Hindus lured to convert to Christianity under pretext of curing diseases and indoctrinated with Christian religious texts
Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
30 March, 2024
Case Summary
In Kammarpur village of Khuthan police station area in Jaunpur, Hindus were lured to convert to Christianity under the pretext of curing diseases. The Hindu victims were also subjected to indoctrination by the use of Christian religious texts. According to media reports, every Sunday, a Christian prayer meeting was held at the house of a man named Monu Gautam, a resident of the same village. In this Christian meeting, Hindus were told that if they regularly attended the prayer meetings, they would be able to cure their diseases. This conversion effort was exposed by the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu organisation. The Bajrang Dal workers reached the spot where the conversions were taking place. Following this, they informed the police about the incident. Bajrang Dal stated that Hindu locals were misled and converted to Christianity during the prayer meeting. Subsequently, the police reached the spot and arrested three Christians and recovered religious books and other material from the spot. These religious materials were used to indoctrinate Hindu victims into adopting Christianity. Even CO Shahganj Ajit Singh Chauhan stated that in the Christian prayer meeting, it was stated that incurable diseases could be cured by attending the prayer meeting. By making such claims in front of people, superstition was promoted.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- 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. The other subcategory selected in this case is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected in this case 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. In this case, the Hindu victims were lured with the promise of a cure from diseases if they attended the Christian prayer meetings. Even Christian religious literature, texts and other materials were used to brainwash the Hindu victims into conversion. The nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicate a targeted action against Hindus as a collectivity. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, in this case, Hindus, then it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not simply about sharing a different belief system. It is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the Christian perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus, which suggests a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are clear instances of a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus. The Christian perpetrators offered inducements to Hindus, stating that attending Christian prayer meetings would cure their diseases. This constituted coercion, exploiting vulnerable Hindu individuals by using false promises to lure them to convert to Christianity. Such manipulation of innocent Hindus to attend prayer meetings with the aim of converting them demonstrated clear religious animosity. The use of health-related inducements to attract Hindus was a deliberate tactic to exploit the vulnerability of the Hindu victims and advance the agenda of conversions, making it a religiously motivated crime. The Christian perpetrators were also actively attempting to indoctrinate the Hindus by using Christian religious texts, literature and other materials. Using the scriptures or literature of one faith to deliberately target and manipulate members of another, with the clear intention of religious conversion, represents a direct attack on the Hindu faith. Such actions are designed to violate and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their identity. Such actions further demonstrate that this was not an isolated incident of evangelism, but rather part of a broader, organised operation to further religious conversions. Such acts are done to exploit trust, sow doubt, and misrepresent the beliefs of Hindus. Therefore, it constitutes a religiously motivated offence. Reports also stated that the Christian perpetrators organised such a prayer meeting every Sunday. This demonstrates a persistent pattern of targeting Hindus, luring them with incentives and subjecting them to psychological manipulation and indoctrination by use of Christian texts. This serves as a stark example of a religiously motivated crime. Such actions are aimed at undermining the religious and cultural identity of Hindus through coercion, manipulation, and unlawful means. Such incidents highlighted that the conversions were neither isolated nor accidental but formed part of a calculated and targeted strategy to convert Hindus to Christianity. By focusing specifically on Hindus, these Christian evangelists were profiling vulnerable individuals and working systematically to erase their Hindu identity. The repeated nature of these actions revealed a deliberate intent to disrupt the cultural fabric and faith of the Hindu community, leaving the victims exposed to ongoing pressure and exploitation. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the Hindu victims' professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
