On February 3, 2025, Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump announced a major shift in global politics. During a Spaces session, Musk revealed that after an in-depth discussion with Trump, they had made the decision to shut down USAID, the US government's regime change arm responsible for overseeing over $40 billion in international aid. Musk criticized the agency as "beyond repair" and labeled it a criminal enterprise.
The announcement sparked an uproar, with the Left protesting fiercely. Meanwhile, many began to investigate USAID's controversial activities, including its funding of problematic programs, involvement with deep state actors, and the chaos it had caused in various countries.
India, too, has felt the effects of USAID's involvement. The agency, along with the US deep state, has targeted India in several ways—from funding media organizations that promote radical leftist ideologies to supporting religious conversions. USAID's influence is pervasive.
OpIndia conducted an investigation into one such recipient of USAID funds, World Vision International, which received over $2 billion in aid. World Vision India, a key player in this network, received hundreds of crores annually. While posing as a humanitarian organization, World Vision has been exposed as a Christian fundamentalist group focused on converting Hindus, particularly children and women. Active in India since 1951, World Vision has spent over 70 years receiving funds for religious conversions and subverting Hinduism. It was only in 2024 that the Modi government revoked its FCRA license, curbing its conversion efforts in the country.
USAID-funded World Vision has long been accused of exploiting children under the guise of humanitarian work to facilitate Christian conversions.
A 2002 IRS filing by World Vision confirms that the organization is a Christian ministry with the explicit goal of spreading Christianity globally. It also acknowledges receiving funding from USAID. This reveals a longstanding pattern of USAID and World Vision channeling aid funds to convert Hindus, particularly children, to Christianity.
The Origins of World Vision: USAID Funding and the Transformation of a Young Girl in China
World Vision, on its website, describes the organisation’s founding as follows:
Bob Pierce established World Vision three years after encountering an abandoned child and refusing to turn a blind eye. Realizing that the last $5 in his pocket was not enough, he understood that a larger collective effort was needed for a sustainable solution and greater impact. Initially headquartered in Oregon, the organisation focused on emergency missions in East Asia. Today, World Vision has grown into the world’s largest Christian international non-governmental organisation, operating in nearly 100 countries.
The World Vision India website presents a similar ‘humanitarian’ narrative, omitting crucial details. It states that Bob Pierce gave his last $5 to support a child in China who had been abandoned by her parents but does not explain the circumstances behind her abandonment.
World Vision's version of events portrays Bob Pierce—its founder and a leading evangelist—as someone who was simply driven by compassion for underprivileged children, willingly parting with his last money to aid the poor. However, this account is incomplete and serves to reinforce a carefully crafted humanitarian image.
According to the book Religion in Philanthropic Organisations, edited by Thomas J. Davis, Dean and Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts, the real story unfolds differently. World Vision's origins trace back to a young girl in China who converted to Christianity after attending a sermon by evangelist Bob Pierce at her school.
The book says:
As the founder of both World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, Bob Pierce may rank as the leading religious philanthropist of the twentieth century. He first visited China as an evangelist in 1947. Upon his arrival, a Dutch Reformed missionary, Tena Hoelkeboer, invited him to preach to her school of four hundred Chinese girls. Pierce agreed, but, the day after his short evangelistic sermon, one of Hoelkeboer’s students, White Jade, informed her father that she had converted to Christianity. Her father’s response was to throw her out of the house. Hoelkeboer, distressed at the prospect of taking on yet another orphan, demanded of Pierce, “What are you going to do about it? Pierce gave Hoelkeboer ten dollars, all the money he had, and promised to send more each month on his return to the United States. After his return home, Pierce recounted the story to his American audiences, and it continues to be retold as the origin of both World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. Pierce’s initial overseas encounter changed him. He had gone as a young American evangelist but returned as a missionary ambassador, bringing both the spiritual and physical needs of the world to the attention of American evangelicals. Pierce soon founded World Vision in 1950 as a small American evangelical agency with a simple mission of evangelism and child care in Asia.
