Hindus including women and children lured into conversion through monetary inducements and denigrating Hinduism in missionary school

Case ID : b45f43f | Location : Basti, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 15 December, 2024
Case ID : b45f43f
location Basti, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 15 December, 2024
Hindus including women and children lured into conversion through monetary inducements and denigrating Hinduism in missionary school
Predatory Proselytisation
Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement
Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism

Case Summary

A case of religious conversion under the guise of a prayer meeting has emerged at a missionary school. Members of Hindu organizations submitted a letter to SDM Pradeep Kumar Yadav, alleging forced conversions and demanding action. In the letter, Sanjay Tiwari accused the missionary school in Chittauni of engaging in conversion activities. He claimed that Christian priests, along with the school principal and teachers, were enticing poor Hindu families with monetary offers to convert them to Christianity. According to the complaint, a significant number of men, women, and children from impoverished backgrounds were present at the school. The priests, principal, and teachers reportedly distributed Bibles and conducted prayer meetings during which derogatory remarks were allegedly made about other religions. Statements like "Jesus Christ is your God and everything" were reportedly being used in the meeting to persuade attendees. The complaint further stated that conversions were being carried out by exploiting the vulnerabilities of poor people. The SDM was urged to take immediate action against those responsible for these activities.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under the core category of 'Predatory Proselytisation' because of the various distinct components that demonstrate the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith and the deliberate attempt to alienate the victims from their Hindu identity. Further, it has been placed under two sub-categories within the above-mentioned category. The first 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 second sub-category which has been selected here 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. This case illustrates how promises of benefits were strategically employed to lure participants into abandoning their beliefs. This tactic exploits the socioeconomic challenges many face, especially in rural settings, effectively positioning conversion as a solution to their hardships. Besides attempting to exploit a specific vulnerability of the victims who were in all likelihood also economically backward, the Christian evangelists were overtly trying to convert Hindus by disparaging Hinduism while glorifying their own faith, Christianity. In an effort to indoctrinate the Hindus against their religion—which itself is a product of hostility towards their faith—they were denigrating Hinduism. The Christian missionaries were extolling their faith by promising a better life if they embraced Christianity. Since exploiting vulnerabilities for the explicit purpose of conversion is purely based on animosity towards the victim's faith, this case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime.

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Case Status


Complaint filed

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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Christian Extremists

Perpetrators Range


Unknown

Perpetrators Gender


unknown

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