WASHINGTON: A report by Hindutva Watch, a Washington-based organization dedicated to monitoring attacks on minorities, has raised concerns about the increasing incidents of anti-Muslim hate speech in India during the first half of 2023. The report highlights a total of 255 documented incidents, averaging more than one per day, predominantly in states gearing up for upcoming elections.
Notably, the report lacks comparative data for previous years, making it challenging to gauge the extent of this surge in hate speech. Hindutva Watch employed the United Nations’ definition of hate speech, characterizing it as “any form of communication that employs prejudiced or discriminatory language towards an individual or group based on attributes such as religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or other identity factors.”
The report further reveals that approximately 70% of these hate speech incidents unfolded in states slated for elections in 2023 and 2024, with Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat emerging as the most affected regions. The nature of these hate speech events often involved the dissemination of conspiracy theories, calls for violence, and socio-economic boycotts targeting Muslim communities.
Alarmingly, around 80% of these incidents were concentrated in regions where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, holds power. The BJP is also widely expected to perform well in the forthcoming general elections in 2024.
Hindutva Watch’s methodology involved monitoring the online activities of Hindu nationalist groups, verifying videos of hate speeches shared on social media platforms, and compiling data on isolated incidents reported by the media.
India’s Govt Accused of Mistreating Muslims
Prime Minister Modi’s government has consistently denied allegations of minority abuse. The Indian embassy in Washington has not issued any official comment on the report, according to Reuters.
Human rights organizations have accused Prime Minister Modi’s administration of mistreating Muslims during his tenure. These allegations have cited the 2019 citizenship law, criticized by the UN human rights office as “fundamentally discriminatory” for excluding Muslim migrants, as well as anti-conversion legislation seen as a challenge to freedom of belief and the 2019 revocation of Kashmir’s special status.
Additional grievances raised include the demolition of Muslim properties due to illegal construction and the ban on wearing hijabs in classrooms in Karnataka during the BJP’s rule, underscoring the ongoing tensions surrounding religious and minority rights in India.
