Hindus, including children, lured with inducements and brainwashed with Christian texts to convert to Christianity

Case ID : e275359 | Location : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 6 September, 2025

Case ID : e275359

Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India

6 September, 2025

Hindus, including children, lured with inducements and brainwashed with Christian texts to convert to Christianity

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion of minor

Pattern of targeting Hindus

Case Summary

In Sukulkari village in Pachpedi, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, Hindus, including children, were targeted for Christian conversion. The Hindu victims were lured with food, money, and medical treatments. They were also indoctrinated with Christian texts to convert to Christianity. According to media reports, the Hindu villagers informed Bajrang Dal Gau Raksha District Chief Manjish Singh about these conversions. He then lodged a complaint at the Pachpedi police station. The complainant stated that for a long time, complaints of conversion activities had been received from Sukulkari village. On 7th September 2025, in the afternoon, he received information that, in the name of a prayer meeting in two different houses in the village, Hindus were being lured to change their religion and convert to Christianity by offering inducements like food, money, and medical treatment. Upon receiving this information, Bajrang Dal officials, accompanied by villagers, reached the spot and found Pastor Ishwar Mahilange, Vinod Mahilange, Dilip Banjare, and two other Christian women conducting the meeting. The meeting was attended by more than 100 Hindus, including women and children. The police were immediately informed about the incident. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case against Pastor Ishwar Mahilange, Vinod Mahilange, Dilip Banjare, as named accused, and two Christian women as unknown accused and began an investigation. Notably, the Hinduphobia tracker had previously reported an instance from Pachpedi where Hindus were targeted for conversion during a Christian prayer meeting. The Hindu victims were drawn to the gathering under the pretext of a prayer meeting, where they were enticed with material incentives to convert to Christianity.

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 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 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. In this case, Hindus, including children, were lured with incentives and were manipulated to convert to Christianity by Christian evangelists. Even Christian religious literature and texts were used to brainwash the Hindu victims into conversion. The nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicate a targeted action against Hindus as a collectivity. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting members of a particular religion, in this case, Hindus, then it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the Hindu faith. Conversion, especially when not based on personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not simply about sharing a different belief system. It is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, the Christian perpetrators specifically targeted Hindus, which suggests a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are carried out to strip Hindu victims of their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The use of inducements to encourage Christian conversion clearly demonstrates that these actions were not motivated by kindness or charity. Instead, they were calculated attempts to exploit vulnerable Hindus specifically because of their religion. By providing inducements to Hindus to change their faith, the Christian perpetrators were effectively emotionally blackmailing those vulnerable Hindus who might have been desperate for assistance. 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 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 Hindu victims and their faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The Christian perpetrators were also actively attempting to indoctrinate the Hindu victims by using Christian religious texts and 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, particularly in a systematic manner, it constitutes a religiously motivated offence. It's also important to note that the victims also included Hindu children. This 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 manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Christian perpetrators purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the minor victims. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus. Reports also indicated that the accused had been conducting such conversion events for a long time. This showcases a pattern of targeting Hindus, luring them with incentives and subjecting them to psychological manipulation served as a stark example of a religiously motivated crime. Such actions are aimed at undermining the religious and cultural identity of Hindus through coercion, manipulation, and unlawful means. Such incidents highlighted that the conversions were neither isolated nor accidental but formed part of a calculated and targeted strategy to convert Hindus to Christianity. By focusing specifically on Hindus, these Christian evangelists were profiling vulnerable individuals and working systematically to erase their Hindu identity. The repeated nature of these actions revealed a deliberate intent to disrupt the cultural fabric and faith of the community, leaving the victims exposed to ongoing pressure and exploitation. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Since this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated attack against Hindus and their faith, it is being added to the hate crime database.