By Vishal Arora
(ANALYSIS) In 2025, India recorded 1,318 in-person hate speech events, averaging more than three per day and overwhelmingly led by Hindu nationalist groups and political actors affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, according to a report by the India Hate Lab.
The report supports the inference that a political choice is behind the sustained scale of public incitement, which undermines both the rule of law and the idea of equal citizenship.
The 400-page report presents data that show a steady, organised ecosystem of hate mobilised largely against India’s Muslim and Christian minorities. Of the 1,318 incidents, 98 percent targeted Muslims either alone or along with Christians.
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh saw the highest numbers, and April had the sharpest spike, coinciding with both Ram Navami processions and public mobilisation following the Pahalgam terror attack, according to the India Hate Lab, a research project based in Washington, D.C. in the United States and led by Indian American researchers and journalists, that tracks and analyses hate speech and organized hate in India.
The majority of speeches were tied to Hindu nationalist organizations including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad. Over 50 percent included conspiracy theories such as “love jihad,” “land jihad” and “thook jihad.”
“Love jihad” claims that Muslim men deceive Hindu women into relationships or marriage to convert them to Islam. “Land jihad” alleges that Muslims systematically encroach on public or forest land to expand religious influence and shift local demographics. “Thook jihad” accuses Muslims of intentionally spitting in food meant for Hindus to contaminate it or insult religious purity.
Nearly a quarter of speeches contained direct calls for violence or arms. Others promoted economic and social boycotts, or the destruction of religious sites.
This story was originally published in religionunplugged.com. Read the full story here.