The book edited by Thomas J. David reveals a deeper and more complex origin story of World Vision than what is presented on the organization's website. According to the account, Bob Pierce was involved in converting minors to Christianity in China. During a visit to a school, he delivered an evangelical sermon, leading a young girl to convert. As a result, her family disowned her, leaving her without a home. In response to such situations, World Vision was founded to support and rehabilitate girls like her.
According to the book, Bob Pierce converted 17,000 people to Christianity during his visit to China in 1947.
The conversion of minors clearly falls within the realm of predatory proselytization. According to Hinduphobia Tracker, ‘conversion by brainwashing’ is defined as:
“Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmits the religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to the existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinated victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes”. Children, especially, are vulnerable to such brainwashing since they have no agency and maturity to understand the repercussions of religious conversion.
It is clear that World Vision was fundamentally built on aggressive proselytization, where children were influenced to adopt Christianity.
Bob Pierce, the organization's founder, has been described as a "religious fundamentalist" in the book. The essay notes that he began preaching at 13 and later became part of a fundamentalist Christian group called "Youth For Christ" (YFC).
The book says:
One particular group, Youth for Christ (YFC), may best exemplify this reengagement. By 1944, as a travelling evangelist, Pierce had eagerly joined YFC and quickly became a vice president in the organization. Alongside other new voices such as Billy Graham, Pierce garnered national attention as politicians, preachers, and newspapermen promoted the rallies’ success. Throughout the 1940s, revivals of thousands of young people gathered in American cities each Saturday night. As its motto, “Geared to the times, but anchored to the rock,” claimed, YFC embraced popular culture, American civic faith, and potentially global outreach. Torrey Johnson, YFC’s first president, told Time magazine that his organization’s goal was the “spiritual revitalization of America and the complete evangelization of the world in our generation.” Youth for Christ sponsored hundreds of “world vision” rallies promoting the work of international missionaries.
The book also states that YFC had formed “invasion teams” dedicated to achieving “greater conquests for Christ.”
Additionally, it reveals that Bob Pierce saw himself as the next Billy Graham—one of America's most renowned evangelists. This name will carry significance later in the article. As the founder of World Vision, Pierce eventually earned the title of the “Billy Graham of Asia.”
Furthermore, Pierce is described as a “Cold Warrior”—a fervent supporter of U.S. foreign policy. The book says:
As an ardent “Cold Warrior,” Pierce supported America’s global reach to contain communism in Asia. He became a field representative in the emerging International Christian Leadership (ICL) organization that networked with American politicians and international Christian leaders in efforts to strengthen both foreign relations and worldwide Christian revival.
In this context, it is evident that Bob Pierce was an active evangelist and focused almost solely on converting people to Christianity in Asia and idolised Billy Graham – so much so – that he came to be known as Billy Graham of India. Further, Pierce also aligned himself with US foreign policy aims during the cold war and received over 50% of its revenue from the US government since the early days of World Vision.
USAID's Support for World Vision and Its Impact in India
According to the World Vision India website, here is how the organization traces its origins:
1950: Bob Pierce founded World Vision, launching the child sponsorship program in response to the plight of hundreds of thousands of orphans from the Korean War.
1951: World Vision began its operations in India and later established a small, single-room office in Kolkata in 1958.
1960: World Vision India initiated six childcare projects and collaborated with institutions focused on child welfare.
The narrative then continues, highlighting World Vision’s humanitarian efforts in India.
However, as is often the case with World Vision, the reality appears to be quite different—and far more complicated—than the version they present.
Before arriving in India, Bob Pierce was actively involved in proselytizing in Korea, having already converted 17,000 people in China. His missionary work in China came to an abrupt halt following the Communist Revolution, which led to the expulsion of foreign missionaries. He then turned to Korea, but after converting some individuals, he had to leave once Communist forces advanced into North Korea.
