Hindu deities insulted as Hindu men, women and children targeted in Christian conversion drive
Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
14 October, 2024
Case Summary
In Faizabad, Kotwali police, three Christian missionaries attempted to convert Hindus by providing inducements. The accused made derogatory remarks about Hindu deities. According to the complaint, Ramjivan and his friend Ravindra Tiwari were at a tea stall near Khajurhat crossroads after purchasing household goods. While they were discussing personal ailments and difficulties, Motilal Paswan approached them and assured them that all their problems would be resolved if they attended a prayer meeting of Lord Jesus Christ. When Ramjivan went to the meeting hall, he found Meera Kumari and Dilip Kumar present along with 20–25 Hindu men, women, and children. During the gathering, the missionaries urged the attendees to abandon their faith, made insulting remarks about Hindu gods, and administered an oath to accept Christianity. Inspector in-charge Lalchand Saroj stated that a case has been registered under Section 131 of the Code of Justice and Sections 3/5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Police seized Bibles, Christian literature, a dholak, sound equipment, a podium stand, microphones, musical instruments, and other items from the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. The sub-category relevant in 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. The other sub-category relevant 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. The other sub-category relevant is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, and the tertiary category selected is - Conversion of minor. 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. In this case, the perpetrators targeted Hindu individuals, approaching them during casual conversation and offering a path to resolve personal troubles through participation in a Christian prayer meeting. Such inducement—linking relief from suffering to religious conversion—exploits personal and emotional vulnerabilities. While no direct financial transaction was recorded, the core element of inducement is present: the promise of tangible benefits (health improvement, end to troubles) contingent on abandoning one’s faith. Since the religious identity of the victims is central to the inducement and the objective was to remove them from the Hindu faith, the offence directly attacks the community’s religious continuity and is therefore classified as a hate crime against Hindus. During the meeting, the accused openly insulted Hindu deities and urged the assembled Hindus—men, women, and children—to renounce their religion. The act of denigrating the Hindu faith is an expression of hostility towards the community’s spiritual identity. It aims to create a sense of shame or inferiority in the victim regarding their faith, thereby making them more receptive to conversion. This is not merely a matter of religious persuasion but an act rooted in animosity towards Hinduism, as it uses abuse and false representation of Hindu beliefs to destabilise the victim’s faith. Such targeted degradation of a religion, when tied to a conversion effort, meets the criteria of a religiously motivated hate crime. It is also crucial to emphasise that the victims also included two minor children. This means that any notion of consent or genuine change of conscience was absent from the outset. Minors, due to their age and lack of maturity, are especially vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not fully understand the implications of converting to another religion. In this case, the Christian perpetrators exploited this vulnerability of the Hindu children to further religious conversion, highlighting the religious motivation behind the crime. Hence, this case is added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the conversion activity occurred. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
