Christian evangelists lure Hindus to convert to Christianity by offering money, insult Hindu gods upon refusal
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India 
29 June, 2023
Case Summary
Two individuals, Ganesh Rajunkar and Johny from Indore, were arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Police on July 5, 2023 for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and attempting to coerce them into converting to Christianity. The duo faces charges under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code and has been sent to jail. The arrest follows a complaint by a woman named Ramdevi Kurmi, who alleged that the accused had attempted to lure her family into converting to Christianity by promising to pay off their debts and fund their children's education and weddings. Kurmi reported that Ganesh insulted Hindu deities during a visit to her home and later attempted to persuade her with monetary offers. On June 30, accused Johny and his wife had invited Kurmi for a ‘prayer meet’ to which she had refused to join. Despite her refusal, the accused continued to denigrate Hindu beliefs, leading Kurmi to seek help from Hindu organisations and file a police complaint. Ganesh, a former snack factory worker, allegedly faced complaints of coercion from fellow workers before turning to domestic work. The workers complained that the accused lured them for money and forced them to convert their religion to Christianity. He and Johny, reportedly close friends, conducted weekly prayer meetings, offering money to attendees. Ganesh, who converted to Christianity recently, faced controversy in 2020 when his wife's death led to disagreements over funeral rites between him and his mother. Ganesh wanted his wife to be cremated the Christian way. However, his mother wanted him to follow the Hindu process of cremation. Eventually, the woman was cremated as per Hindu rituals. Police recovered a photo of Jesus and some Christian reference material from Ganesh’s home.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The sub-categories under which we have put this case are 'conversion by inducement' and 'attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism', both of which fall under the prime category of Predatory Proselytisation. The reason why 'conversion by inducement' has been selected as the sub-category in this case is that the Hindu victims were lured to convert to Christianity by being offered monetary inducements. 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. Secondly, the reason why the case has been put under the sub-category of 'attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism' is that the Christian evangelists in this case attempted to convert the Hindu victims by insulting the Hindu faith. Since these conversions are motivated by hatred for Hinduism, they are classified as hate crimes with a religious motive. 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.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