Undeterred, Pierce remained determined to continue his mission. Leveraging media coverage, he found a way back into Korea under the guise of a "war correspondent," where he provided aid to Christians affected by the conflict.
Pierce stayed in Seoul until 1952. However, according to Man of Vision, a book written by his daughter, he was already in India by 1953.
In a letter from February 1953, Bob Pierce describes his time in Calcutta, where he worked on converting Hindus and Sikhs.
Similarly, during 1956-1957, Pierce returned to India to preach, focusing once again on Indian students and children.
The World Vision website states that it began operations in India in 1951 and later established an office in Calcutta in 1958. However, it strategically omits Pierce's earlier travels to India and his extensive conversion efforts in the country.
Nehru's Encounter with Bob Pierce and Billy Graham: A Turning Point in Religious Conversions and U.S. Influence
The World Vision website notably omits a significant detail. During 1956-1957, while Bob Pierce was engaged in converting Hindus and Sikhs, he also had a noteworthy meeting with then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
A photograph from the archives of George Fox University captures this moment, showing Bob Pierce alongside another renowned evangelist, Billy Graham, meeting with PM Nehru.
To fully grasp the significance of this image, it is essential to understand not only Billy Graham’s presence but also who he was.
William Franklin Graham Jr., better known as Billy Graham, was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister. Throughout his career, he actively preached the gospel and converted people while forging close relationships with world leaders. He maintained particularly strong ties with several U.S. Presidents. He famously said, “Everywhere I go I find that people … both leaders and individuals … are asking one basic question,” Billy Graham has said. “‘Is there any hope for the future?’ My answer is the same, ‘Yes, through Jesus Christ.’”
According to the Billy Graham website, after receiving encouragement from a key member of the Evangelical Alliance in London, Rev. Billy Graham organized Crusades in several Indian cities, including Bombay (now Mumbai), Madras (now Chennai), Kottayam, Palamcottah, New Delhi, and Calcutta (now Kolkata).
His first visit to India is documented as having taken place in 1956. The website notes, “His 1956 visit was timely, as India was beginning to strengthen its ties with the Communist bloc, raising questions about the role of Western influence and faith in the area. Billy Graham, however, was well prepared, taking the initiative to meet with the current secretary of state for a briefing on relations between the U.S. and India”.
This trip held significance not only in terms of Christian conversions but also from a geopolitical standpoint. During this period, Graham and Bob Pierce had the opportunity to meet with Jawaharlal Nehru.
David Aikman, a former TIME magazine senior correspondent, provides details of this meeting in his book Billy Graham – His Life and Influence, highlighting that Graham's actions aligned with U.S. foreign policy objectives.
The book says, “Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had just started to implement his policy of nonalignment in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Though India was a democratic nation, Nehru had been profoundly influenced by Fabian socialism and, in fact, was sympathetic to Marxism. His concept of “nonalignment” and “neutralism” made him unwilling to be a pawn of Washington against Moscow. India, however, was by far the most important of the nations of the “third world” (another Nehru coinage) that had not yet succumbed to Communist Party rule, and Delhi’s sympathy toward Moscow not only rankled Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, but also it frankly worried him. With Graham’s India crusade followed by just two months the triumphant visit to Delhi by Soviet leaders Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev, the religious event also had important implications for American diplomacy”.
The book clearly asserts that the U.S. government leveraged Billy Graham’s Christian crusades to advance its foreign policy objectives, with the first known instance occurring during Graham’s visit to India.
Before Graham's trip, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent him a message of goodwill, while Secretary of State John Foster Dulles met with him to emphasize the importance of avoiding political missteps and prioritizing the promotion of American interests.
The book says, “This was but the first of many occasions US administrations found it useful to capitalize or piggyback on Graham’s evangelistic activities and indeed his prominence as a worldwide evangelist. In decades to come, not only did his crusades have the indirect effect of helping to bring down totalitarian regimes, but, on occasion, Graham served as an unofficial emissary for American presidents to world leaders with whom the US government was unable otherwise to have direct contact”.
