Situations of hate speech towards minorities jumped 74% in India in 2024, peaking in the course of the nation’s nationwide elections, in line with a brand new report.
The report, launched on Monday by Washington-based analysis group India Hate Lab, documented 1,165 such cases final yr, including that politicians like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dwelling Minister Amit Shah have been among the many most frequent purveyors of hate speech.
Muslims have been focused probably the most, with 98.5% of recorded cases of hate speech directed towards them.
The report mentioned many of the occasions the place hate speech occurred have been held in states ruled by Modi’s celebration or bigger alliance.
The BBC has sought touch upon the India Hate Lab report from a number of spokespersons at Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP).
Over time, BJP leaders have typically been accused of concentrating on India’s minority communities, particularly Muslims.
The ruling celebration has rejected allegations of Islamophobia and hate speech levelled at it by rights teams and opposition leaders.
On Tuesday, its nationwide spokesperson reiterated this stance, telling CNN that the nation had a “very sturdy authorized system which is structured to take care of peace, order and guarantee non-violence at any value”.
“Immediately’s India doesn’t want any certification from any ‘anti-India experiences business’ which is run by vested pursuits to prejudice and dent India’s picture,” Jaiveer Shergill mentioned.
However the celebration was accused of utilizing hate speech in the course of the heated election marketing campaign final yr. The prime minister himself was accused of utilizing divisive rhetoric that attacked Muslims. In Might, India’s Election Fee additionally requested the celebration to take away a social media publish that opposition leaders mentioned “demonised Muslims”.
Based on the India Hate Lab report, 269 hate speech cases have been reported in Might 2024, the best within the yr.
Christians have additionally been focused by hate speech, however to a lesser extent than Muslims, the report says.
Rights teams have typically mentioned that minorities, particularly Muslims, have confronted elevated discrimination and assaults after Modi’s authorities got here to energy in 2014. The BJP has repeatedly denied these allegations.
The lab’s report mentioned that hate speech was particularly noticed at political rallies, spiritual processions, protest marches and cultural gatherings. Most of those occasions – 931 or 79.9% – passed off in states the place the BJP straight ruled or dominated in coalition.
Three BJP-ruled states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh – accounted for practically half of the full hate speech occasions recorded in 2024, the lab’s information confirmed.
The ruling celebration was additionally the organiser for 340 such occasions in 2024, a 580% enhance from the earlier yr.
“Hate speech patterns in 2024 additionally revealed a deeply alarming surge in harmful speech in comparison with 2023, with each political leaders and spiritual figures overtly inciting violence towards Muslims,” the report mentioned.
“This included requires outright violence, calls to arms, the financial boycott of Muslim companies, the destruction of Muslim residential properties and the seizing or demolition of Muslim spiritual buildings.”