Hindu residents face conversion attempts to Christianity during a prayer meeting in Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : d326faf | Location : Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 9 January, 2026

Case ID : d326faf

Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, India

9 January, 2026

Hindu residents face conversion attempts to Christianity during a prayer meeting in Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

Hindu residents faced attempts to be drawn into religious conversion during a prayer meeting organised near a house in Majra Surjipurwa village under the Sundarwal police station area of Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh. The prayer meeting was organised outside a house in the village and was attended by villagers from the surrounding area. People had arrived at the location after being called for prayers. The organisers belonged to the Christian community and had reached the village for the purpose of conducting the prayer meeting. Local workers of Hindu organisations reached the spot after becoming aware of the gathering. They objected to the prayer meeting and raised concerns that Hindu villagers were being drawn to the event with assurances linked to prayer and medical treatment. They pointed out that villagers were being influenced to attend the gathering on the promise of relief from illness through prayer. Around seventy people were present at the site at the time of the gathering. As tensions escalated at the location, the individuals conducting the prayer meeting left the spot. They departed abruptly, leaving behind their belongings and materials at the site. Police personnel from the Sundarwal police station reached the spot following the disturbance and conducted an inquiry into the matter. During the inquiry, the police found no evidence of religious conversion. The police also confirmed that no written complaint had been submitted in connection with the incident.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been documented under the selected primary category: Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the selected secondary category is: Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. 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 the 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. Another selected secondary category is: Conversion/attempts to conversion 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. This case qualifies for inclusion in the hate crime database because it exhibits clear religious markers indicating targeted and coercive religious influence directed at Hindu residents, even though no completed conversion was formally recorded. The foremost religious marker is targeting based on religious identity. Hindu villagers were specifically approached and encouraged to participate in a religious gathering organised by members of another faith. The selection of participants was not incidental or random but based on their identity as Hindus, demonstrating that the activity was directed at altering or influencing a particular religious group rather than engaging in neutral or voluntary religious expression. A critical marker in this case is the use of inducement linked to prayer and medical relief. Assurances that participation in prayer could lead to relief from illness or personal suffering introduce a coercive element into religious engagement. When spiritual participation is tied to promises of health related benefit, it exploits vulnerability and distress, undermining genuine freedom of belief. Such inducement transforms religion into a conditional transaction and reflects intent to interfere with the existing faith of the targeted group. Another important marker is the organised nature of the religious outreach. The gathering involved a significant number of attendees and was conducted as a planned event rather than private worship. Organised mobilisation of individuals belonging to a specific religious community for religious influence indicates structured intent rather than spontaneous or benign religious practice. The conduct of the organisers when objections were raised further supports the presence of problematic intent. Their abrupt withdrawal when challenged suggests awareness that the activity relied on influence methods that could not withstand public scrutiny. While not determinative on its own, such behaviour is consistent with attempts to avoid accountability when coercive religious activity is exposed. Importantly, the absence of a formal finding of conversion does not negate religious motivation. Hate crime documentation does not require that the intended religious harm be successfully completed. Attempts to induce, coerce, or manipulate individuals into abandoning their faith on the basis of religious identity are sufficient indicators of religious hostility, regardless of outcome. In conclusion, this case is included because it demonstrates religiously motivated targeting of Hindus, the use of prayer-based assurances of medical relief as inducement, and organised efforts to influence religious belief. These elements collectively establish intent to interfere with Hindu religious identity, meeting the threshold for inclusion in the hate crime database. Disclaimer: We have mentioned seventy people as victims; this was an estimated number given in most reports. The exact number was not defined anywhere. There was also no record of the perpetrators, as they escaped before the police arrived.