Hindu tribal families converted under the guise of miraculous cures by Christian missionaries in Bastar, Chhatisgarh
Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India 
26 December, 2025
Case Summary
In the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, Hindu tribal families were converted to Christianity by Christian missionaries under the guise of miraculous cures for serious illnesses and through enforced attendance at missionary prayer meetings. As per the reports, Christian missionaries were operating within the interior villages of Bastar, Chhattisgarh, to convert local tribal populations to Christianity. They conducted prayer meetings inside villages and coerced Hindu tribal families to attend these gatherings by promising miraculous benefits. During these meetings, assurances were given that serious illnesses could be cured through prayer. The missionaries also spread misinformation about Hindu gods and goddesses, leading families to abandon their traditional Hindu religious practices and accept Christianity. They further claimed the ability to cure incurable diseases through prayer and made concerted efforts to convert people using financial inducements. The conversion of Hindu tribal families continued until these activities became publicly known. Upon receiving information about these conversion activities, local tribal experts in traditional medicinal practices, including Sirha-Guniya and Gayta-Perma Vaidyas, formed an organisation. Members of this organisation raised awareness among villagers about the missionaries’ conversion tactics. Through the efforts of the Hindu organisation, around ten families who had been converted by the missionaries returned to the Hindu faith. This initiative, led by Farsaguda resident Premsagar Pant, involved holding anti-conversion meetings in villages and persuading people to preserve tribal traditions that have existed for centuries.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. Three sub-categories were selected under it, the first is: 'Conversion /Attempt to convert through 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 second sub-category is 'Attempting to convert 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 third sub-category selected under it is- 'Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Further, the tertiary category under it 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. This incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime because Hindu tribal families were deliberately targeted on the basis of their Hindu religious identity, with the explicit aim of severing them from their ancestral faith. The activities were not random or voluntary expressions of belief change, but structured and sustained efforts by Christian missionaries to interfere with Hindu religious life in remote tribal villages of Bastar. The focus on Hindu households, repeated engagement through prayer meetings, and use of religious messaging aimed at replacing Hindu belief systems demonstrate intentional religious targeting. A key element of this persecution was the denigration and delegitimisation of Hindu deities and belief systems. Missionaries spread misinformation about Hindu gods and goddesses, portraying them as powerless or ineffective, particularly in the context of illness and suffering. In Hinduism, deities are not abstract concepts but living centres of devotion, deeply integrated into daily life, healing traditions, and community rituals. For tribal Hindus, faith is inseparable from cultural identity, land, and ancestry. Mocking or discrediting these deities in order to induce conversion is not a theological debate but an attack on the sacred foundations of the faith itself. Such denigration functions as psychological coercion by undermining confidence in one’s religion and portraying abandonment of Hindu worship as necessary for survival or well-being. The exploitation of economic and social vulnerability further establishes the hate-driven nature of this case. The targeted families lived in remote areas with limited access to formal healthcare, education, and employment opportunities. Missionaries leveraged this deprivation by offering inducements such as promises of miraculous healing, financial assistance, and material benefits. In contexts of poverty and illness, such inducements do not represent free choice. They operate as pressure mechanisms that force individuals to weigh religious loyalty against basic survival needs. Targeting disadvantaged Hindu tribals in this manner transforms aid into a tool of religious domination rather than genuine welfare. The repeated prayer meetings and insistence on attendance reveal a pattern of grooming and psychological manipulation rather than informed consent. Families were gradually drawn into missionary spaces where Hindu practices were discouraged, Christian doctrine was normalised, and emotional dependency was cultivated through claims of divine intervention. This slow and sustained process worked to replace indigenous belief systems with a new religious identity by eroding resistance over time. Such methods rely on repetition, authority projection, fear of divine punishment, and promises of salvation, all of which constitute subtle indoctrination rather than voluntary spiritual exploration. The organised nature of the missionary presence, combined with deception, inducements, and sustained psychological pressure, demonstrates that the objective was not individual spiritual inquiry but systematic religious replacement. The fact that local Hindu tribal healers and community leaders had to intervene to reverse these conversions further confirms that the original conversions were not rooted in free will. The return of multiple families to Hinduism after awareness efforts indicates that the conversions occurred under conditions of manipulation and coercion. Taken together, the denigration of Hindu deities, exploitation of poverty and illness, use of inducements, and sustained grooming through religious pressure establish this incident as a clear case of religious persecution. It reflects a broader pattern in which Hindu tribal communities are targeted precisely because of their vulnerability and strong indigenous faith traditions, making this not merely a conversion dispute but a hate-driven attempt to erase Hindu religious identity from a marginalised population. Disclaimer: The details of this case reveal that a significant number of Hindu tribal families were converted to Christianity by the accused missionaries. Since the media report does not provide the exact number of families affected, Hinduphobia Tracker has conservatively recorded ten families as a reference for the database, representing those who have returned to their original faith. For clarity, we have relied on the most recent Indian census data, which indicates that the average family size in India is approximately 4.8 members per household. To ensure a standardised estimation, we have opted to consider an average of 5 members per family. Based on this approach, the estimated total number of victims in this case is calculated as 50 individuals. The media report does not mention the exact dates of the conversion activities; therefore, Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of reporting as the reference date for this incident.
Victim Details
Total Victim
50
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 50
Caste
- SC/ST 50
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 50
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
