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The growing menace of Christian evangelism: How a UP man was taken to a church in Jalandhar and forcibly converted on the pretext of being treated for an illness

A man from Uttar Pradesh was lured to Jalandhar, Punjab, under the pretense of medical treatment for cervical spondylitis. He was then forcibly converted to Christianity and offered money in exchange. The incident highlights the alarming rise of Christian evangelism in India, particularly in rural areas.

A man from Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh became a victim of religious conversion while seeking treatment for a problem of cervical spondylitis. He was taken to Jalandhar where he was forced to convert. The victim Virendra Kumar Divakar is a resident of Jafarpur Mahawa in Kaushami. He has been suffering from cervical spondylitis for a long time. His condition did not improve despite years of treatment.

The victim was taken to church on the pretext of treating his disease

As per reports, one day Divakar came across a person named Shankarlal Chaurasia from the Manjhanpur police station area. Chaurasia allegedly trapped Divakar by promising to get his illness cured. He took Divakar to Jalandhar, Punjab, in May 2024 on the pretext of taking him to a hospital. Instead, Chaurasia took Divakar to a church on the Khambra Nakodar Road in Jalandhar. Divakar’s wife also accompanied him. Divakar alleged that on reaching the church, he was forced to convert to Christianity. He alleged the involvement of several other people in forcing him to convert.

The victim was offered money to convert

According to Divakar, in exchange for conversion, he was promised payment of one thousand rupees every month and a sum of Rs 5 lakh after returning to his home. When he did not receive any money even after six months, Divakar realised that he had been conned into converting. On January 18, Divakar went to confront Chaurasia at his house. But Chaurasia did not listen to him and abused and beat him up.

Police filed a case and arrested the accused

A case was registered by the police on the victim’s complaint. The police arrested the accused near Tannapur village. Around 76 pamphlets and posters containing inflammatory remarks and Christian religious texts were recovered from the accused, as informed by Inspector Sanjay Tiwari. Additional SP Rajesh Singh said that an investigation has been going on in the matter.

The alarming rise of evangelism in India

The case underscores the alarming rise of Christian evangelism in India, especially in rural India, where unsuspecting and uninformed locals are often hoodwinked into embracing Christianity by employing a slew of ingenious and age-old measures, including threats, psychological manipulation, false promises of social emancipation, financial inducements and many more.

A recent report published in Dainik Jagran revealed that in just the last 2 years in Punjab, more than 3 lakh 50 thousand people have converted their religion and become Christians. According to the reports, in Punjab, only in the year 2023-24, 1.5 lakh people converted, while during 2024-25, two lakh people changed their religion.

In November 2024, a report shone light on the shocking conversion activities underway at the Calvary Church in Andhra Pradesh, which reportedly converted over 3,000 Hindus every month. The report sparked outrage among locals, following which the Andhra Pradesh government ordered its demolition.

Similarly, in December 2024, it came to the fore that Christian missionaries in Uttar Pradesh were using the “Madhesi conversion model” from Nepal, targeting economically disadvantaged groups with promises of miraculous healing and financial gain. This strategy, which has been successful in Nepal, involves Korean pastors and funding from foreign countries, raising concerns about cultural identity and national unity. It caused alarm in Uttar Pradesh and spurred the authorities into taking action against conversion ‘crusaders’.

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