Christian pastor converts Hindu women by offering jobs, college admissions; attacks Hindu deities and claims to cure diseases
Buxar, Bihar, India 
31 March, 2024
Case Summary
A pastor attempted to illegally seize the land of a Hindu widow in Buxar, Bihar, where he had been conducting Christian prayer gatherings. He was reportedly leading a large-scale conversion campaign in the region, actively persuading people to abandon Hindu gods and goddesses in favour of praying to Jesus Christ. The accused, identified as Sunil Kumar, had been orchestrating this conversion drive in Siwan village, Bihar, since 2014, according to media reports. Every Sunday, he would rent a room in a house and lead mass prayers, which would attract hundreds of attendees. A significant portion of the participants in these gatherings were Hindu women, whom he systematically targeted. After being evicted from his previous prayer venue, he built a shelter elsewhere and resumed his activities. It was at this new location that he exploited a poor Hindu widow, using her property for his conversion racket. In April 2024, he lent her Rs 2 lakh for her daughter’s wedding and subsequently began pressuring her to participate in Christian prayers. When she objected to his actions, he demanded repayment of the amount, allegedly with the intention of forcibly occupying her home and turning it into a conversion centre. Along with the pastor, the other women attending the prayer meetings also pressured the widow to convert to Christianity, even forcing her to involve others in the religious gatherings. A local source revealed that Sunil specifically targeted women in the village, persuading them to abandon Hindu worship by promising jobs, college admissions, and financial assistance in return for embracing Christianity. According to reports, he successfully converted a significant number of Hindu Dalit women in the area. While these women may not have formally changed their religious status, they had stopped worshipping Hindu deities under his influence. Beyond conversions, Sunil Kumar was also involved in financial fraud and deceit, particularly targeting Hindu women with false promises of employment and monetary benefits. He had previously worked as a teacher at a Christian school and falsely claimed to possess the ability to heal illnesses. He brainwashed many women by asserting that their problems would be resolved only through Jesus rather than through devotion to Hindu deities like Durga and Shiva. Recently, members of Bajrang Dal staged a protest against Sunil Kumar’s activities, following which he has gone into hiding. The local Hindu community is enraged over these developments, yet no action has been taken against him so far.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Conversion/attempts to convert by inducements. 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 second sub-category chosen is- Attempt 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 third sub-category relevant here is- Harassment, threats, 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 fourth sub-category under which this case has been placed 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 in Buxar, Bihar, exhibits clear religious markers that establish it as a deliberate attempt to target Hindus for conversion through inducements, coercion, and religious denigration. The pastor, Sunil Kumar, systematically exploited the vulnerabilities of Hindu women, particularly those from marginalised backgrounds, by luring them with financial aid, job opportunities, and educational prospects. By promising a better life through adherence to Christian teachings, he used inducements as a tool for religious conversion, preying upon those in economic distress. Beyond material incentives, he actively denigrated Hinduism, urging people to stop worshipping Hindu gods and goddesses, presenting them as ineffective and powerless. He manipulated religious sentiments by claiming that only Jesus Christ could provide relief from suffering, positioning Hindu deities as inferior in comparison. By systematically dissuading his followers from Hindu worship while simultaneously compelling them to embrace Christian prayer, he was not merely propagating his faith but attacking Hindu religious traditions to weaken the belief system of his targets. In addition to religious denigration, his methods extended to direct coercion and harassment. The widow, whose home he had encroached upon, faced relentless pressure from both the pastor and his followers to abandon her faith and participate in Christian prayers. This was not limited to her alone—she was also forced to rope in others from her community, illustrating a chain of forced influence and coercive proselytisation. Furthermore, the pastor’s tactics bear hallmarks of psychological manipulation and grooming. Reports suggest that numerous women, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, had ceased worshipping Hindu deities altogether under his influence, indicating a systematic erosion of their faith through persistent psychological conditioning. All in all, this case reflects an orchestrated effort to systematically erode Hindu faith through a multi-faceted approach involving inducements, coercion, religious denigration, and psychological manipulation, demonstrating a systematic effort to erase their religious identity, making this a religiously motivated hate crime driven by hostility toward Hindu beliefs.
Case Status
Complaint not filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
