Dalit Hindus lured with inducements by Christian missionaries for conversion in Uttar Pradesh
Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Kudwar, in the Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, Dalit Hindus were lured to convert to Christianity in a prayer meeting. They were offered various incentives to convert. According to media reports, the Christian prayer meeting was organised in the Babhangawa village, Kudwar. A Christian pastor and several other missionary members were involved in carrying out the conversions. They sought to induce Hindus to discard their faith and adopt Christianity. In this meeting, the missionaries enticed members of poor Dalit Hindu communities to convert by giving them various incentives. Following this, the police were informed about the incident, and the Kudwar police swiftly reached the spot. However, those conducting the conversion activities became aware of the police’s impending arrival, and they fled the scene in advance. By the time police arrived, the accused had absconded from the spot. The officers found a significant number of people at the location, but the crowd dispersed when they saw the police. Upon investigation, the police learned that a local resident, Ram Achal Kori, had converted to Christianity and subsequently began persuading other Hindu villagers to convert by introducing them to Christian missionaries. Inspector-in-charge Amit Kumar Mishra stated that the police arrived promptly upon receiving the information, but found no one present at the site. He confirmed that the matter was under investigation. He also assured that appropriate action would be taken against the culprits once they were identified.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducements. 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. The other sub-category selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is- Pattern of targeting Hindus. 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. In this case, the Dalit Hindu victims were targeted by Christian missionaries and were offered various incentives to adopt Christianity. The nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicate a targeted attack against Hindus due to their religious identity. When Christian missionary groups focus their efforts on converting people of a particular religion, in this case, Hindus, then it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for that faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion, is not simply about sharing a different belief system. It is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the Christian missionaries specifically targeted Hindus for conversion, which suggests a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are carried out to strip Hindus of their faith, making it a clear example of religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, the act of offering several incentives to encourage conversion shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements to Hindus to change their faith, the Christian perpetrators were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance. Such instances are seen in several cases where members of Christian missionary groups target socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforces Christianity on them. These are not random or isolated incidents; rather, they are premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard Hinduism, and convert to Christianity. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hinduism and its adherents, making it a religiously motivated crime. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the adherents of the Hindu faith since the Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. This makes it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Since this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated attack against Hindus and their faith, it is being added to the hate crime database. The conversion attempt relied on brainwashing tactics, where vulnerable Dalit Hindus were drawn into prayer meetings through inducements. Repeated brainwashing created pressure to abandon their beliefs—not by informed choice, but through psychological coercion. A clear pattern is also visible in how conversions are orchestrated. Typically, a local Hindu—often from the same community—is converted first and then used as a trusted intermediary to reach others. In this case, Ram Achal Kori, after converting to Christianity, began persuading fellow Hindu villagers to attend missionary gatherings. His familiarity with the social dynamics of the village allowed him to convince others more easily. These ground-level operatives organise regular prayer meetings in remote or private locations, draw people, and act as links between missionaries and the target communities. This recurring structure—using local converts, inducements, and religious disinformation—is part of a well-established strategy to convert economically and socially vulnerable Hindus. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify the total number of Christian perpetrators. However, they do highlight a Christian pastor and an accused named Ram Achal Kori. Therefore, for documentation, we are using a conservative estimate and recording the number of perpetrators as '2'.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
