E-Paper
Probe begins in U.P.’s Pilibhit into ‘bids’ to convert Sikhs to Christianity
All-India Sikh-Punjabi Welfare Council claims over 3,000 Sikhs have been converted in villages along India-Nepal border in the last few years
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district have started a probe into allegations that around 3,000 Sikhs living in villages near the India-Nepal border have been converted to Christianity through coercion, inducements, and false promises, officials said.
The issue, raised by the All-India Sikh-Punjabi Welfare Council when a delegation of it met Pilibhit DM Sanjay Kumar Singh on Friday, has sparked concerns about internal security, with local Sikh leaders pointing to foreign agencies allegedly operating through Nepal as potential orchestrators of the conversions.
On May 13, an FIR was registered against eight named and several unknown accused at the Hazara police station on charges of illegal conversion. DM Sanjay Kumar Singh said: “The SDM of Puranpur is conducting a detailed probe alongside the district police,” Singh said, adding that “allegations of inducements linked to government schemes remain unconfirmed”.
Pilibhit SP Abhishek Yadav confirmed that a recent complaint alleging pressure to convert is under investigation. Harpal Singh Jaggi, state president of All India Sikh Punjabi Welfare Council and acting president of Lucknow Gurdwara Management Committee, alleged that Nepali pastors have been actively facilitating conversions in border villages such as Bailha, Tatarganj, and Bamanpur Bhagirath since 2020.
These villages have a combined population exceeding 20,000. “They are enticing people through temptation, superstition and false promises to cure ailments,” Jaggi alleged, adding that a list of 160 families allegedly converted has been submitted to DM Sanjay Kumar Singh and SP Abhishek Yadav.
He also claimed that a Gurmat Samagam held in February in Bailha saw 180 families reconverting to Sikhism. Local Sikh leaders claim that poverty and lack of education are the key factors making villagers vulnerable to such inducements. The victims, who have not received the promised benefits, are demanding action against the accused, but no arrests have been made so far.
