Tribal Hindu families coerced for religious conversion under the guise of medical treatment by Christian evangelists

Case ID : b1c5baa | Location : Kanker, Chhattisgarh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 27 September, 2020

Case ID : b1c5baa

Kanker, Chhattisgarh, India

27 September, 2020

Tribal Hindu families coerced for religious conversion under the guise of medical treatment by Christian evangelists

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Pattern of targeting Hindus

Case Summary

In the Botechang village of Kanker district, Chhattisgarh, three tribal Hindu families were converted to Christianity under the guise of medical treatment by Christian evangelists. The Hindu families that were converted to Christianity four to five years ago returned to their original religion, Sanatan Dharma / Hinduism. The families were coerced into converting to Christianity under the pretext of medical treatment, but over time, they realised that their true identity and spiritual fulfilment lay in their ancestral faith. One of the victims, Narendra Kumar Madavi, stated that during his father's illness in 2020-21, he was pressured to convert to Christianity under the lure of medical treatment. He was told not to worship Hindu deities or accept prasad/food from other Hindu families. Other families were also converted in a similar way. Gradually, these families realised that staying true to their cultural and religious identity was the right path; thus, they decided to return to Hinduism. Their return was marked by a grand ceremony on 28 September 2025, during which villagers welcomed them with great fanfare. Traditional rituals were performed, including the presentation of a turban and the washing of their feet, symbolising respect and reintegration into the Hindu community. The families publicly worshipped their family deities as part of the ceremony, signalling a reaffirmation of their cultural and religious roots. Village elders emphasised that conversion threatened the unity and traditions of society, and they assured that the returning families would now be fully accepted as part of the community A resolution was passed in Botechang village to ban conversion activities under the PESA Act of 1996 and the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, and a notice board was installed declaring that Christian missionary activities were prohibited.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category 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 - 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 sub-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. 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 other sub-category selected here is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category 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 families were converted to Christianity under the guise of medical treatment by Christian evangelists. One of the victims stated that during his father's illness in 2020–21, he was pressured into converting to Christianity under the lure of medical treatment. Offering incentives or making false 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 providing inducements or promising healing in exchange for conversion, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Such instances are common 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. These were not random or isolated incidents, but cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. Furthermore, the victim was told not to worship Hindu deities or accept prasad/food from other Hindu families. Through this tactic, he was essentially isolated from his Hindu cultural roots and was coerced into converting to Christianity. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard his religious faith and embrace another is a direct attack on his religious identity and dignity. It is not a matter of personal choice; it is coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflected religious animosity because the act was not simply about personal differences, but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicated a targeted action against Hindus as a collectivity. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, in this case Hindus, it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, 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 perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus, which demonstrated a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions were carried out to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The Christian faith, by 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 and misinformation to inducements such as money or jobs. These tactics were designed not as acts of charity but as tools to engineer religious change under the guise of social upliftment, particularly among vulnerable and underprivileged communities. These were not random or isolated incidents, but rather premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own faith, 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: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though one of the victims mentioned that he was converted in 2020-21. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—September 28, 2020—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of his suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on October 2, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported. Disclaimer: In this case, it is mentioned that members of 3 families were converted to Christianity. However, the exact number of individuals involved in the conversion is not specified. Due to this lack of clarity, we have relied on the most recent Indian census data, which indicates that the average family size in India is approximately 4.8 members per household. To ensure a standardised estimation, we have opted to consider an average of 5 members per family. Based on this approach, the estimated total number of victims in this case is calculated as 15 individuals.