WhatsApp vigilantes in India are converting Christians by force

Back then, becoming Christian came with risks from Hindu vigilante groups who considered this an affront to India’s majority religion. But Bastar’s rugged terrain and low internet penetration meant that news about conversions often didn’t spread widely. Meanwhile, Jaldhar’s family found hope and solace in their new church; they also mortgaged their farmland to pay for his mother’s treatment. Her cancer went into remission.

By the time the cancer returned and took Jaldhar’s mother this past May, India was a different country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took office the same year the Kashyaps converted, had transformed the nation, emboldening the far right, and more members of Hindu nationalist groups were becoming lawmakers. That transformation, combined with expanded internet access, cheap data, and the organizing power of WhatsApp, supercharged attacks against religious minorities.

Rest of World has documented in depth how such attacks have targeted Christians in Bastar — where a vigilante mob approached Jaldhar’s house. The mob had been coordinated on WhatsApp and had one goal: to prevent the Kashyap family from burying their matriarch, Radhibai, unless they converted to Hinduism.