Hindus in Ayodhya targeted through covert conversion drive under guise of Christian prayer meeting
Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India 
13 July, 2024
Case Summary
In Darshan Nagar in Ayodhya, a Christian prayer meeting was held without permission to convert Hindus to Christianity. In a house in Sai Ka Purwa in Darshan Nagar in Ayodhya, more than 50 workers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad reached the prayer meeting to stop the conversion drive and informed the police about the conversion event. The police reached the spot and arrested 6 Christians for running an illegal conversion event. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers reported that the conversion event was conducted under the guise of a prayer meeting. The Bible was recovered from the prayer meeting venue.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been 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 and Conversion of minor. 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, the Christian prayer meeting, held without permission, functioned as a cover to target Hindus for conversion, using religious preaching and the Bible to instil disaffection towards their native faith. Such gatherings create an environment for sustained manipulation, where Hindu participants are gradually conditioned to accept the doctrines of another religion. This method is not about open debate or voluntary choice, but about exploiting trust, communal interaction, and emotional influence to undermine Hindu beliefs. Since the conversion drive specifically singled out Hindus and sought to detach them from their religion, the act was rooted in hostility towards Hindu identity and forms part of a larger, organised pattern of religiously motivated hate crimes.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
