Tribals lured and converted to Christianity under the guise of prayer meetings organised by illegal churches in Chhattisgarh
Ambagarh Chauki, Chhattisgarh, India 
3 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Mohalla, Chhattisgarh, local tribals were invited to a prayer meeting organised by two churches, the Mennonite church and the Indian Christian Ministry Church. According to the Hindu organisations and tribal leaders, the economically and socially vulnerable tribals were being lured and converted to Christianity. Both Hindu organisations and the tribal leaders protested against such prayer meetings. They feared that these prayer meetings were hotspots of religious conversions. Hindu organisations like the Bajrang Dal stated that the churches were built on illegal land and demanded strict action against them. The police reached the spot and evacuated the Christian leaders from the church and tried to handle the situation. Vishwa Hindu Parishad district president Tekram Bhandari said, "The tribal society is attached to its traditions and culture, any kind of illegal conversion will not be tolerated. Such events in the district should be strictly monitored, and action should be taken against those involved in the alleged conversion." The main reason for the concern of the Hindu organisations was that there was an increase in the number of churches and Christian conversions in Mohalla. The Christian missionaries and the churches, with full religious zeal, were luring and converting innocent tribals into Christianity.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, the tertiary category selected is- 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. Here, the use of a prayer gathering as a cover suggests that the individual involved may have been using indirect methods to lure or convince individuals into conversion, possibly targeting vulnerable individuals by exploiting their emotional, social, or religious needs. The entire operation, from luring poor tribals under false pretences to attempting to convert them, in fact, points to a clear pattern of predatory proselytisation. The deliberate targeting of tribals for conversion using manipulation and deceit makes this a religiously motivated act, warranting its inclusion in the tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
