The research group said in a report released on Monday that about 75 per cent, or 498, of those incidents took place in states governed by the BJP – the maximum happening in the states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Hate speech targeting Muslims in India rose by 62 per cent in the second half of 2023 compared to the first six months of the year, India Hate Lab, a Washington-based research group said on Monday. According to the group, there were 668 hate speech incidents targeting Muslims in 2023.
239 (36 per cent) of the events included a direct call of violence against Muslims, the group said, adding that the Israel-Gaza war played a key role in the last three months.
The research group said in a report released on Monday that about 75 per cent, or 498, of those incidents took place in states governed by the BJP – the maximum happening in the states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
In BJP-ruled states, around 11 per cent of events featured BJP leaders, whereas in non-BJP-ruled states, this figure rose to 28 per cent. BJP leaders were involved in delivering hate speeches at 100 (15 per cent) of the events. BJP legislator T Raja Singh spoke at 23 events, including 14 dangerous speeches with calls to violence against Muslims the report said, adding “Our report has found rapid growth of new Hindu nationalist groups and actors engaging in hate speech.”
Hate speech events peaked between August and November, coinciding with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-Bajrang Dal Shaurya Jagran rallies and state legislative elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh. Approximately 318 hate speech events, or 48 per cent of the total, took place during this period.
“420 (63 per cent) of the events included references to conspiracy theories, primarily involving love jihad, land jihad, halal jihad, and population jihad,” the India Hate Lab report said. 169 (25 per cent) of the events featured speeches calling for targeting Muslim places of worship. 41 of the 193 (21 per cent) events that took place between October 7 (the day Hamas attacked Israel and the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza) and December 31, 2023, mentioned the Israel-Gaza war to stoke hatred towards Indian Muslims.
