In yet another disturbing instance of targeted missionary activity in Madhya Pradesh, an alleged religious conversion racket involving tribal minors has come to light from Chaubara Jagir village of Sonkutch Tehsil, Dewas district. Operating under the garb of a coaching class for underprivileged tribal children, the initiative focused on Christian religious indoctrination, luring tribal families with promises of money, education, and material incentives.
On June 20, 2025, police registered an FIR (No. 409/2025) at Sonkutch Police Station, following a detailed complaint by Gajraj Singh Sendhav, a local resident and Hindu activist. The complaint exposed a systematic attempt to convert tribal minors to Christianity by enticing them with false promises and denigrating Hindu deities in front of children and their families.
“Jesus will fulfil your wishes, not Ram or Hanuman”
According to the FIR accessed by Organiser, Gajraj Singh stated that he was informed by a villager from Bhatkund, a nearby hamlet, that a religious meeting was scheduled that morning. He, along with fellow villagers Bhim Singh and Jai Singh, reached the venue around 9:00 AM. The meeting was being held at the house of Bhagnu Jiyaji, and was already attended by several women and children from the village.
Gajraj recounted that five outsiders, including three women, Manju, Kiran, and Mahida and two men, Sachin and Mithun, were conducting the session. All of them had brought posters of Jesus Christ, which they pasted on the walls. The group began narrating Christian sermons and spreading religious messages such as:
“Our Jesus does everything. Whatever you ask from him, he fulfils. Keep his photo at home. He will protect you, not your gods.”
According to the complainant, the missionaries openly denigrated Hindu beliefs, urging people to throw away photos of Hanumanji, Bholenath, and Shri Ram, claiming they were incapable of offering protection.
“If Ram could not save his wife Sita, how will he save you? Look at the world around you, if they were gods, why would so many bad things happen every day?” the missionaries allegedly said.
They encouraged the children and families to convert, offering Rs 50,000, free education, promising admission in good schools. “Come to Jesus and your life will change. Renounce Hinduism and you will be blessed,” they reportedly told the gathering.
Gajraj said that when he and others objected to these statements, the group got into an argument. As the crowd grew and more villagers gathered, the team of missionaries attempted to disperse, but the locals had already contacted the police.
Police action and charges
The police reached the site promptly and brought the accused to the Sonkutch Police Station. Based on the statements and material evidence, they booked Manju, Kiran, Mahida, Sachin, and Mithun under Sections 3 and 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, which deals with conversion through allurement, misrepresentation, or coercion, especially of minors and tribal populations.
Section 3 of the Act prohibits conversion without prior district magistrate approval, while Section 5 outlines punishment for illegal conversion, particularly when the victims are women, minors, or persons from Scheduled Castes or Tribes.
Children as soft targets
Videos from the alleged “coaching class” site accessed by Organiser show posters inside a modest room, featuring verses aimed specifically at influencing children. It is called BBM vacation Bible school, as per the posters.
One poster with picture of Jesus reads:
“Come, children, I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.”
Another poster proclaims:
“Jehovah is the only true God. He made us, and we are his children, his servants, and his animals.”
Yet another chilling quote is displayed:
“Jesus says, allow children to come to me. Do not stop them, for only they will go to heaven who send their kids to me.”
The room was arranged like a classroom inside a house, a mat and posters on the walls, and dozens of tribal children in attendance.
“We were tracking them for weeks,” says complainant
Speaking exclusively to Organiser, complainant Gajraj Singh shared how they had been monitoring suspicious activities in the region for a while.
“This is not the first time. These people were coming and going, holding classes for kids. They claimed it was about education, but when we looked closely, we saw children being asked to pray to Jesus, call him their saviour,” he said.
He added that one of the main accused fled the scene upon seeing the villagers arrive: “He had a bag, probably full of Bibles or religious books. We couldn’t catch him, but we will ensure he is traced.”
A broader pattern
This incident in Dewas is not isolated. Earlier, Organiser reported from Jhabua, a heavily tribal-dominated district in western Madhya Pradesh, where missionary activities are rampant and deeply embedded.
In Jhabua, dense forests, inaccessible by vehicles, hide makeshift churches, often built without permission. Many Bhils, the dominant tribal group in the region, have already undergone baptism, often under new Christian names but publicly retaining Hindu names to avoid suspicion.
One major player in Jhabua is the Shalom Diocese Church, which is operating in several forested belts. Local activists say that “missionary outreach in tribal belts is no longer occasional, it is organised and continuous.”
The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021
Passed by the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 2021, the Freedom of Religion Act was designed to curb illegal religious conversions, especially in sensitive regions like tribal belts of Dewas, Jhabua, Alirajpur, and Barwani.
Key provisions of the law include:
1) Prior approval of the District Magistrate for conversion ceremonies.
2) Nullification of marriage if conversion is done for the purpose of marriage.
3) Increased punishment for converting minors, women, and Scheduled Tribes.
4) The burden of proof lies on the accused to prove that the conversion was not through allurement or coercion.
In this Dewas case, the accused could face up to 5 years of imprisonment, and more if the prosecution proves that minors and tribals were targeted.
Children need education, not indoctrination
Gajraj argues that real empowerment lies in genuine education, health, and skill development, not in religious exploitation.
“When a child is told their gods are false and only this new god can help them, it creates confusion, guilt, and long-term cultural alienation,” he said.
He further added: “We are not against any religion. But converting children without understanding, by luring them with food or schooling, is not faith, it is coercion.”
A tactic repeated, a culture under threat
The Dewas incident throws light on the persistent challenge of religious exploitation under the guise of welfare and education in tribal Bharat. What appears as a simple “Sunday school” or “coaching class” often turns into a deeply layered process of alienating children from their ancestral faith and integrating them into a new religious identity.
As Organiser continues to document such cases, one thing becomes clear, these are not isolated events but part of a structured strategy targeting vulnerable populations. It is time to build a system that not just punishes wrongdoers but creates a space where no child has to trade their faith for food or schooling.
Comments