The book reveals that John Sherman Cooper, the US Ambassador to India, had vigorously urged Nehru to meet with Graham. During their meeting, Nehru appeared disinterested until Graham began discussing Christianity.
During the meeting, it was mentioned that while Billy Graham expressed his admiration for India to Nehru, the latter appeared uninterested and absentmindedly played with a paper opener.
However, the dynamic shifted when Graham adjusted his approach. Noticing that Nehru was not particularly engaged in discussing his knowledge of India, he steered the conversation toward Christianity instead.
“Nehru immediately became alert and, according to Graham, began to ask questions”, the book says. The book unveils a startling revelation: Jawaharlal Nehru once told Billy Graham that he had no objections to Christian missionaries as long as they stayed away from politics.
Notably, an image featuring Nehru, Billy Graham, and Bob Pierce was "created on" the George Fox University website in 1957. However, based on available records, the actual meeting likely occurred in 1956. This meeting is documented in multiple books, including Billy Graham’s autobiography, Just As I Am. Interestingly, Graham's book does not mention Bob Pierce being present at the meeting, though it makes it clear that Graham and Pierce were well acquainted.
In the biographical book on Bob Pierce, This One Thing I Do, Billy Graham wrote the introduction. This book, which includes a foreword by the Chaplain of the United States Senate, features a photograph of the same meeting with Nehru. However, within the book itself, there is no textual mention of Nehru or the meeting with Graham. A comparison of the images makes it evident that they originate from the same event, raising the curious question of why Billy Graham—who contributed the introduction—appears to have been edited out of the picture.
Independent accounts confirm that Bob Pierce was in India during 1956-1957, coinciding with Billy Graham’s visit. Given this timeline, it is reasonable to infer that the meeting in which Nehru expressed his stance on missionary activity was the same one attended by Bob Pierce. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that Billy Graham’s extensive 800-page autobiography references only this single meeting with Nehru.
Nehru's Appreciation for Billy Graham and Bob Pierce's Work in India
In the introduction about India, Billy Graham mentions in his book "Billy Graham was cutting through India like Gabriel in a gabardine suit.” That was the way Time described me in the February 13, 1956, issue. It was nice to get some coverage in the Luce magazine, but I preferred the Associated Press wirephoto of me astride an elephant in Kottayam, looking far from angelic as I held on for dear life to the tough hide behind those huge floppy ears.”
This is the visit where Graham met Nehru and expressed his appreciation for his work.
The TIME magazine issue featuring Graham, titled “Religion: Billy in India,” was published on February 13, 1956. An archived version of the article can be accessed here.
In his autobiography, Billy Graham references the same article from the magazine, stating (emphasis added):
“Many Indians seem to have the idea that Christianity is a Western religion,” he told them. “That is wrong. There were Christian churches in India before America was discovered.” And when he invited his audience to “make decisions for Christ,” they surged forward in record numbers. In three days, he spoke to more than 100,000 people, and received about 4,000 “decisions.” In his book, Graham says that there could have been more converts but at least he made up for it by distributing 12,000 copies of the Bible.
When TIME talks about “4000 decisions for Christ”, it essentially means that Billy Graham managed to convert 4000 non-Christians into Christianity during that “crusade”.
TIME also states in the article (with emphasis added):
Presiding over a gathering of 15,000 on the grounds of New Delhi’s Y.M.C.A. was an Indian Christian Princess, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who in 1930 renounced her father’s palace in Lucknow, became a Christian (Presbyterian), and is now India’s Minister of Health. “Billy Graham,” she said, “is one of those rare jewels who tread this earth periodically and draw, by their lives and teaching, millions of others closer to God.”
In his book, Graham recounts a discussion with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.
“Billy,” John said, “you are on your way to India, a country that has no conception of God. You will need a special approach to break into people’s thinking, because they know nothing of the Bible or God. Do you have such an approach in mind?”
Essentially, this implies that Dulle was completely aware of the missionary work Graham planned to carry out in India.
