Teacher at missionary school smears Hindu student's face with ink for writing "Jai Shri Ram" on desk
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
3 December, 2023
Case Summary
At Holy Trinity Church School in Ghaziabad, a Class 7 student, Ishant Chauhan, faced humiliation after writing "Jai Shri Ram" on his desk. On December 4, 2023, teacher Manisha Massey poured fluid, identified as either whitener or ink remover, on his face as punishment after a Christian classmate reported him. Massey told the student, "You should be hurt the way the desk was hurt." Ishant endured the abuse for an hour, during which he was ridiculed in front of his classmates, causing him to cry. The fluid also caused skin irritation. The incident came to light when Ishant returned home visibly upset, prompting his parents to inquire about his appearance. They raised the matter with the school, expressing concern about potential skin damage. The incident sparked protests led by Bajrang Dal, with convener Gaurav Singh condemning the teacher's actions and questioning whether chanting "Jai Shri Ram" was a crime. Police were called to the scene, and the teacher eventually confessed, apologising to the family and school authorities. In her apology letter, Massey claimed she only applied "two dots of fluid" and denied any ill intent. The school principal, Madhulika Joseph, terminated the teacher and assured the family that such incidents would not occur again.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
As per case specifics, it has been placed under the sub-category- 'Restriction on expression of Hindu identity', under the prime category- 'Restriction/ban on Hindu practices' of the hate tracker. Restriction on expression of Hindu identity: An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The other primary category this case has been added to is 'attack not resulting in death'. The sub-category is 'attack for Hindu identity'. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. Here, the teacher of a Christian missionary school punished a student for scribbling 'Jai Shri Ram' on his desk. He was harassed for over one hour for his innocuous actions. "Jai Shri Ram" is a common Hindu slogan that honours Lord Ram, one of the most revered gods in Hinduism. It is often used as a greeting, a chant during religious ceremonies, and an expression of devotion. Reprimanding a child for scribbling "Jai Shri Ram" on his desk is an act of religious intolerance. It suggests a bias against the child’s expression of their religious identity, which is problematic, especially in settings like schools where freedom of expression should be respected. It violates one's fundamental right to freedom of religion, which includes the right to express one's religious beliefs openly. It also sends a message of intolerance and exclusion to the broader community. Reprimanding and harassing someone or subjecting them to violence due to their religious beliefs or expression can be classified as a hate crime because the motivation behind the act is religious bias. Another primary category that this case is being added to is 'Predatory Proselytisation'. The sub-category is 'Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination'. 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 case reveals that the Hindu victim was a minor, indicating a lack of consent and genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation in schools. In this case, the accused, teachers in a position of trust, demonstrated a clear animosity towards Hinduism by indulging in violence against the minor students for writing Jai Shri Ram. The teachers essentially covertly tried to push the children towards Christianity by distancing them from their religion and practices. This sort of harassment is rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and is therefore documented as a religiously motivated hate crime in this Hindu hate tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 1
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
