Hindu woman targeted for conversion by Christian missionary under guise of curing illness; sacred Tulsi plant discarded
Baloda, Chhattisgarh, India 
9 August, 2021
Case Summary
In the Nayapara Damru village of Baloda, a Hindu woman named Champa Bai was targeted for religious conversion under the pretext of curing illness by a Christian man named Shyamlal Ratre. According to reports, Shyamlal Ratre, a resident of Korda Lavan, was conducting a prayer meeting and had instigated the Hindu woman to worship in a Christian manner. Furthermore, he discarded the sacred Tulsi plant that had been planted in the victim's house. Upon receiving information, members of the Hindu organisations Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal arrived at the victim's house and intervened to stop the prayer meeting taking place. They explained to her and advised her that she should stay away from such practices. They also warned Shyamlal Ratre against conducting such prayer meetings in the village or converting people by exploiting their personal difficulties or problems. The Tulsi plant that had been discarded from the victim's house was reinstalled by a Hindu priest with proper rituals and worship. Along with this, Lord Ram's name was written and chanted throughout the house, and a Raksha Sutra was tied to the family. It was revealed that the victim had met the accused around four years ago while visiting a relative's house in Rasedi. During this time, she had an eyesight problem, and the Christian man, taking advantage of her difficulty, attempted to brainwash her by claiming that worshipping Jesus Christ would restore her eyesight.
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 - 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 second sub-category selected 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 third 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 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. This case was added to the tracker because a Hindu woman was targeted for conversion by a Christian man who told her that worshipping Jesus Christ would cure her eyesight problem. Such actions are rooted in religious animosity, as conversion was pursued not through a genuine change of heart but through the false promise of healing. Offering incentives or making false promises of healing, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, shows that these promises are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. Here, the inducement was explicitly tied to abandoning the victim’s Hindu faith, turning her personal hardship into a tool for religious conversion. By promising healing in exchange for conversion, the accused was effectively blackmailing the victim, who might have been in desperate need of assistance. A member of a Hindu organisation warned him not to convert people by exploiting their personal difficulties or problems, which indicates that this was not an isolated incident. Such instances are seen in many cases where members of Christian missionary networks target and brainwash socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips Hindus of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own religion, and convert to Christianity. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. Furthermore, the perpetrator also discarded the sacred Tulsi plant from the victim’s home. It is important to note here that the Tulsi plant holds immense significance in Hinduism. It is revered as a manifestation of Goddess Tulsi and is integral to Hindu ritual and household worship. By discarding it, the perpetrator engaged in a highly disrespectful and sacrilegious act aimed at dishonouring a Hindu religious symbol. It was meant to sever the victim's connection to her own faith and to any association with Hindu religious symbols. These acts of insulting Hinduism stem from certain strands of Christian theology, which harbour disdain for polytheistic faiths, in this case Hindus, thereby fostering hatred against Hinduism and its adherents. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places a strong emphasis on proselytisation. In pursuit of conversion objectives, Christian evangelists often employ unethical means, ranging from psychological pressure and misinformation to inducements or the denigration of Hinduism. Since such actions are rooted in religious animosity, this case has been added to the tracker. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim first met the perpetrator around four years ago, at which point he began attempting to brainwash her into converting. However, no exact date or month for their initial meeting has been provided. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—August 10, 2021—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on August 10, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint not filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