On the same trip, while Graham was in Madras, he wrote about it, “I spoke to a student gathering of 7,500 out of which 250 responded to the Invitation to commit their lives to Christ. Many were from non-Christian backgrounds”.
In his writings, Graham disparages Hindus and their faith, shedding tears and praying for their conversion to Christianity while standing inside a temple. Before meeting Prime Minister Nehru in Delhi, he had already visited Bombay and Madras. Nehru’s praise for Graham’s work and endorsement of his missionary activities effectively extended to the Hinduphobic narratives Graham later described in his book.
Graham states that while addressing crowds in India, he refrained from directly criticizing Hinduism and instead focused on promoting Christianity. However, he admits that he conveyed the message that only Jesus Christ was worthy of worship, rejecting the reverence of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Continuing his evangelism in Kottayam and Palamcottah, Graham eventually arrived in Delhi, where he preached and converted people in a massive gathering. He was introduced by Congress leader Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, India’s first health minister and a Christian. It was reportedly through Kaur’s connections that Graham later secured a meeting with Prime Minister Nehru.
India Revisited: Indira Gandhi's Enduring Legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru
In 1972, Billy Graham made a return visit to India. On November 24, 1972, The Hindu published a report stating:
The noted American evangelist, Dr. Billy Graham, to-night expressed the hope that his visit to this country would help improve relations between India and the United States. Dr. Graham, who was talking to newsmen at the airport here on his arrival from Kohima, was asked if he was carrying any message from President Nixon for Mrs. Indira Gandhi. “I am sorry, I can’t answer that,” he replied. Dr. Graham, a close friend of Mr. Nixon, is scheduled to meet Mrs. Gandhi on Monday. Dr Graham said the Indian Government had gone out of the way in permitting him to visit Nagaland. “I am grateful for this,” he added. During his stay in the capital, he will also call on the President, Mr. V.V. Giri. Earlier, talking to newsmen at Calcutta airport, Dr Graham said he had talks with Mr Nixon twice before he left for India. “I love India and I want the United States and India to become very close friends. This is necessary because we need each other for our mutual interests,” he said.
Here are the key operative points from this brief report that we should keep in mind:
He stated that he could not disclose to the press the message he was delivering from President Nixon to Indira Gandhi.
The Indian government had made a special exception to allow him to visit Nagaland.
He expressed his desire for stronger US-India relations.
The Hindu’s report portrayed Graham as merely a Christian pastor with ties to the US President, visiting India to foster diplomatic relations and travel to Nagaland. However, the full story was far more complex—something The Hindu chose not to highlight.
Billy Graham recounts his 1972 visit to India and his meeting with Indira Gandhi in his autobiography.
Regarding his assignment to meet Indira Gandhi, Graham writes:
President Nixon, at the request of the American consul in New Delhi, had personally asked me to seek an interview with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in part to find out from her what kind of ambassador she wanted from America. He asked me to notice every single thing about her—the movement of her hands, the expression on her face, how her eyes looked. “When you’ve finished the interview,” he said to me, “go to the American embassy and dictate your report to me.” And so, when I visited with Mrs. Gandhi in the Indian capital, I put the question to her. She told me she wanted someone who understood economics, who had the ear of the President, and who had influence in Congress. This I reported to the President. He later appointed Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Whether my report influenced the President’s decision, I never learned.
Billy Graham's autobiography reveals that while he was in India for an entirely different purpose, the U.S. government tasked him with meeting Indira Gandhi, observing her demeanor, and reporting back. His account also suggests that he had significant influence within the U.S. administration.
However, this government directive was merely an additional request imposed on him. Graham's primary reason for visiting India was unrelated to politics.
In his book, he explicitly states that his visit to Nagaland was for evangelism.
“Our purpose in going to India was to preach in Nagaland, an isolated area tucked in the mountainous, jungle-covered northeast corner of India near the Burmese border. The area was home to a dozen separate tribes, each with its own dialect and often with a history of headhunting“, Graham writes.
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