, regular Sunday gatherings, Christian teachings, movies, meals, and prayer sessions. According to a Hindu student, the process began when people met students around the Arts Faculty and other university areas and developed friendships with them. They asked about the students’ personal and academic difficulties and offered to help, saying, “No problem, kid, we are here to help you.” The students were initially offered assistance with academic issues and other problems. The students were then invited to Sunday gatherings, where Christian religious activities were gradually introduced. The programmes were also held regularly on Sundays and holidays. According to the student, movies were shown, lunch and dinner were provided, and prayer sessions were gradually held in which Christian teachings, faith, and rules were introduced to students. The student said that students were not directly asked to convert during their first interaction. Instead, they were gradually exposed to Christian teachings and then some were eventually encouraged and pressured to convert. He further confirmed that those encouraging conversion said that Christianity could provide solutions to students’ problems, while highlighting the religion’s “superiority” and the sense of community among its followers. When asked about specific incentives such as assistance with PhD admissions, the student said that he had not personally encountered such an offer. However, he stated that financial assistance and academic support were promised, including help with financial needs and academic difficulties. The student stated that those who did not convert were not directly punished. However, he added that students who had already converted put pressure on other students by linking their personal problems to their religious beliefs. He further said that several other students attended the gatherings and that foreign nationals were present. The nationality of those attending varied depending on the group organising the gathering. When students went with a Korean group, Korean Christians were present; when they went with an American Christian group, American Christians were present.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is: Conversion/attempts to convert by inducements. 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. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu students were targeted for conversion to Christianity through friendship, financial and academic assistance, Sunday gatherings, meals, movies, prayer sessions, and gradual pressure to convert. The central religious element in this incident was the effort to persuade Hindu students to abandon their existing faith and embrace Christianity. The process involved manipulation, inducements and sustained pressure, rather than a genuinely free and informed choice. What began as a gradual process ultimately escalated into direct pressure on the students to convert. The Hindu student confirmed that the individuals first cultivated a friendship with them before introducing religious teachings. In this way, friendship and interpersonal trust became the entry point for a religious conversion effort. The students were not initially approached transparently about the purpose of these interactions, allowing the relationship to be used to gradually influence their religious beliefs and create a pathway towards proselytisation. After trust had been established, inducements were introduced as leverage to encourage the students to reconsider their existing faith and move towards conversion. The benefits offered were used to influence their religious choices, turning the trust developed through the friendship into a means of exerting pressure to convert. Such actions are in themselves predatory in nature since the extremists manipulate the specific vulnerabilities of disadvantaged and poor Hindus to manipulate them into conversion. Apart from offering inducements, the accused tried to convince the Hindu students that Christianity was superior. These actions aimed to undermine the religious beliefs of the targeted individuals by portraying their faith as inferior. By emphasising Christianity's superiority, the accused not only disrespected Hinduism but also attempted to erode the religious identity of the Hindu students involved. These actions of the accused stemmed from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. This mindset does not merely tolerate the existence of another faith but seeks its erasure or assimilation. As a result, Hindus are often targeted not because of who they are as individuals, but because of their religious identity. The violence, deception, or humiliation inflicted in such cases is therefore not random, but part of a broader ideological hostility toward Hinduism and its symbols, practices, and adherents. Here, too, the predatory actions stemmed from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith, which is why this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
