A new report has highlighted a disturbing rise in hate speech incidents targeting religious minorities in India, with a 74.4% increase in 2024 compared to the previous year. According to the India Hate Lab, a project by the Washington-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate, there were 1,165 recorded incidents of hate speech last year, a sharp escalation that signals a concerning trend, particularly in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The majority of these incidents—98.5%—were directed at Muslims, with many instances targeting the community either explicitly or alongside Christians. Christians also made up nearly 10% of the targets. The report indicates that nearly 80% of the hate speech events occurred in BJP-ruled states or federal territories, with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh leading the nation in incidents. Together, these states contributed to almost half of the total recorded hate speech events.
The report’s findings suggest a strong correlation between political control and the prevalence of hate speech, underscoring how regions under BJP governance have seen a sharp rise in these incidents. The timing of this surge is also significant, as the data shows a marked increase during the lead-up to the 2024 general elections, with hate speech incidents making up 32% of the total.
“The persistence of hate speech targeting minorities—and its sharp escalation in the lead-up to the 2024 elections—suggests a deeply troubling trajectory,” the report stated. “Hate speech is no longer just an instrument of communal polarization but is becoming increasingly normalized as a standard feature of Indian political culture and electoral campaigns.”
Of particular concern are the 259 incidents, over 22% of the total, that featured “dangerous speech,” including explicit calls for violence. These events primarily occurred in BJP-ruled areas, marking an 8.4% increase in such incidents from the previous year. The report, citing the Dangerous Speech Project, defines dangerous speech as communications that increase the risk of violence against members of another group.
Social media platforms were found to play a significant role in amplifying hate speech. According to the report, 995 of the recorded events were first shared or live-streamed on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), often without being removed despite violating the platforms’ community guidelines. This complicity of Big Tech in allowing hate speech to spread further was a key point raised by Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.
“Our report clearly demonstrates that anti-minority hate speech follows a deliberate pattern. It is no longer just an instrument of communal polarization but has shockingly become a standard feature of Indian political culture, electoral campaigns, and social fabric,” Naik said. He also criticized the Indian government’s politicization of religious identity, noting that even opposition leaders have refrained from condemning hate speech against Muslims.
The report also pointed to the rise in hate speech targeting places of worship, particularly Muslim and Christian religious sites, with 274 incidents recorded in 2024. Additionally, hate speech against vulnerable communities, such as the Rohingya and Bangladeshi-origin people, has also increased.
Interestingly, the southern state of Karnataka, which was governed by the BJP until May 2023, saw a 20% decline in hate speech incidents after the Congress party took power. The report credited the new administration’s measures for contributing to the decline in hate speech.
Overall, the report paints a grim picture of India’s political and social landscape, where hate speech is no longer considered an outlier but an entrenched feature of public discourse. It warns that the normalization of such rhetoric could have grave implications for the security, psychological well-being, and fundamental sense of belonging of religious minorities in India.
