The most populous country in the world, India, has experienced a disturbing rise in hate speech during 2024.
According to CNN, a new report by a Washington-based research group revealed that religious minorities in India have faced a “staggering” rise in hate speech in 2024.
As per the IHL report released on Monday, February 10, 2025, hate speech targeting Muslim and Christian minorities rose from 668 to 1,165 in 2024, a 74% increase, of which around 98% targeted Muslims.
The report stated, “Hate speech in India in 2024 followed an alarming trajectory, deeply intertwined with the ideological ambitions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the broader Hindu nationalist movement.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was re-elected for a historic third term, was also among the top leaders spreading hate speech and fueling religious tensions, despite repeated claims of “no discrimination” against minorities, the report found.
Moreover, it also noted, “These high-profile hate speeches (by Modi and powerful regional leaders) were further amplified and reinforced by an arsenal of local BJP leaders, Hindu far-right organizations, and religious figures, who spread similar rhetoric at community and grassroots levels.”
Meanwhile, reacting to the report, BJP’s national spokesperson, Jaiveer Shergill, told CNN, “India as a nation has a very strong legal system which is structured to maintain peace and order and ensure non-violence at any cost. Today’s India does not need any certification from any ‘anti-India reports industry’ which is run by vested interests to prejudice and dent India’s image.”
Shergill, while condemning the report, also alleged that the document was published to defame India.
