Forced conversion and Love Jihad in Government School in Rajasthan
Kota, Rajasthan, India 
20 February, 2024
Case Summary
Two teachers at Khajuri Government Higher Secondary School in Kota district, Rajasthan, were suspended and an inquiry was initiated against the third, for their roles in religious conversion and love jihad conspiracies, and ties with banned jihadi outfits. The incident came to light during State Education Minister Madan Dilawar's visit after Sarva Hindu Samaj brought it to his attention on February 21, 2024. The allegations levelled by the residents of Khajuri included forcing Hindu female students to offer Namaz and convert to Islam. The activities were reportedly linked to banned organizations like Popular Front of India (PFI) and Dawat-e-Islami. Teachers Firoz Khan and Mirza Mujahideen were suspended, and Shabana was attached to headquarters. Madan Dilawar confirmed the incident and initiated an investigation.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the tracker because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and their deliberate attempt to alienate the victims from their Hindu identity. Because of the case's specifics, we have first put this case under the prime category: Predatory Proselytisation and to narrow down the search further we have chosen the sub-category 'harassment, threat and coercion for conversion' under this first core category of predatory proselytisation. 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. In this subcategory, we would only include cases where the victim was harassed, threatened or coerced to convert. Cases where attempts were made to convert but the victim resisted would be documented in another sub-category. 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. Further, as per the details, this case has been placed under another prime category of 'terrorism' and to narrow down the search results further, we have chosen the sub-category of disseminating terror org propaganda under terrorism. The specific actions described in this case—forcing Hindu female students to offer Namaz and attempting to convert them to Islam—clearly indicate a pattern of religious coercion. Such activities represent a deliberate attempt to influence vulnerable individuals, particularly minors, to change their religious beliefs through undue pressure and manipulation. The details of this case reveal that the Hindu victims were minors, indicating a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. 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 employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime. For this reason, this case has been added to the tracker.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
