Hindu villagers offered inducements and manipulated with religious literature for conversion by Christian missionaries
Gulbarga, Karnataka, India 
11 March, 2026
Case Summary
In Sharanasirasagi village on the outskirts of Kalaburagi city, Karnataka, Hindu villagers were targeted and lured for conversion through inducements by a group of Christian missionaries. According to reports, Christian missionaries in the Sharanasirasagi village were moving door-to-door distributing pamphlets and religious literature related to the teachings of Jesus Christ. They were encouraging Hindu villagers to attend prayer meetings that were happening on Sundays in an effort to convert them to Christianity. It was revealed that the missionaries had been visiting households in the village for nearly two days, carrying handbills and Christian religious material while attempting to build trust among residents. During these visits, the missionaries also told Hindu villagers that if anyone in their family was suffering from chronic illness, personal distress, or other difficulties, they should inform them so that a special prayer could be conducted on their behalf the following day, promising that such prayers would remove their troubles. When Hindu activists came to know about such activities, they intercepted the group near the village and confronted them. The confrontation resulted in a verbal altercation between the two sides, after which the activists seized pamphlets. They also stated that poor and unsuspecting Hindu villagers were being systematically targeted through religious propaganda designed to induce conversion. Following the incident, Hindu activists gathered in large numbers and staged a protest outside the Kalaburagi Suburban Police Station, demanding strict legal action against those involved in attempting to influence villagers to abandon their faith. Police officials subsequently began collecting information about the incident and initiated an inquiry, while additional security was deployed in and around Sharanasirasagi village and neighbouring areas amidst concerns that the situation could escalate into communal tensions.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is- Conversion/attempts 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 other sub-category selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being - 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 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 proselytisation, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. This case has been added to the tracker because Hindu villagers were targeted and influenced for religious conversion through organised door-to-door proselytisation conducted by Christian missionaries using inducements in the form of prayer-based healing and emotional persuasion. Firstly, the outreach campaign in the village involved Christian missionaries moving door-to-door, distributing pamphlets and religious literature focused on the teachings of Jesus Christ, while encouraging residents to attend Christian prayer meetings on Sundays. In such cases, what is often presented as a simple prayer meeting is in reality a covert attempt at religious conversion. These are not genuine community prayers but calculated efforts to exploit the trust of Hindus and manipulate them into abandoning their faith. By conducting such gatherings, the Christian missionaries sought to manipulate vulnerable Hindus, taking advantage of their emotional and social circumstances to push them towards conversion. Such actions demonstrate that the gathering was not merely a routine social or religious meeting but part of a deliberate effort to propagate another faith among Hindu residents of the locality. Secondly, the missionaries attempted to gain the trust of the villagers by promising to cure their illness through prayers. Therefore, Hindus were lured into conversion under the guise of a healing meeting, also known as a Changhai sabha. The Changhai Sabha format, often described publicly as a faith healing gathering, is a well-recognised tool in organised Christian proselytisation networks. These meetings usually employ songs, testimonies, and emotionally charged prayer sessions to influence and induce vulnerable individuals without openly declaring the underlying objective. The absence of transparency is itself central to the method. People attend believing they are seeking comfort, healing or spiritual support, only to be gradually drawn into teachings that undermine their own religious identity and introduce them to the Christian framework presented as the only path to relief. Thirdly, promising healing in exchange for conversion was a form of inducement offered by Christian missionaries. Offering incentives or making false promises, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements or promising healing in exchange for conversion, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Such instances are seen in many cases where members of Christian missionary groups target socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips people of their agency and dignity and results in coerced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims Fourth, the distribution of pamphlets and Christian religious literature in the village demonstrates that Hindus were manipulated for conversion through religious literature. Using the scriptures or literature of one faith to deliberately target and manipulate members of another, with the clear intention of religious conversion, represents a direct attack on the Hindu faith. Such actions are designed to violate and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their religious identity. Such actions further demonstrate that this was not an isolated incident of evangelism, but rather part of a broader, organised operation to further religious conversions. When Christian religious material is used to exploit trust, sow doubt, and misrepresent the beliefs of Hindus to coerce conversion. The Christian faith, by its theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from prayer meetings and misinformation to inducements such as money, jobs or healing illnesses. Such tactics to enforce Christianity on Hindus highlight the religiously motivated nature of the crime. Given that the incident involved a structured attempt to propagate Christianity among Hindus with the intention of converting them, this case has been included in the tracker.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
