Hindu man forced to convert to Christianity by his Christian wife; threatened

Case ID : f664897 | Location : Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 11 March, 2025

Case ID : f664897

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

11 March, 2025

Hindu man forced to convert to Christianity by his Christian wife; threatened

Predatory Proselytisation

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Case Summary

In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu man was forced to convert to Christianity by his wife. He explained how his wife and two sons were lured and converted to Christianity by members of a Christian missionary group. According to media reports, the Hindu man and his wife were working in the electricity department. His wife and children were lured by members of a Christian missionary group and converted to Christianity. His wife also pressured him to convert, and when he refused, she moved to another location with their sons. When he went to bring his wife back, her brothers threatened him with serious consequences. The Hindu man stated that his wife began living a completely different life according to Christian practices. She gave up wearing sindoor, mangalsutra, and bangles. She also stopped worshipping Hindu gods and goddesses. She also received frequent messages about Christianity on her mobile phone. The man added that his wife and children were brainwashed and converted by the wife of a Christian railway officer, who he revealed was involved in the conversion of two other women. He also wrote to Power Corporation Chairman Dr. Ashish Kumar Goyal, demanding action against employees of the department who are part of this conversion syndicate. According to him, the conversion network is deeply embedded within the administration. The victim wrote a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, detailing the entire conversion operation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added under the primary category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the sub-category selected 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. This case falls under the category of harassment, threat, and coercion for conversion. The Hindu husband became the direct victim of an organised conversion syndicate that manipulated his family into abandoning Hinduism and adopting Christianity. His wife and two sons were converted through inducements and denigration of Hindu practices, after which his wife pressured him to change his faith as well. When he refused, she left him, taking their children away, and her brothers threatened his life when he attempted to bring her back. This left the husband isolated, traumatized, and under constant pressure for conversion. The intimidation, emotional blackmail, and threats he faced demonstrate how coercion and harassment were weaponized to target him for his refusal to abandon Hinduism. This makes the case a clear example of hate-driven harassment, threat, and coercion for conversion. 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.