Tribal Hindu villagers coerced into conversion during Changai Sabha gatherings; threatened with seizure of ancestral property upon refusal
Ramanuj Ganj, Chhattisgarh, India 
8 September, 2024
Case Summary
In the Pashupatipur village of Balrampur district, Chhattisgarh, tribal Hindu villagers, belonging to the Kodaku community, were harassed and pressurised for religious conversion by a Christian family. According to the memorandum submitted by the villagers, the accused family converted to Christianity a few years ago and was now pressuring other Hindu villagers to follow suit. The villagers stated that they were threatened that their ancestral land would be taken away if they refused to convert. Villagers also revealed that the accused, identified as Dev Sai, had encroached upon government land to erect an unauthorised church, and that he regularly conducted Changai Sabha (healing meetings) on the site. During one such gathering the previous year, Dev Sai, along with Bharat Yadav, attempted to lure the Hindu villagers into conversion by promising cures for illness if they embraced Christianity. The villagers submitted a memorandum in this regard, stressing that they did not wish to convert to any other faith, as their ancestors were Hindus. They demanded strict action against the accused. Following the complaint, officials initiated an inquiry into the matter. It is important to note that the Kodaku community is classified as a backwards community and holds Scheduled Tribe status in the state of Chhattisgarh.
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- Harassment, threats, 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. The other subcategory 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary categories being - 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. This case has been added to the tracker because tribal Hindu villagers of the Kodaku community were harassed and pressurised for religious conversion by a Christian family. This incident is a clear example of a hate crime because it involved the targeted harassment and intimidation of Hindu villagers simply because they were Hindu. The accused threatened to take away their ancestral land if they refused to convert and tried to lure them during the Changai Sabha by promising cures for illnesses. Forcing individuals to abandon their faith through threats and psychological manipulation is a deeply malicious act. In this case, vulnerable Hindus were deliberately targeted through fear and coercion; tactics aimed at breaking their spiritual will and pressuring them into abandoning their religion. Such behaviour stemmed from a deep-rooted hostility towards Hindu beliefs, creating an environment where Hindus were made to feel unsafe, unwelcome, and devalued purely because of their religious identity. Furthermore, the accused regularly conducted healing meetings and attempted to lure the Hindu villagers into conversion by promising cures for illnesses if they embraced Christianity. Offering incentives or making false healing promises, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, shows that these incentives were not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they were calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By promising healing in exchange for conversion, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Such instances are seen in many 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 people of their agency and dignity, and results in coerced conversions. The systematic and persistent targeting of socially and economically vulnerable Hindus showed that these conversions were neither accidental nor voluntary but the result of sustained psychological manipulation and coercion. These were not random or isolated incidents but formed part of a calculated and targeted strategy to convert Hindus to Christianity. By focusing specifically on Hindus, the accused were profiling vulnerable individuals and working systematically to erase their Hindu identity. The repeated nature of these actions revealed a deliberate intent to disrupt the cultural fabric and faith of the community, leaving the victims exposed to ongoing pressure and exploitation. The Christian faith, in its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure to inducements and false healing promises. In such cases, Christian missionary groups often target and brainwash socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. These are not random or isolated efforts, but rather premeditated attempts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own religion, and convert to Christianity. Such acts were deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, and thus, this case was added to the tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when the victim’s ordeal began and not when it was reported. In this case, the report does not specify exactly when the accused first targeted the victims, although it does mention that a Changai Sabha was conducted last year, where Hindus were pressured to convert. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the date of the incident has been recorded as September 9, 2024, exactly a year prior to when it was reported in the media.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
