Report: Nearly 2 Hate Speech Events a Day in India in 2023

The Incidence Increased Before State Elections

Newsreel Asia Insight #145
Feb. 28, 2024

A concerning surge in hate speech incidents took place across India in 2023, with a total of 668 events specifically targeting Muslims, according to a report. A striking 75% of these incidents occurred in states and territories under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governance, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi, where the central government, led by the BJP, holds jurisdiction over police and public order.

The distribution of these events throughout the year was uneven, with 255 incidents recorded in the first half and a significant jump to 413 in the latter half, marking a 62% increase, says the report, released by India Hate Lab, a Washington D.C.-based research group run by journalists, academicians and researchers.

The analysis further says that among the eight states most affected by hate speech, six were consistently governed by the BJP, while the remaining two saw the BJP in power for portions of the year due to legislative elections.

A notable 36% of the incidents explicitly incited violence against Muslims, with a majority (77%) occurring in BJP-governed regions.

The report highlights the emergence of new Hindu nationalist groups and individuals actively participating in hate speech, with BJP leaders implicated in 15% of the events. T. Raja Singh, a BJP legislator, was notably active, speaking at 23 events, including 14 that contained direct calls for violence against Muslims, the report says. The involvement of BJP leaders was more pronounced in non-BJP states, where they featured in 28% of the events, compared to 11% in BJP-ruled states.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were the top states for hate speech incidents, together accounting for 43% of the total. The period between August and November saw a peak in hate speech, aligning with the Shaurya Jagran rallies, reportedly organised by the groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, and legislative elections in several states. During this time, nearly half of the year’s incidents were recorded.

The content of the hate speech often included references to conspiracy theories such as love jihad, land jihad, halal jihad and population jihad, making up 63% of the incidents. Additionally, 25% of the events featured calls to target Muslim places of worship. The Israel-Gaza conflict was also used to fuel hatred towards Indian Muslims in 21% of the events occurring after the outbreak of hostilities in October.

Hindu religious leaders were responsible for hate speeches in 14% of the cases, while Rohingya refugees were targeted in 4% of the events. The report also notes that 26% of the hate speech incidents took place in states with legislative elections in 2023, and 28% in states gearing up for 2024 elections, highlighting the political context in which these speeches were made.

Influential figures such as Kajal Hindustani, Pravin Togadia of the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad and Dhananjay Desai of the Hindu Rashtra Sena were identified as leading sources of hate speech, with T. Raja Singh, Togadia, and Hindustani also being the top sources of dangerous speech calling for violence.

Hate speech is any form of communication –speech, writing or behaviour – that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor. While definitions can vary by legal jurisdiction and cultural context, the essence of hate speech lies in its intention and effect: to demean, marginalise, and incite hostility against groups or individuals based on their identity.

The proliferation of hate speech cultivates an atmosphere of fear and mistrust among communities, eroding the social fabric that binds the nation together. It hampers the ability of individuals to engage with one another in a respectful and understanding manner, leading to increased social isolation and communal tensions.