A Washington-based research company reported on Monday that anti-Muslim hate speech increased by 62% in India during the second half of 2023 compared to the first six months of the year, with the Israel-Gaza war being a major factor in the final three months of the year.
In a study published on Monday, India Hate Lab revealed that it had recorded 668 instances of hate speech directed towards Muslims in 2023, 255 of which happened in the first half of the year and 413 of which happened in the final six months of the year.
The research indicates that 498, or around 75%, of those incidences occurred in states led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The research team claimed to have applied the definition of hate speech provided by the UN, which is biased or discriminatory language directed at a person or group on the basis of characteristics such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, or religion.
Rights organizations have claimed that Modi, who took office as prime minister in 2014 and is most likely to stay in that position beyond the 2024 elections, has mistreated Muslims.
The UN human rights office described a 2019 citizenship law as “fundamentally discriminatory.” They also cite anti-conversion legislation, which challenges the right to freedom of belief guaranteed by the constitution, and the 2019 revocation of Kashmir’s special status for its Muslim majority.
Moreover, during the BJP’s tenure in Karnataka, Muslim-owned buildings were demolished in the pretence of clearing out unauthorized construction, and the wearing of the hijab was outlawed in school.
The Modi administration maintains that all Indians are to profit from its initiatives and disputes the existence of minority abuse.
India Hate Lab claimed to have monitored the social media activities of Hindu nationalist organizations, validated hate speech videos shared on social media, and aggregated information on individual instances as reported by Indian media.
