Hindu transgenders harassed, coerced for religious conversion; temples forcibly removed from homes
Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
25 June, 2022
Case Summary
In the Biswan area of Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh, members of the Hindu transgender community faced sustained harassment and religious coercion at the hands of four Muslim transgender individuals. The targeted intimidation included relentless pressure to abandon Sanatana Dharma and convert to Islam, as well as the forcible removal of Hindu temples from their homes. The Muslim transgenders not only attempted to impose religious conversion but also desecrated sacred spaces by physically removing Puja Mandir from the houses of Hindu transgenders. When the victims sought help from the local police, their complaints were ignored, and no protective action was taken. Frustrated by the continued harassment, the affected Hindu transgenders approached organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, seeking urgent support and intervention. Responding swiftly, representatives of these organisations accompanied the victims to the police station and submitted a formal complaint. Following the intervention, the police finally registered a case against the four Muslim transgenders under relevant sections of the law. At the time of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other sub-category relevant here 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 second primary category selected here is: - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Attack on temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This case has been added to the tracker because multiple Hindus belonging to the transgender community were harassed and pressured to convert to another religion by Muslim transgenders. This coercion went as far as attacking Hindu places of worship by forcibly removing temples from the homes of Hindu transgenders. A temple is an institution that holds immense spiritual importance in the Hindu faith. For Hindus, temples are not mere physical structures; they are sanctified spaces that embody the divine presence of Hindu deities. Acts of violence against such spaces are not isolated incidents of destruction but reflect underlying hostility towards Hindu beliefs and identity. Such acts of violence against Hindu temples are not just an attack on the temple property; it is an act of violence against the religious sentiments of the Hindu community that derives spiritual, cultural, and social meaning from that temple space. The removal of temples from the homes of Hindu transgenders was not just an act of physical intrusion but a symbolic and ideological rejection of their faith. Such acts communicate the message that Hinduism is inferior or unacceptable, and that abandoning it is a condition for safety, acceptance, or belonging. Denigrating Hinduism in this manner — by forcibly removing its physical representations and suggesting its replacement with another religion — is a well-documented tactic in predatory proselytisation. These attempts are not rooted in individual religious dialogue, but in a broader hostility toward the Hindu faith and its continued presence. The combination of denigration and conversion pressure makes this a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime. Harassing Hindus for religious conversion falls squarely within the framework of predatory proselytisation. In such cases, conversions do not happen through free will but under duress due to sustained threats, manipulation, and spiritual destabilisation. By destroying or removing places of worship, the Muslim accused aimed to sever the victim’s connection with their Hindu faith, thereby weakening their spiritual and cultural grounding to make their conversion easier. This reflects a deliberate strategy, not merely of converting individuals, but of erasing the Hindu religious symbols and the support systems that reinforce their identity as Hindus. While the physical structures removed were Puja Mandirs within homes and not public temples, in the Hindu tradition, even a domestic Mandir is regarded as a sacred temple space. The forcible removal of these Mandirs, especially with the intent to erase Hindu religious identity, constitutes a direct assault on sacred symbols and worship practices, which aligns with the spirit of the "attack on temples" sub-category. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. This worldview gives rise to a mentality where coercing someone into conversion is not viewed as violence but as a religious duty. This creates a hostile environment where Hindus are targeted, dehumanised, and harassed solely because of their religious identity. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the predatory proselytisation 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
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
third
Sources 
