The study noted a “notable peak” in hate speech in May 2024, at the height of the election process. (image/minorityrights.org)

Nearly 79.9 percent of events where hate speech was recorded occurred in states or Union Territories ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, found a study by Washington, DC-based research group India Hate Lab on Monday.

Titled Social Media and Hate Speech in India, the study found that anti-minority hate speech in the country rose by 74.4 percent in 2024 compared to 2023. The study took into account nearly 1,165 instances of hate speech against religious minority communities, especially Muslims and Christians, in 2024. In 2013, the number of hate speech incidents was recorded at 668.

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Nearly 1,147, comprising 98.5 percent, of hate speeches were made against Muslims either explicitly (1,050 instances) or alongside Christians (97). Around 115, comprising 9.9 percent, of hate speeches targeted Christians, either explicitly (18) or alongside Muslims (97). The study observed that there was some overlap as several events and gatherings featured hate speech directed at both Muslims and Christians.

Notably, the study emphasised that there was a “notable peak” in hate speech in May 2024, at the height of the election process. Leaders from the BJP, religious figures associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, and other Hindu nationalist organisations were responsible for a majority of the hate speech incidents during this period.

A second peak in hate speech was recorded in August 2024 following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh. “The specter of the Hindu minority community being under attack in Bangladesh provided rich fodder for anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate in India,” it added.

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BJP-Ruled States and Leaders at the Forefront

The report states that out of the ten most frequent purveyors of hate speech, six were politicians, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

While Adityanath was responsible for 86 (7.4 percent) hate speech incidents, Modi delivered 67 (5.7 percent) of all hate speeches in 2024, highlighted the study. Their speeches were further amplified by local BJP leaders, far-right Hindutva organisations, and religious figures.

“Hate speech patterns in 2024 also revealed a deeply alarming surge in dangerous speech compared to 2023, with both political leaders and religious figures openly inciting violence against Muslims. This included calls for outright violence, calls to arms, the economic boycott of Muslim businesses, the destruction of Muslim residential properties, and the seizing or demolition of Muslim religious structures,” it added.

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh were the top three states with the highest number of hate speech events. The BJP-ruled states collectively accounted for 47 percent of all recorded hate speech events in 2024.

Meanwhile, states ruled by the opposition recorded 234 (20 percent) of such hate speech events last year, as per the study.

“The BJP itself was the most frequent organiser, responsible for 340 hate speech events, mostly during general elections between March and June and critical state elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra—a staggering 580% increase from 2023,” it added.

The study analysed instances of hate speech during political rallies, electoral campaign events, religious processions, and protest marches.

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Social Media and Hate Speech

Social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Telegram, and X (formerly Twitter), enabled and amplified hate speech and extremist ideologies in the country and globally.

Facebook and YouTube emerged as major platforms for dissemination, with Facebook alone accounting for 495 hate speech videos, while 211 videos were exclusively shared on YouTube, according to the study.

Interestingly, 266 anti-minority hate speeches delivered by senior BJP leaders—primarily during the April–June general elections—were simultaneously live streamed across YouTube, Facebook, and X through the official social media handles of the party and the leaders.

Despite their own community standards prohibiting hate speech, social media platforms failed to enforce their guidelines, allowing violative content to spread unchecked in the country in 2024.

The hate speech content was observed to remain available even after it was removed due to re-uploading, repackaging into shorter clips, and dissemination across several social media platforms.

Jihad-Based Conspiracy Theories 

“Hate speeches frequently framed Muslims and Christians as ‘outsiders’ in Hindu India and Muslims as a threat to Hindus. These speeches emphasised a narrative of Muslims as “infiltrators,” linked to thinly veiled allegations of all Indian Muslims as Bangladeshi migrants or Rohingya refugees,” the study observed.

The study further emphasised that the speeches targeted Muslims as “parasitic” and “thieving,” accusing the religious minority of either wrongfully granting resources that belonged to Hindus or stealing Hindu wealth through acts of aggression.

From love jihad, vote jihad (promoted by PM Modi himself), and population jihad to halal jihad, thook jihad (the conspiracy that Muslims spit on food served to Hindus to spread diseases), UPSC jihad, and fertiliser jihad (promoted by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma), the narratives aimed to “frame any expression of Muslim faith or activity as part of a larger, systematic effort aimed at undermining Hindu interests.”

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Anti-Minority Hate Speech: A Deliberate Pattern

Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the think tank Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, which runs India Hate Lab, noted that the report demonstrated that anti-minority hate speech was not incidental but followed a deliberate pattern.

“It is no longer just an instrument of communal polarisation but, shockingly, a standard feature of Indian political culture and electoral campaigns, institutional structures, and social fabric,” Naik said in a statement.

A report by Human Rights Watch published in August recorded PM Narendra Modi making Islamophobic statements in 110 speeches during campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.