International journalist whitewashes well-documented history of predatory proselytisation of Hindus
New Delhi, Delhi, India 
31 March, 2025
Case Summary
Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent for Worthy News, wrote an article on 1st April in which he commented on the issue of conversion. According to Stefan, devoted Christians feared they could be targeted for sharing their faith with non-Christians in the mainly Hindu nation because of the statement made by Madhya Pradesh's Chief Minister. Stefan also quoted Voice of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) as saying, "Militant groups have stirred up violent mob attacks against Christians, falsely claiming that the believers were involved in bribery and other ways of tricking people into converting. Pray that this intended change to Madhya Pradesh’s legislation will not be instituted and that followers of Jesus will no longer be falsely accused under India’s anti-conversion laws." Stefan, in the end, highlighted that Christians are a tiny minority compared to the predominantly Hindu nation. He closed the article with a remark that it was the spread of Christianity in India that prompted Hindu-led authorities to try to stop the trend with stricter anti-conversion laws in several states.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Hate speech against Hindus. The sub-category relevant in this case is- Denial or mocking of historical genocide/large scale persecution. Denial or mocking of genocide/large-scale persecution/ethnic cleansing refers to the act of denying or minimizing the fact of the ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus. This often involves denying the scale, mechanisms, religious intent, or even the occurrence of the ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus. Hate speech of this kind involves the dissemination of falsehoods that deny or distort established historical facts or mock the suffering of Hindus by saying that they deserved the persecution, motivated by Hinduphobia. Denying such atrocities is not only about the denial of facts or rewriting/revising history, but it also delegitimises the religiously motivated persecution of Hindus, the religious hate/motivation/animosity that led to the persecution, and dehumanises Hindus as a religious group. Such denial of ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus not only denies the suffering but also paves the way for future/present atrocities and hate speech, inciting prejudice and violence against Hindus. It also provides a justification for violence by delinking religious animosity from religiously motivated crimes committed against Hindus. Since such denial and/or mocking of genocide/ethnic cleansing/atrocities motivated by religious animosity leads to present and future ramifications of creating more hate speech, violence, dehumanisation and delegitimisation, it would be considered hate speech under this category. The article written by Stefan J. Bos, titled “Christians Fear Death Penalty For Forced Conversions In India’s Madhya Pradesh”, subtly perpetuates anti-Hindu hate speech by engaging in a dangerous narrative that whitewashes the well-documented history of predatory proselytisation in India and denies the centuries-long persecution that Hindus have endured under religious conversion campaigns. By portraying Christian missionaries as mere “victims” of state action and criticising Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s strong stance against forced or fraudulent conversions, the author deliberately overlooks the historical trauma and large-scale conversion of Hindus, often through coercion, manipulation, or systemic pressure. In India, and particularly in tribal and economically vulnerable regions, conversion rackets driven by foreign-funded evangelical organisations have long been accused of exploiting poverty, illiteracy, and social fissures to lure or pressure Hindus—especially Dalits and Adivasis—into converting. These acts are rarely purely voluntary or faith-driven; they often involve deceit, material inducement, or threats of social exclusion. To deny or downplay this reality is to ignore the lived experience of countless Hindu communities, and to shield the very forces responsible for eroding indigenous religious identities. Bos’s article paints anti-conversion laws as an infringement upon Christian religious freedom while completely sidestepping the historical and ongoing cultural aggression faced by Hindus, thus mocking the historical persecution Hindus have faced during centuries of Islamic and colonial rule, where forced conversions, temple destruction, and religious suppression were rampant. Instead of acknowledging these genocidal patterns and the legitimacy of legal safeguards to prevent them from recurring, the author inverts the narrative, casting the aggressors as victims and the victims as oppressors. Such biased journalism is not merely misinformed—it actively perpetuates a colonial, supremacist worldview that dehumanises Hindus, dismisses their legitimate fears of cultural erasure, and labels their efforts to protect their religious integrity as "extremism." This distortion of historical truth and gaslighting of the Hindu collective memory is not only a form of psychological violence but also meets the threshold of hate speech, as it fosters animosity against the Hindu community for seeking justice and protection against conversion mafias. In this way, the article is a textbook example of hate crime against Hindus under the sub-category of Denial or Mocking of Historical Genocide and Large-Scale Persecution, as it aids in normalising past and present religious aggression against Hindus, and delegitimises their resistance by misrepresenting it as bigotry.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
