200 Hindus forced to convert to Christianity under the guise of prayer meeting

Case ID : 5954980 | Location : Garhwa, Jharkhand, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 14 October, 2024

Case ID : 5954980

Garhwa, Jharkhand, India

14 October, 2024

200 Hindus forced to convert to Christianity under the guise of prayer meeting

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Mangrahi village of Ramkanda police station area in Jharkhand's Garhwa district, villagers accused some Christian evangelists of promoting conversion to Christianity under the pretence of a prayer meeting. Uttam Pandey, a representative of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, stated that they received information about religious conversion attempts. People linked to the Christian community were trying to convert 200 innocent, poor villagers to Christianity, he said.

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. 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. 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.