A fierce controversy has erupted in Bhopal over allegations of an organised campaign of forced religious conversion within the transgender (kinnar) community, a development that local groups have dubbed “kinnar jihad”.

Flashpoint in Bhopal’s kinnar deras

The dispute centres on Mangalwara-based kinnar dera head Suraiya Haji (also reported as Suraiya Nayak), against whom a section of Hindu kinnars and the Kinnar Akhara have levelled serious allegations of coercive conversion to Islam.
According to memorandums submitted to the district administration, protesting kinnars allege that for years Hindu disciples in certain deras have been pressured to abandon their faith, adopt Islamic practices and accept a new religious identity.

On 9–10 February 2026, dozens of kinnars reached the Bhopal collectorate under the leadership of Kinnar Akhara founder Rishi Ajay Das, staging a demonstration and demanding a high-level probe.
The protesters claimed that fear within the community is so intense that over 20 Hindu kinnars had allegedly confined themselves to a single room for several days, afraid of reprisals if they refused conversion.

Allegations: namaz, beef and violent coercion

In their written complaint to ADM Prakash Nayak, Hindu kinnars have accused Suraiya of systematically targeting Hindu disciples for conversion.
They allege that they were repeatedly instructed to recite the kalma, offer namaz and learn Islamic rituals as a condition for remaining attached to the dera and continuing their livelihood in traditional kinnar badhai (ceremonial) activities.

Multiple media reports quote complainants as saying that Hindu kinnars who observed Navratri fasts were forced to break their vrat and were compelled to consume meat, including beef, against their will.
Those who resisted were allegedly beaten with iron rods, subjected to continuous abuse and threatened with death if they did not accept Islam or follow the instructions of the dera head.

The memorandum further claims that after conversion, kinnars were pressured to contribute a fixed sum of money every month and that a substantial part of their earnings was taken away by dera leaders to be given, allegedly, for the construction or support of mosques and madrasas.​
Some complainants have also alleged the presence and infiltration of Bangladeshi kinnars in certain deras, describing this as a national security concern and urging police and central agencies to investigate the cross-border dimension.​

Scale of alleged conversions across Madhya Pradesh

Rishi Ajay Das has asserted that the issue is not limited to one dera or a single city but spans multiple districts of Madhya Pradesh.
He claims that in Bhopal, Sagar, Indore, Jabalpur, Hoshangabad (Narmadapuram), Itarsi and other cities, hundreds of kinnars have already been converted to Islam over the past several years through a mix of ideological pressure, social control and financial dependence.​

Ajay Das, who describes the trend as an Islamic conversion conspiracy mirroring narratives earlier framed as love jihad, land jihad and spit jihad, says he has been submitting memorandums on these allegations to various officials for nearly a decade.​
Despite this, he alleges, there has been no meaningful action, forcing the community to organise large-scale protests and demand a formal, time-bound investigation.​

The Kinnar Akhara has simultaneously launched a ghar wapsi campaign for kinnars who say they were converted under pressure and now wish to return to their original faith.​
Religious groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have also demanded an inquiry, describing the allegations as part of a wider pattern of illegal religious conversions in the state.​

Police response and legal context

Following the protests and memorandums at the collectorate, Bhopal Police have confirmed that they have received complaints and begun an investigation.
Statements from senior officers suggest that both sides of the dispute are being examined, with police recording depositions from alleged victims, dera leaders and other members of the community.

The case unfolds against the backdrop of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, which criminalises forced, fraudulent or allurement-based conversion, commonly known as love jihad.
In recent years, Bhopal has seen several high-profile controversies around alleged conversion networks, prompting repeated calls from political leaders and community groups for stricter enforcement of the law.​

Although no major arrests had been publicly reported in the kinnar dera case at the time of the latest reports, civil society organisations and Hindu groups are pressing for FIRs under the Freedom of Religion Act as well as general criminal provisions relating to assault, intimidation and illegal confinement.
Legal experts note that if allegations about cross-border infiltration by Bangladeshi nationals are substantiated, central agencies and immigration authorities may also become involved.​

Wider pattern of conversion disputes in Bhopal

The kinnar jihad case emerges in a city already marked by contentious debates over conversion. In 2025, for example, a Bhopal man named Shubham Goswami alleged that his Muslim girlfriend’s family forced him to convert to Islam by feeding him beef, pressuring him to offer namaz five times a day and compelling him to adopt a Muslim name; an FIR was subsequently registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the state’s anti-conversion law.

Separately, investigation agencies have claimed to uncover broader illegal conversion networks in and around Bhopal, involving alleged use of blackmail, sexual exploitation and financial inducements to secure conversions.​ These past cases have primed public opinion to view the latest kinnar dera allegations as part of a continuing pattern.

Community demands and next steps

Protesting Hindu kinnars and Kinnar Akhara leaders have listed several demands before the Bhopal administration.
These include registering FIRs under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and relevant sections of criminal law, removing alleged Islamic gaddi-patis from leadership positions in deras, verifying the identity and nationality of kinnars staying in key deras, and ensuring security for complainants who say they fear for their lives.

They have also called for a broader state-wide survey of kinnar deras to map patterns of religious affiliation, leadership control and financial flows, arguing that economic dependency and control over badhai routes and territories are being used as instruments of religious domination.
Some groups are demanding that the state government set up a special task force or commission to study the status of kinnars in Madhya Pradesh, with representation from multiple faiths and independent activists.

An unresolved and fraught controversy

As of mid-February 2026, the Bhopal kinnar jihad case remains under investigation. The outcome of the probe will not only determine potential criminal liability for individuals but could also shape how the state and society engage with both religious freedom and transgender rights in the years ahead.