Hindus offered financial incentives, threatened to convert to Christianity

Case ID : b45f661 | Location : Banswara, Rajasthan, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 9 January, 2025
Case ID : b45f661
location Banswara, Rajasthan, India
date 9 January, 2025
Hindus offered financial incentives, threatened to convert to Christianity
Predatory Proselytisation
Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement
Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion
Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism

Case Summary

In Santpura Mohalla, Partapur, Banswara, five men from Sajjangarh’s Itala village, Etawah, attempted to convert people to Christianity by offering them one lakh rupees each. The incident was uncovered when members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal arrived at the scene and caught the suspects in the act of conducting Christian prayers late at night, leading to their arrest and transfer to the Garhi police. The accused offered financial incentives, promising monthly allowances in the form of money, clothes, and household goods to individuals who agreed to convert. It was further reported that the accused used abusive language about Hindu gods and goddesses. They used threatening language and distributed Bibles and pictures of Jesus Christ. One individual even claimed to be a priest and performed the conversion ritual. The accused were identified as Tolsingh, Suresh, Pappu, Rajesh, and Makan Singh, all from the Itala village of Sajjangarh. The written complaint lodged by Mota Bhai, a local resident, along with several other signatures, provided further details on the case.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Conversion/attempt 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 relevant here is- Harassment, threat, 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. 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. The third sub-category 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. In this case, there are two distinct components which prove that the offence was committed coupled with a religious bias. The first factor is that the Christian extremists were offering money, clothes and household goods to vulnerable Hindus in an attempt to disenfranchise them from their professed faith and convert them to Christianity. Luring Hindus to convert to a different faith by offering money is predatory in nature since the extremists manipulate the specific vulnerabilities of disadvantaged and poor Hindus to manipulate them into conversion. The second factor is that the Christian extremists threatened the Hindus in their attempt to convert them to Christianity. This was an arm-twisting tactic that the perpetrator adopted to compel the victim to renounce her professed faith and accept Christianity. This constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime as such actions are driven by intolerance towards the victim's religious identity and aim to coerce them into abandoning their faith, often accompanied by threats, violence, or other forms of intimidation. The third factor is that the Christian evangelists were overtly trying to convert Hindus by abusing and disparaging Hinduism while glorifying their own faith, Christianity. In an effort to indoctrinate Hindus against their religion—which itself is a product of hostility towards the Hindu faith—they were making derogatory remarks about Hindu deities. The Christian accused were extolling their faith by promoting Jesus as the true deity and disparaging Hinduism. Denigrating someone else's faith for the purpose of conversion often stems from a deeper animosity or lack of respect for the victim's faith. This animosity can be driven by the belief that one's own faith is superior and can lead to a dismissive attitude towards other religions. This superiority complex can manifest as disrespect and hostility towards other beliefs. Insulting Hinduism in attempts to brainwash Hindus against their religion, itself stems from the animosity against the Hindu faith, which is why this case qualifies as a hate crime against Hindus and has been documented here.

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Case Status


Arrested

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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Christian Extremists

Perpetrators Range


From 5 to 10

Perpetrators Gender


male

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