Hindus targeted for Christian conversion with promises of miraculous cure and monetary incentives
Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India 
25 June, 2025
Case Summary
In Tali village, Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, Hindu villagers were targeted by Christian missionaries to convert to Christianity by offering monetary incentives and promising 'miraculous cures' for diseases. According to media reports, the members of missionary groups, who were outsiders to the village, were organising conversion events under the guise of 'Satsang', using financial inducements and assurances of healing to persuade villagers to abandon their faith. Disturbed by these activities, the villagers submitted a formal complaint to SDM Jawalamukhi, Dr Sanjeev Sharma, highlighting the threat to communal harmony. They called for a thorough investigation and strict legal action into this matter. The villagers outlined five key demands: the formation of a special team to investigate suspicious conversion activities, strong legal measures against those responsible, awareness campaigns to protect residents from being misled, scrutiny of bank accounts and funding sources promoting conversions, and administrative orders to prevent such activities by any organisation or group in the future. The memorandum was then signed by the Pradhan, Deputy Pradhan, and Panchayat members of Gram Panchayat Lagdu, as well as villagers from Hardeeppur and Pukhru. The Hindu villagers urged the administration to act swiftly and decisively on this sensitive issue to preserve peace, harmony, and religious freedom in the area. Bhavani Shankar, a local Hindu resident, voiced his concern, warning that if such activities are not stopped in time, they could lead to religious disturbances and social conflict within the village.
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 category selected is- 'Victim says was brainwashed/groomed'. 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 the 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 proselytisation, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In this case, in Tali village in Kangra, Hindus were lured to convert to Christianity through monetary incentives and promises of a miraculous 'cure' from illnesses. The nature of the conversion efforts and the wider impact on the Hindu community all indicate a targeted attack against Hindus as a group. 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 that 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 missionaries specifically targeted Hindus, which suggests a lack of respect for Hinduism and its followers. Such actions are carried out with the intention of stripping Hindu victims of their faith. The act of offering monetary incentives to encourage conversion shows that these incentives were not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they were calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindu victims because of their religion. By providing inducements to Hindus to change their faith, the Christian perpetrators were effectively blackmailing those Hindus who were in desperate need of 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. Such acts 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. Another particularly troubling aspect of this case is the use of “miraculous cure” as a guise to lure individuals and facilitate conversions. Such promises are often presented as opportunities for physical or emotional healing, offering hope to Hindus who are suffering from illness, distress, or other hardships. Such manipulation of vulnerable Hindus, exploiting their difficulties to advance the agenda of religious conversion, glaringly demonstrates the religiously motivated nature of the case. Another point to highlight is that the Christian missionaries attempted to lure Hindus by using Hindu terminologies like 'Satsang'. Such acts of deception and coercion are employed by members of the Christian missionary group as a method to influence vulnerable Hindus into adopting Christianity. This demonstrates the use of deceit and manipulation to entrap innocent Hindus and convert them. Such actions make the religious motivations behind the crime even more evident. Such acts of predatory Christian conversion stem from inherent religious 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. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu victim's faith, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime and is being added to the hate crime database.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
