Tribals and Hindu villagers lured by Christians to convert to Christianity

Case ID : 90a0646 | Location : Betul, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 23 January, 2025
Case ID : 90a0646
location Betul, Madhya Pradesh, India
date 23 January, 2025
Tribals and Hindu villagers lured by Christians to convert to Christianity
Predatory Proselytisation
Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Bhainsghat village of Madhya Pradesh, innocent tribals and Hindu villagers were lured by two Christians to convert to Christianity. The Christians lured the villagers to convert by promising to provide education, jobs, and medical treatment. A man named Ramprasad Dhadse had complained to the police. He said that the people of Christian missionaries had converted him by luring him a year ago and Ramprasad had also complained to the police about a prayer meeting being held in the village. The police reached the spot on Ramprasad's complaint and found that a person named Saybu Thackeray, a resident of Betul was luring 20-25 people to adopt Christianity by organising prayer meetings in a house in the village. The police immediately arrested two Christians from the spot and were sent to jail. According to the complainant, the people of Christian missionaries had lured him with a good education for children, better treatment, and jobs and motivated him to adopt Christianity and participate in prayer meetings. Christian missionaries came to the village and lured innocent villagers to convert to Christianity. Hindu organisations also came forward in this case and got the bail of the accused cancelled through a lawyer. Police had registered a case against two people under the MP Religious Freedom Act and presented them in the court, from where the accused have been sent to jail.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory proselytisation. Within this, the sub-category selected 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. Here, some Christian evangelists attempted to convert Hindus through inducements, such as good education for children, better treatment, and jobs. The use of inducements to convert individuals is indeed a common tactic in efforts to influence or manipulate vulnerable individuals into changing their faith. This approach often targets economically disadvantaged groups, offering material benefits such as food, money, or livestock in exchange for conversion. It creates a form of dependency that can alienate individuals from their original faith, as they may feel compelled to convert not out of genuine belief but due to immediate needs or financial pressures. Further, youngsters, in search of a secure job and a comfortable life, usually get lured by such juicy inducements and agree to give up their faith. Here too, the Christian evangelists adopted a similar tactic of exploiting the vulnerability of the Hindus to convert them to Christianity. 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. Disclaimer: The details of this case reveal that many families were lured into conversion. However, since one individual confirmed the allegation of conversion and based on his complaint the police discovered that the accused had lured 20-25 people to adopt Christianity, we have conservatively recorded the victim count as 26 in the database for accuracy and consistency.

Victim Details

Total Victim

26

Deceased

0


Gender

  • Male 0
  • Female 0
  • Third Gender 0
  • Unknown 26

Caste

  • SC/ST 0
  • OBC 0
  • General 0
  • Unknown 26

Age Group

  • Minor 0
  • Adult 0
  • Senior Citizen 0
  • Unknown 26
Case Status Background
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Case Status


Perpetrator held guilty by court

Case Status Background
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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Christian Extremists

Perpetrators Range


From 2 To 5

Perpetrators Gender


male

Case Details SVG
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