Woman and 2 children forced to convert to Christianity by husband, idols desecrated and insulted as 'devil worship'
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India 
25 February, 2025
Case Summary
In Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, a Dalit Hindu woman and her children were being pressured to convert to Christianity. When the Hindu woman refused to convert, she was badly beaten by her husband. The husband threw away the idols of Hindu Gods and replaced them with a photo of Jesus Christ. He then abused Hinduism by saying that the worship of idols is devil worship. According to the woman, her husband and she were married according to Hindu rituals and traditions. But shortly after marriage he converted to Christianity. When the Hindu woman confronted him about this, then he said, "You follow your religion and I will follow Christianity." When the woman had children with this man, then his behaviour changed and he started forcing her to adopt Christianity. He beat the woman with a belt when she refused to convert. The woman informed her in-laws about this, but still they ignored it, so the woman went back to live with her parents. Despite this, her husband constantly forced her and her children to convert to Christianity. The woman finally reached out to the police and filed a complaint. The police filed a case against the husband of the victim. She told the media, "Christianity has ruined my life".
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to three primary categories due to the various threads of religious hostility and animosity displayed by the perpetrators. The first primary category this case has been added to is "Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes" under the sub-category "Forced to convert after marriage". In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the man hiding his religious identity. The marriage could be under the Special Marriages Act where neither parties are required to convert their religion for the marriage to be considered legitimate. While the victim in such cases enters matrimony assuming that religious identity is not a barrier, the non-Hindu man starts to pressure the woman to convert to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including, denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, forced to read the Kalma, forced to wear a hijab, forced for Halala, etc. There are several instances where after marriage, the woman voluntarily converts to Islam. Such cases are often argued to be a result of religious brainwashing, however, for the purpose of documenting religiously motivated hate crimes, in the absence of the victim complaining of forced conversion, such cases do not form a part of the database. The second primary category this case is being added to is 'Predatory proselytisation' under the sub-category 'Harassment, threats and coercion for conversion". Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The third primary category this case is being added to is 'Attack on Hindu religious representations' under the sub-category 'Desecration of Hindu religious symbols'. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. In this case, the victim and her husband married as per Hindu rituals and the husband was following Hinduism. He later converted to Christianity and started pressuring the victim and her two minor children to convert their faith. He even assaulted the woman when she refused to convert and desecrated the idols she revered and are central to her faith. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and hostility, depriving the victims from their right to practice their faith and is therefore being added to the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
3
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 2
Caste
- SC/ST 3
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 2
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
