Minor Hindu children being brainwashed to accept Christianity by denigrating Sanatan Dharma
Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India 
22 February, 2025
Case Summary
A case of religious conversion has surfaced in the Mill Area police station jurisdiction of Raebareli, leading to the arrest of two individuals. A prayer centre, reportedly linked to Christian missionaries, had been established in the Sandi Nagin area. Local sources claim that around 50-60 children were brought to the site daily, where they were allegedly influenced against Sanatan Dharma and told that Christianity was superior. Acting on information from Hindu organisations, the police conducted a raid, uncovering that children were being taught about Christianity in separate rooms within the prayer centre. Two individuals, Vijay Singh and a woman named Sandhya, were detained from the scene.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the first category selected 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. The second sub-category relevant here is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination and within this, the tertiary category selected is- Conversion of minor. 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. Here, the Christian missionaries attempted to convert Hindu children by denigrating Sanatan Dharma to convince the kids that Christianity was superior. The accused's actions aimed to undermine the religious beliefs of the targeted children by portraying their faith as inferior. By doing this, the pastor not only disrespected Hinduism but also attempted to erode the religious identity of the children involved. This is an intentional act of religious discrimination, aimed at diminishing the value of another faith. Further, it is evident from the details that the Hindu victims were children, which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when they are employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation in schools. Since the underlying offence in this case is against children of a specific faith and involves subtle tactics of indoctrination, which obviously stems from a bias against the Hindu faith, this case has been documented as a hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
60
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 60
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 60
Age Group
- Minor 60
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
