Case Summary

In the Nayashahar area of Bikaner, Rajasthan, Hindus, including women and children, were targeted for conversion by Christian missionaries under the guise of a prayer meeting. People were offered money and subjected to subtle indoctrination in order to induce conversion. Members of Hindu organisations, along with the police, raided the house of pastor Ajit Das. At the time, a prayer meeting was going on, which was attended by 15-20 Hindus, including women and children. A scuffle broke out between the Christian missionaries present in the house and members of the Hindu organisations, during which a Christian woman fled carrying a bag full of cash, which was being used to lure people for conversion. Police promptly brought the situation under control and detained 10 attendees. Documents, photos, books, religious texts, and handwritten pamphlets related to Christianity were recovered from the house. A note mentioning the raising of a sword was also found, and its context remained under investigation. Chittorgarh resident pastor Ajit Das, who lived in his in-laws’ house in Bikaner, was identified as the person involved in the conversion activities. Members of Hindu organisations stated that such activities had been taking place in the house for a long time. Coordinator of Hindu Jagran Manch stated that upon receiving the complaints, members of various organisations reached the spot along with the police and found several objectionable materials. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing. The Christian woman who fled with the bag of money was absconding.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducements. 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 subcategory selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation, or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary categories selected are- Conversion of minor and 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 has been added to the tracker because Hindus, including women and children, were targeted for conversion by Christian missionaries. During the police raid, multiple religious texts, books, and handwritten pamphlets were recovered, along with a note referencing the raising of a sword, confirming that conversion activities were being conducted. A Christian woman fled with a bag full of money, further indicating that monetary inducements were being offered to encourage religious conversion. In this instance, offering incentives, 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 and to enforce Christianity upon them. By providing inducements for conversion, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. The perpetrators carry out such acts of offering inducements to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The Christian perpetrators were actively attempting to indoctrinate the Hindu victims by using Christian religious texts. Using the scriptures 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 exploit and undermine the beliefs of Hindu victims and are clear indicators of religious hostility towards Hindus and their religious identity. Such instances also demonstrate that this was not an isolated incident of evangelism, but rather part of a broader, organised operation to further religious conversions. When religious material is used to exploit trust, sow doubt, and misrepresent beliefs to coerce conversion, particularly in a systematic manner, it constitutes a religiously motivated offence. Such instances are seen in many cases where members of Christian missionary groups 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 rather are premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own faith, and convert to Christianity. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hinduism and its adherents. It is further important to note here that some of the victims present in the prayer meetings were minors, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to such manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the perpetrators targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the minor Hindu victims. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate, which is why it has been documented here in the hate tracker. Such acts are not merely criminal in nature; they are ideologically charged, revealing the religiously motivated nature of the crime. Furthermore, reports stated that several such incidents of unauthorised conversions had taken place in the locality in the past. This demonstrates that these conversions are not isolated instances but rather premeditated, targeted attacks on Hindus, motivated by religious animosity. The Christian faith, by its very theological foundations, places strong emphasis on proselytisation and dehumanises non-adherents until they convert. This demonstrates that such conversion efforts are rooted in doctrinal animosity towards Hindus; therefore, it is being included in the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Despite media reports stating that both minors and Hindu adults were coerced into conversion, the exact number of adults and minors is not specified in the reports. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the age of the victim as unknown. Media reports do not state the exact number of accused individuals involved in carrying out the conversion activity. However, they specify two people: one pastor named Ajit Das, and a Christian woman who fled with a bag full of cash. Therefore, for the purpose of documentation, we are recording a conservative estimate and keeping the perpetrator count as '2'.