Hate speech against minorities in India increases by 74 percent

Last Updated on February 12, 2025 6:28 am

Hate speech against Muslims and other religious minorities in India has increased by 74 percent in just one year. The US-based think tank ‘India Hate Lab’ said that 1,165 hate speech incidents were recorded in the country in 2024, which is 74.4 percent more than in 2023.

Citing a report by the India Hate Lab, the British news agency Reuters reported that 98.5 percent of the hate speech was directed at minority Muslims and Christians. And 10 percent of Christians were indirectly targeted.

‘India Hate Lab’ is a project of the Washington-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate. The report published under this project said that the highest number of hate speech incidents occurred in areas ruled by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.

The India Hate Lab described the increase in such hate speech as ‘deeply worrying’.

According to the United Nations, any form of communication, speech, writing or conduct that insults the religion, nationality, race, ethnicity, gender or identity of a person or group is considered hate speech.

Taking this definition into account, India Lab said that 80 percent of hate speech incidents in India in 2024 occurred in BJP-ruled states and union territories.

India Hate Lab stated that there is a “clear link” to political power with these incidents. The organization says that the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are at the forefront of hate speech incidents. More than half of the total incidents occurred in these three BJP-ruled states.

India Hate Lab also said that only 20 percent of hate speech incidents in 2024 occurred in opposition-ruled states.

32 percent of the hate speech incidents occurred during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Of these incidents, at least 259 were directly inciting to violence, India Hate Lab stated.