Hindu villagers targeted for conversion through deceptive healing meetings: Hindu deities called 'Stones' by Christian missionaries
Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 
25 June, 2025
Case Summary
In the Chandla Nagar area in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, innocent Hindu villagers were being converted through denigration of Hinduism under the guise of a healing meeting by Christian missionaries. According to reports, a large-scale religious conversion network was operating under the guise of healing meetings, targeting vulnerable rural communities, particularly women and girls. These religious meetings were organised under the guise of the Changai Sabha (healing meeting). In these meetings, Christian missionaries promised to cure illnesses and provided mental and economic upliftment. However, their actual purpose was to encourage participants to renounce Hinduism and embrace Christianity. Participants were told that Jesus is the only true God, while Hindu deities are dismissed as mere stones and imaginary figures. People were brainwashed into removing idols and pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses from their homes. In one of the meetings, a Hindu woman was told by the pastor that no healing would occur until Hindu deities were removed from the household. About two weeks ago, a similar healing meeting was organised in the area, where over 200 people from around 30 villages were present. Approximately 180 of them were Hindus who have since been converted to Christianity. Similar meetings have been ongoing for several years, contributing to a significant shift in religious demographics across the region. According to Hindu organisations, about 20% of the population in more than 200 villages in Chhatarpur has already converted. According to the reports, these conversion activities are being run by Pastor Seemas, with such meetings being held every week. Her uncle Nathu Ahirwar is also a preacher, and her mother has served twice as the president of the Chandla Nagar Municipal Council. The situation has sparked concern among local Hindu communities, who were planning to run an awareness campaign against such activities. Furthermore, they have also urged the government to take action against such illegal conversion activities.
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: - 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 second 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. The third sub-category selected here 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 has been added to the tracker because Christian missionaries were converting innocent Hindu villagers by luring them through so-called healing sessions and false promises of economic and mental upliftment. Offering incentives to encourage conversion, particularly when directed at individuals who are vulnerable or in need, shows that these incentives are not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they are calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements to Hindus to change their faith, the accused were effectively blackmailing those 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 people of their agency and dignity and enforces forced conversions. These are not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards the Hindu faith. Furthermore, the missionaries specifically targeted Hindus and attempted to brainwash them by repeatedly stating that Jesus is the only true God and that Hindu deities are nothing more than stone idols. They were brainwashed into believing that they would be cured only if they converted and removed Hindu gods from their houses. This tactic is meant to generate confusion, spiritual shame, and a sense of inferiority among the victims. Such ideological attacks are meant to destabilise a person’s confidence in their own religion and erode their spiritual foundation from within. These methods fall squarely within the framework of predatory proselytisation: calculated, persistent, and rooted in religious animosity. The denigration of Hindu traditions in order to persuade individuals to convert is not merely religious discourse but a targeted attack on the Hindu faith, its legitimacy, and the dignity of its adherents. Therefore, the incident is documented in the hate crime database. This pattern reflects the classic structure of predatory proselytisation wherein the trust, desperation, or hope of the victim is deliberately leveraged. The use of healing meetings as a facade for conversion exemplifies psychological grooming and subtle indoctrination. These gatherings serve not only to manipulate the perception of the targeted Hindus but also to create an emotional and psychological dependency on the perpetrators, positioning them as benefactors and saviours. This repeated and systematic manipulation is a symbol of religious grooming, where the end goal is the erosion of the victim’s Hindu identity. It is important to note here that 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. These tactics are designed not as acts of charity but as tools to engineer religious change under the guise of social upliftment, particularly among vulnerable and underprivileged communities. The recurring pattern of targeting Hindus under such pretences is what classifies this case as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by antagonism towards a Hindu religious identity.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
