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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Assam BJP social media co-convenor removed for uploading controversial video
Guwahati (PTI): The Assam BJP has removed a co-convenor of its social media team for posting the now-deleted video featuring Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that created a huge controversy, a senior leader said on Thursday.
The video showed Sarma purportedly taking aim with a rifle and firing a shot at two people, one wearing a skull cap and the other with a beard, with "point-blank shot" as the caption.
The AI-generated video was uploaded on the state BJP's official X handle on Saturday evening, before being deleted after a political backlash.
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"The video was uploaded without proper vetting in an unauthorised manner. The person concerned has been removed from the post of co-convenor of the social media team," the senior leader told PTI.
The removed social media co-convenor was identified as Ron Vikash Gaurav.
"Only a few people have the right to create posts and upload publicity materials on the BJP social media handles. Usually, they can do it on their own for sharing party programmes or speeches of our leaders. But for sensitive topics, they need authorisation from the social media in-charge or party president or the CM's office if it involves the chief minister," the senior BJP leader said.
Ranjib Kumar Sarmah currently heads the social media team of the state BJP, and there were four co-convenors in his team, prior to the removal of Gaurav.
CM Sarma on Wednesday said that the police have registered a case based on a complaint by Congress leaders over the video. He said that a BJP worker has also filed a separate police complaint over the same issue.
Sarma had on Monday claimed that he was not aware of the video, while state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi accused the CM of "inciting genocide" against Muslims through his videos and urged the police to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi had on Monday lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad Police, seeking criminal action against the Assam CM over the now-deleted video.
Sarma had responded to it, saying, "If any case has been filed against me, arrest me. I don't have any objection. I will be prepared to go to jail. I will always stick to my words. I am opposed to Bangladeshi infiltrators and will always remain so."
