Fourty Hindu tribals converted to Christianity through monetary inducements

Case ID : 90a080f | Location : Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 14 February, 2025

Case ID : 90a080f

Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, India

14 February, 2025

Fourty Hindu tribals converted to Christianity through monetary inducements

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Ramgarh, Madhya Pradesh, 40 Hindu tribal villagers were converted to Christianity by offering them money. BJP MLA Rajesh Shukla, SDM and police team contacted the villagers in Ramgarh. The locals stated that the Christian missionaries were active in Damoh and Chattarpur and that they were spreading their wings in other districts as well. It was also revealed that Christian missionaries were converting Hindus by offering them money. BJP MLA Rajesh Shukla called for a meeting of tribal Hindus to stop Christian Conversions in the area.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Under 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. In this case, the Christian extremists were offering money to vulnerable individuals in an attempt to disenfranchise them from their professed faith and convert them to Christianity. Luring people to convert to a different faith by offering money and inducements such as miracle cures for ailments is predatory in nature since the extremists manipulate the specific vulnerabilities of the disadvantaged and the poor to manipulate them into conversion. This stems from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is a subject to be dehumanised till they convert. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the victim's faith, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime.