Hindu family forced to convert religion in Christian dominated village

Case Summary
A family in Amkuli village, Sisai police station area, faced pressure to convert from their religion and threats of expulsion from the village. The Lohara family, who had been living on non-cultivated land in the Christian-dominated village for 50-60 years, reported being socially boycotted and harassed. The conflict also involved a land dispute. Sudhaman Lohara, a family member, stated that tensions began eight years ago when he rejected persistent requests from his former friend, Jual Tete, to convert. On January 10, Jual Tete, along with Thomas Tete, Praveen Tete, and Lothe Bhagat, demolished Sudhaman’s chicken shed, which was on the same land as his PM Awas Yojana house. Following the incident, the village panchayat imposed a fine of ₹10,000 for anyone contacting the family. During a Gram Sabha meeting on January 20, Sudhaman was reportedly forced to sign a document agreeing to conversion, with threats of eviction if he refused. Sudhaman stated that his family, who lived peacefully in their ancestral home, was targeted by individuals trying to seize their land. He alleged continued harassment, including death threats, the destruction of his property, and social ostracism. In response, he sought protection and legal intervention, submitting an application to the Deputy Commissioner of Gumla on January 22. Police station in-charge Santosh Kumar Singh confirmed that the issue involved both religious conversion pressure and a land dispute. Sisai CO Nitesh Roshan Khalkho and Singh visited the village to investigate, and a report was being prepared for the Deputy Commissioner.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the category of- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. In this subcategory, we would only include cases where the victim was harassed, threatened or coerced to convert. Cases where attempts were made to convert but the victim resisted would be documented in another sub-category. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. In this case, there was evident use of coercion and threats to force the Lohara family to abandon their Hindu faith. The relentless pressure to convert, coupled with the destruction of property, social ostracism, and explicit threats of eviction from their ancestral home, are clear indicators of a targeted campaign of religious intimidation. The forced signing of a conversion document further underscores the deliberate and hostile attempt to undermine their religious identity. Further, the pressure and threats applied to the Lohara family—compelling them to either convert to Christianity or face expulsion—are emblematic of a broader pattern where non-Hindu residents exert dominance to push out Hindus. This tactic often seeks to either force religious conversion or drive out the Hindu population, with the ultimate aim of creating an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances of harassment or threats to the Hindu residents explicitly, which is also seen in this case. It is important to mention that the underlying motivation behind predatory proselytisation itself is rooted in animosity toward the victim's professed faith and in this case, the pressure exerted to forcefully convert the Hindu family involved acts of violence and threats, highlighting the perpetrators' hostility towards the religious identity of the victim. The central aim of the perpetrators was to disenfranchise the Hindu family from their faith, stripping them of their religious freedom and identity. As the core motivation driving these actions is based on religion, this case has been classified as a hate crime and added to the tracker.

Case Status
Complaint registered

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown