14 Christian evangelists, including a minor, force Hindus to convert to Christianity by luring with money, abuse Hindu Gods and call them ‘beggars’
Pune, Maharashtra, India 
15 January, 2023
Case Summary
In Pune, Maharashtra, a case of forced religious conversion came to the fore where 14 Christian evangelists, including three women and a minor, have been accused of forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. In the complaint, the Hindu victim confirmed that the accused forced him and his family members to convert their religion to Christianity by offering them money. The accused also abused the Hindu Gods and called them ‘beggars’. Later, the police confirmed that the 14 accused persons were luring Hindus with money and asking them to convert their religion to Christianity.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two sub-categories of Predatory Proselytisation because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and his deliberate attempt to alienate the victim from his Hindu identity. The first sub-category under 'Predatory Proselytisation' relevant in this case is attempting 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. In this case, the accused tried to lure the Hindu victims by offering them financial aid. Villagers, for whom providing two square meals to their family also becomes a challenge sometimes because of their humble background, education and lack of opportunities, usually get lured by such juicy inducements. 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. The second sub-category under 'Predatory Proselytisation' relevant in this case 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. In this case, the Christian evangelists attempted to convert the Hindu victims by insulting the Hindu faith. By abusing Hindu gods, they attempted to convince the victims that Islam was a superior religion to Hinduism. Since these conversions are motivated by hatred for Hinduism, they are classified as hate crimes with a religious motive. The second prime category under which this case has been placed is- Hate speech against Hindus and within this, the sub-category selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. The accused Christian evangelists, in the process of targeting the Hindu family, abused Hindu deities and referred to them as "beggars," demonstrating clear disdain and disrespect for Hindu beliefs and practices. Such derogatory remarks constitute hate speech as they mock and demean the religious sentiments of Hindus. This behaviour not only reveals deep animosity toward the Hindu faith but also highlights the intolerance and hostility embedded in coercive proselytisation tactics. Since the motivating factor of the crime was the religious identity of the victims and the intention of disenfranchising them from it, the case has been added to the database.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
