Hindu activists beaten for opposing conversion drive that exploited poor and illiterate Hindus with false promises of healing
Bardhaman, West Bengal, India 
20 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Kanksa, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, a Christian missionary was converting poor and illiterate Hindus to Christianity by giving them the false promises of curing illness. When Hindu organisations tried to intervene, the missionary incited the gathered people, and members of Hindu organisations were beaten. The prayer meeting was arranged on the roof of the Shyamsundar Hotel in Kanska village. The poor and illiterate Hindus were given inducements to convert to Christianity. They were given false promises of a cure for their illness. On each Sunday, such conversion activities were arranged under the pretext of the prayer meeting. Local BJP leader Raman Sharma stated that Christian missionaries were carrying out an illegal conversion racket in the hotel's top floor, where poor and underprivileged Hindus were being converted to Christianity. Chandan Jha, a local Hindu, said they initially thought that a camp was being organised to cure illnesses; however, later it was discovered that Hindus were being converted under the pretext of healing. He added that on the day of the incident, he, along with some other people, reached the stop where the conversion was taking place. The perpetrator incited the gathered people against Hindu activists, who then pushed them and beat them up. At the time of writing this report, further action from the authorities was awaited.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Predatory Proselytisation. The sub-category selected 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. The other primary category selected is - Attack not resulting in death. The sub-category selected is - Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. In this case, a Christian missionary targeted poor and illiterate Hindus. The use of false promises of curing illness in exchange for religious conversion constitutes inducement. When someone is made to believe their survival or well-being depends on renouncing their faith, it is not a choice but coerced conversion. The fundamental motive behind the conversion drive is to detach the victims from their Hindu identity, making it a religiously motivated hate crime. When Hindu activists like Chandan Jha attempted to resist this form of religious exploitation, they were met with violent attacks. This retaliation was not random—it was driven by their religious identity and their efforts to shield fellow Hindus from coercive proselytisation tactics. The perpetrators incited violence by weaponising the gathered crowd, portraying the Hindu activists as obstructors of a ‘holy mission’, thus escalating a religious confrontation into a physical assault. The religious identity of the Hindu activists and their motives for intervention were central to why they were targeted. Hence, this case is categorised as a hate crime. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date on which the conversion activity started. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
