Several Hindus targeted by Christian evangelists for conversion under pretext of attending prayer meeting
Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India 
10 November, 2024
Case Summary
In Chilhiya village, Siddhartnagar, Uttar Pradesh, 100 Hindu men and women were lured into converting to Christianity by a Christian man named Brijlal and his accomplice, Durgesh. The Hindu victims were enticed under the pretext of a prayer meeting. According to media reports, the prayer gathering was held at the house of Brijlal, a member of a Christian missionary group seeking to convert poor Hindus in the area. Several Hindu organisations arrived at the scene and questioned those present about the purpose of the gathering. Even the local Hindu residents stated that Brijlal, for many months, had been regularly gathering innocent and impoverished Hindus at his house and converting them to Christianity. The authorities were alerted to the situation and arrived promptly at the scene, arresting Brijlal and Durgesh for carrying out such conversions. Area Officer Sujit Rai of Shohratgarh explained that Rakesh Mishra, a Hindu resident from a neighbouring village, had previously raised concerns regarding these missionary meetings and the conversion of poor Hindus in the locality.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory 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, Hindus were selectively targeted for Christian conversion by the Christian perpetrators under the pretext of a prayer meeting. The nature of these conversion attempts and their broader impact on the Hindu community clearly indicate a targeted campaign against Hindus as a group. When individuals or organisations focus their efforts solely on converting members of a particular faith, here, Hindus, it displays a fundamental disregard for Hinduism. Conversion efforts that hinge on persuasion, pressure or inducements, rather than genuine conviction, are not simply the sharing of beliefs; they are a direct attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. It is evident that the Christian perpetrators deliberately targeted Hindus, which illustrates a lack of respect for their faith and practices, making it a religiously motivated hate crime. The Hindus were lured to convert under the pretext of a prayer meeting. Prayer, often seen as a sacred and private act amongst Hindus, was misused here as bait for conversion rather than for genuine spiritual upliftment. The participants were not invited to share in faith, but rather to be coerced into abandoning the religious beliefs that defined their identity and cultural heritage. This manipulation was a calculated attempt to strip Hindus of their agency and religious freedom, making it a religiously motivated crime. The scale and targeting in this incident further underscored its character as a hate crime. Brijlal and Durgesh did not focus on converting a single individual, but instead orchestrated a gathering intent on converting a hundred Hindu villagers. Such a deliberate and organised effort points towards a systemic campaign to undermine the Hindu community, rather than a personal act of persuasion. Each individual targeted in this operation was a member of the Hindu faith, highlighting the pointed selection of victims based solely on their religious identity. This kind of collective targeting exemplifies hate-driven intent, where the community is profiled and marked out for conversion, with complete disregard for their cultural practices and religious beliefs. Such actions are glaring demonstrations of deep-seated religious animosity towards Hinduism and the Hindu community. What made this incident even more alarming was its persistent and ongoing nature. Local residents revealed that these conversion gatherings had been occurring for a long time, indicating a premeditated and well-planned operation rather than a sporadic or isolated occurrence. The repetitive targeting of impoverished and vulnerable Hindus was not the result of random missionary zeal, but a systematic campaign calculated to whittle away the Hindu presence in the community. This makes the religious motivations behind the perpetrators' actions even more evident. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victims' professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Since this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated attack against Hindus, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
100
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 100
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 100
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 100
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
