Hindu nursing student faces harassment, expulsion for resisting religious conversion at missionary college

Case ID : 90a0c57 | Location : Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 31 March, 2024

Case ID : 90a0c57

Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, India

31 March, 2024

Hindu nursing student faces harassment, expulsion for resisting religious conversion at missionary college

Predatory Proselytisation

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Case Summary

A student from Holy Cross Nursing College in Kunkuri town situated in the Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, has accused her college administration of coercion and harassment linked to religious conversion. According to her formal complaint submitted to the Jashpur Collector, the student—a final-year nursing student—stated that around three months after she joined the college, the principal, Sister Vincy Joseph, began pressuring her to convert to Christianity and take up the path of becoming a nun. Upon her repeated refusal, the student stated she was subjected to mental harassment and institutional discrimination. She further said that on April 1, 2024, she was forcefully evicted from the college hostel and prohibited from entering the campus. The administration tried to sabotage her academic progress by attempting to exclude her from classes and block her participation in the annual examination. It was only after she threatened to approach higher authorities that she was allowed to sit for the written exam, although the college management reportedly continued efforts to bar her from the practicals. The student formally submitted a memorandum seeking strict action against the college authorities and has also filed a copy of her complaint with ASP Shashi Mohan Singh. In response, Karnail Singh, the district head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, condemned the incident, expressing the collective outrage of the Hindu community over the coercion to convert. He demanded immediate action from the district administration, calling for the closure of the institution and stringent legal proceedings against those responsible.

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- Harassment, threat, 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. 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. This case has been added to the tracker due to the college principal’s deliberate and manipulative misuse of authority to pressure a Hindu student into religious conversion. The principal, Sister Vincy Joseph, used her influential position within the institution to repeatedly coerce the student into abandoning her Hindu faith and converting to Christianity, even urging her to become a nun. When the student refused, she was subjected to sustained mental harassment, discriminatory treatment, and was eventually expelled from the hostel and barred from attending college activities, including her examinations. Such behaviour is a blatant violation of the student’s fundamental rights, particularly her right to religious freedom and education without discrimination. It reveals how individuals in positions of power can exploit vulnerable students to push religious conversion agendas through intimidation and exclusion. The deliberate targeting of the student on the basis of her Hindu identity and the attempt to erase her religious affiliation points to a deeper animosity against Hindu beliefs. Given the clearly religious nature of the coercion and harassment, as well as the intent to suppress and convert the student by forceful means, this case constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime. The motive—rooted in religious prejudice against Hindus—is evident and warrants its inclusion in the tracker.