Hindu villagers targeted for conversion under guise of prayer meeting by Christian missionaries; offered inducements to convert
Balod, Chhattisgarh, India 
6 September, 2025
Case Summary
In the Gunderdehi area of Balod district, Chhattisgarh, Hindu villagers were offered inducements and targeted for conversion under the guise of a prayer meeting by Christian missionaries. According to reports, the incident took place in the basement of a house where around 40 to 50 people had assembled for a prayer gathering. Hindu activists, including members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, received information about the illegal conversion, reached the spot, and began protesting. This led to a heated exchange between the Hindu activists and the organisers, after which police arrived and took control of the situation. On investigation, it was found that the prayer meeting was illegal, and the police detained 22 individuals, including eight men and fourteen women. They were produced before the Gunderdehi SDM court, where legal action was initiated. The court ordered judicial custody for eight of the men identified as Harakh Ram Meshram, Bhagirathi Nishad, Omkar Sonkar, Ageshwar Nishad, Dhanraj Vishwakarma, Birendra Nishad, Piyush Chandrakar, and Tikeshwar Meshram. Members of the Hindu organisations stated that people belonging to marginalised sections were being deceitfully lured towards conversion at such events, where the organisers promised financial aid and various other inducements.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, 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 other sub-category relevant here 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 constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime as Hindu villagers in the Gunderdehi area of Balod district, Chhattisgarh, were lured into converting to Christianity under the guise of a prayer meeting. The act of luring Hindus under the pretext of prayer meetings demonstrates that these gatherings were not genuine invitations to interfaith dialogue or religious prayers. Rather, they were calculated efforts to exploit the sense of community and trust within the Hindu community by disguising conversion attempts as prayer sessions. It also showed that the individuals involved were employing indirect methods to convince Hindus to abandon their faith, possibly by targeting vulnerable villagers and exploiting their emotional, social, or religious needs. As a result, vulnerable Hindus were manipulated to abandon their faith. These malicious actions were rooted in religious animosity towards Hinduism and its community. Hindu activists stated that during such prayer gatherings, financial inducements and other inducements were offered by the missionaries in order to push people towards conversion. Offering incentives, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, demonstrated that these incentives were not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they were calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements in exchange for conversion, the organisers were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. Such instances have been seen in many cases where Christian missionary groups target socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. This form of coercion strips people of their agency and dignity and results in coerced conversions. When evangelists and Christian missionaries focus their efforts on converting individuals of a particular faith, in this instance Hindus, it reveals a fundamental disregard for that community and its beliefs. Conversion, especially when not based on sincere personal conviction but rather on external persuasion or pressure, is not about sharing a different religion. Instead, it is an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu community. In this context, Christian missionaries specifically targeted Hindus in Balod, suggesting a distinct lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions were undertaken with the intention of stripping Hindu victims of their faith, making this an instance of a religiously motivated crime. 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 such as money or jobs. In this case, Christian missionary groups targeted and attempted to brainwash socially and economically vulnerable Hindus to further their agenda of religious conversions. These were not random or isolated incidents, but rather premeditated efforts to undermine the Hindu faith, persuade Hindus to discard their own religion, and convert to Christianity. Such acts were deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims, and thus, this case was added to the tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
50
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 50
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 50
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 50
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
