Hate speech against religious minorities rose sharply in 2025, finds India Hate Lab
Washington, DC : At least 1,318 in-person hate speech events targeting religious minorities were recorded across India in 2025, showing a significant rise in public rhetoric directed largely at Muslims and Christians, according to a new annual report by the India Hate Lab.
The report which is a project of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, notes a steady escalation over recent years, with incidents increasing by 13 percent compared to 2024 and nearly doubling since 2023. The documentation includes speeches that promoted conspiracy theories, issued calls for violence, encouraged social and economic boycotts, demanded the seizure or destruction of places of worship, employed dehumanizing language, or targeted Rohingya refugees living in India.
Of the 1,289 speeches analyzed, 98 percent focused on Muslims, either directly or alongside Christians. Hate speech involving Christians appeared in 162 incidents, a sharp rise from the previous year. Researchers noted that these patterns indicate a widening scope of anti-minority rhetoric rather than isolated spikes, using the United Nations definition of hate speech.
Geographically, the data show a heavy concentration in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies. Nearly 88 percent of all recorded incidents occurred in BJP-ruled states, coalition-led National Democratic Alliance states, or BJP-administered Union Territories. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi together accounted for nearly two-thirds of the incidents nationwide. These occurrences were less common in states governed by opposition parties than in 2024.
The report also identifies the organizations and individuals most frequently linked to these gatherings. Groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad were named as leading organizers. More than 160 organizations or informal groups were connected to hate speech events during the year. Among individuals, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was recorded as delivering the highest number of speeches flagged under the study’s criteria, followed by Hindutva leader Pravin Togadia and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay.
Religious figures, including Hindu monks and religious leaders, took part in 145 activities, which added religious validity to political rhetoric against minorities. Nearly half of all statements evoked conspiracy theories such as “love jihad” and “population jihad,” while more than 300 included explicit demands for violence or the use of guns. Maharashtra had the highest number of remarks deemed especially harmful due to violent content.
Researchers also noted a rise in calls for boycotts and the removal or destruction of mosques, shrines and churches and specific sites like the Gyanvapi Mosque and the Shahi Idgah Mosque were named several times. Minorities were described using demeaning language, such as pests, animals, or illness.
Social media played a central role in amplifying these events. Videos from nearly all recorded incidents were first uploaded or live-streamed online, primarily on Facebook, followed by YouTube, Instagram and X.
Raqib Hameed Naik, Executive Director of the CSOH said “The BJP’s election-period strategy of overt communal polarization failed to deliver the decisive mandate it anticipated in 2024, leading to a shift in approach rather than an abandonment of that strategy.”
He further added “Our data show a move toward sustained, decentralized, ground-level mobilization by Hindu nationalist groups within the RSS-led ecosystem, using rallies, religious events, and local processions to keep anti-Muslim fear and hostility active in everyday political life. This points to a long-term strategy aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of upcoming state elections and the 2029 general elections.”
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
