Hindu women made to remove bangles, sindoor, and mangalsutra; told Hindu deities have no power during conversion drive
Dausa, Rajasthan, India 
28 June, 2025
Case Summary
In the Dausa district of Rajasthan, more than 100 Hindu women were targeted for religious conversion by Christian missionaries. Hindu women were asked to remove traditional Hindu symbols like bangles, sindoor, and mangalsutras, and were then told they had become Christians. Hindu deities were also denigrated. Hindu groups protested against the Agape Fellowship Church located on Ganeshpura Road. According to the accounts presented, women attending the prayer gatherings are first made to remove bangles, sindoor, and mangalsutra. They are then urged to embrace Christianity. On Sunday, during one such prayer session, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, RSS, and other affiliated organisations gathered outside the church and began vociferous protests, raising slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” and demanding the sealing of the premises and the arrest of those involved in the conversions. In response to the disturbance, DSP Ravi Prakash Sharma, along with officers from the Kotwali police station and the district special team, arrived at the scene. The police managed to bring the situation under control and began questioning those present in the church. Hindu groups handed over several families to the police, who were being questioned to understand the nature of the events. Members of the Hindu organisations reported that the church’s pastor first targeted well-regarded individuals from the Hindu community for conversion. These individuals, once converted, were used to bring in people from economically and socially marginalised backgrounds by offering inducements. Initially, attendees were only invited to participate in prayers, but over time, they were systematically told that Hindu gods and goddesses hold no power. This ideological conditioning was followed by private ceremonies in secluded areas of the church where participants were asked to place their hands in water, remove bangles, sindoor, and mangalsutras, and were then told that they had now become Christians. Pastor Thomas George denied all such allegations. He stated that prayers have been conducted at the church for the past 22 years and insisted that no one has ever been forced or lured into conversion. Despite his denial, Hindu organisations maintain that 4,000 to 5,000 people have been converted through this church in recent years. Police authorities confirmed receiving formal complaints and have initiated an investigation. Following the incident, Hindu groups urged the state government to enact strict laws against religious conversions and ensure their effective enforcement.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under multiple categories due to the various religious markers present here. The first primary category is- Attack on Hindu religious representation, and within this, the sub-category selected is- Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second primary category relevant here is- Predatory proselytisation. Within this, the sub-category selected 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. The other sub-category relevant is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, and the tertiary category selected is- 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 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. The third sub-category 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. This case is categorised as a hate crime because it involves an organised effort to convert individuals—particularly Hindu women—from Hinduism to Christianity by targeting their religious identity and undermining their cultural and ritual symbols. The economically and socially marginalised families were systematically drawn into the church with inducements. After well-regarded individuals from the Hindu community were converted, they were used to reach out to poorer sections of society—an approach that exploited financial and social vulnerability. This is not a simple act of proselytisation but rather one that hinges on exploiting economic and social vulnerabilities, making the victim’s religious identity and disadvantaged status the core of the act. Thus, it qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime. According to testimonies provided to the police and Hindu organisations, once attendees became regulars at the prayer gatherings, they were systematically told that Hindu deities had no power. These statements were made repetitively and ideologically, directly denigrating Hinduism to create disaffection towards the faith. This process was not based on free theological exchange but on calculated undermining of Hindu beliefs and traditions with the goal of initiating a break in religious loyalty. In Hinduism, sindoor, mangalsutra, and bangles are sacred symbols of a married woman’s commitment, prosperity, and the well-being of her husband. They represent her marital status, evoke blessings for a long, harmonious life, and hold deep spiritual and cultural significance. The requirement to remove these sacred Hindu symbols is a symbolic erasure of Hindu identity. Such deliberate religious denigration as a tool to instigate conversion reflects not only religious intolerance but targeted animosity towards Hindu faith and practices. Individuals were invited to participate in seemingly harmless prayer sessions, which over time turned into systematic efforts to instil disaffection towards Hinduism. This slow, deliberate ideological conditioning was marked by manipulative statements about Hindu deities and the gradual introduction of Christian rites. The incident is not an isolated case. Hindu groups reported that 4,000 to 5,000 individuals have been converted through the same church over the past few years. It shows a clear and repeated pattern of targeting Hindus, particularly from vulnerable and marginalised communities. Hence, this incident qualifies as a hate crime because it involves a systematic and targeted effort to separate Hindu individuals—particularly women—from their religious identity through inducement, denigration of Hindu beliefs, and psychological manipulation. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the conversion activity began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
