Hate Speech Events in India. Report 2025
Washington, DC: India Hate Lab (IHL); Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) (2025), 111 pp.
"India Hate Lab (IHL) documented 1,318 hate speech events targeting religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in 2025 across 21 states, one union territory, and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. On average, four hate speech events occurred per day. This marks a 13% increase from 2024, and 97% increase from 2023, when 668 such incidents were recorded.
● A total of 1,289 speeches, or 98 percent, targeted Muslims, either explicitly in 1,156 cases or alongside Christians in 133 cases. This represents an increase of nearly 12 percent from the 1,147 instances recorded in 2024.
● Hate speech targeting Christians was recorded in 162 incidents, accounting for 12 percent of all events, either explicitly in 29 cases or alongside Muslims in 133 cases. This represents a nearly 41 percent increase from the 115 anti-Christian hate speech incidents documented in 2024.
● Uttar Pradesh (266), Maharashtra (193), Madhya Pradesh (172), Uttarakhand (155), and Delhi (76) recorded the highest number of hate speech events. Across the 23 states and Union Territories analyzed, the BJP held power, either independently or as part of a coalition, in 16 jurisdictions for most of the year.
● 1,164 hate speech incidents (88 percent) occurred in states governed by the BJP, either directly or with coalition partners, as well as in BJP-administered Union Territories, reflecting a 25 percent increase from the 931 incidents recorded in 2024.
● Seven opposition-ruled states recorded 154 hate speech events in 2025, a 34 percent decrease from the 234 incidents documented in these states in 2024." (Key findings, page 4)
● A total of 1,289 speeches, or 98 percent, targeted Muslims, either explicitly in 1,156 cases or alongside Christians in 133 cases. This represents an increase of nearly 12 percent from the 1,147 instances recorded in 2024.
● Hate speech targeting Christians was recorded in 162 incidents, accounting for 12 percent of all events, either explicitly in 29 cases or alongside Muslims in 133 cases. This represents a nearly 41 percent increase from the 115 anti-Christian hate speech incidents documented in 2024.
● Uttar Pradesh (266), Maharashtra (193), Madhya Pradesh (172), Uttarakhand (155), and Delhi (76) recorded the highest number of hate speech events. Across the 23 states and Union Territories analyzed, the BJP held power, either independently or as part of a coalition, in 16 jurisdictions for most of the year.
● 1,164 hate speech incidents (88 percent) occurred in states governed by the BJP, either directly or with coalition partners, as well as in BJP-administered Union Territories, reflecting a 25 percent increase from the 931 incidents recorded in 2024.
● Seven opposition-ruled states recorded 154 hate speech events in 2025, a 34 percent decrease from the 234 incidents documented in these states in 2024." (Key findings, page 4)
"Following its unprecedented surge in 2024, hate speech did not taper off in 2025, climbing further instead. The volume of hate speech in 2025 reached 1,318 incidents, surpassing the 1,165 incidents recorded in 2024. This increase confirms that the pervasive weaponization of hate speech during the 2024 general election was not an exception or aberration limited to the electoral cycle. Rather, hate speech has evolved into a central instrument of political governance that is deployed non-stop for mobilization on the ground. It serves the purpose of consolidating the Hindu majoritarian base through fearmongering narratives of victimhood and the construction of Muslims and Christians as ever-present internal threats to the Indian nation and state. A key driver of this new modality in the use of hate speech as a political constant appears to be the altered political context in India following the results of the 2024 general elections, in which the ruling PM Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to secure a parliamentary majority and needed its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners to form a coalition government. The strategy of communal mobilization deployed by the BJP in 2024 did not deliver the decisive mandate anticipated by the party that would have given it a parliamentary majority on its own without requiring seats won by its coalition partners.
The escalation of hate speech in 2025 appears to be a strategic response to the Indian election results of 2024. It signifies recalibration toward continuous, ground-level mobilization driven largely by a range of Hindu nationalist organizations within the broader Sangh Parivar ecosystem, of which the BJP functions as the political wing. Data and analysis, presented in the report, strongly suggest that this sustained mobilization is designed to keep communal polarization continuously simmering in order to shape the political terrain ahead of critically important upcoming electoral contests, including the 2026 assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal, the 2027-2028 electoral cycle in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, and, ultimately, the 2029 general elections. Hate speech in 2025 must thus be understood within a political and social environment shaped by more than a decade of intensifying Hindu nationalist mobilization and the near complete institutional capture of state and public organs by the BJP. The narratives underpinning in-person hate speech events in 2025 continued to be informed by core Hindu nationalist tropes and conspiracy theories. A constellation of conspiracy theories centered on various kinds of “jihad” were deployed to depict minorities as aggressive and treasonous actors engaged in coordinated campaigns intent on undermining Hindu culture, demographic dominance, and the very character of Indian social and economic life. As is the case with such narratives in any context, Hindu nationalist tropes and conspiracy theories are explicitly designed to be psychologically internalized as unquestionable truths and obvious within the majority consciousness. Their translation into policy is already evident in the passage and weaponization of anti-conversion laws in several BJPruled states that disproportionately target minority Muslim and Christian communities. Similarly, the ubiquity of conspiracies such as “halal jihad” and “thook jihad” contributes to entrenching a permanent sense of Hindu victimhood and siege at the hands of Muslims, laying the social and political groundwork for additional discriminatory legislations and administrative actions." (Conclusions, pages 95-96)
The escalation of hate speech in 2025 appears to be a strategic response to the Indian election results of 2024. It signifies recalibration toward continuous, ground-level mobilization driven largely by a range of Hindu nationalist organizations within the broader Sangh Parivar ecosystem, of which the BJP functions as the political wing. Data and analysis, presented in the report, strongly suggest that this sustained mobilization is designed to keep communal polarization continuously simmering in order to shape the political terrain ahead of critically important upcoming electoral contests, including the 2026 assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal, the 2027-2028 electoral cycle in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, and, ultimately, the 2029 general elections. Hate speech in 2025 must thus be understood within a political and social environment shaped by more than a decade of intensifying Hindu nationalist mobilization and the near complete institutional capture of state and public organs by the BJP. The narratives underpinning in-person hate speech events in 2025 continued to be informed by core Hindu nationalist tropes and conspiracy theories. A constellation of conspiracy theories centered on various kinds of “jihad” were deployed to depict minorities as aggressive and treasonous actors engaged in coordinated campaigns intent on undermining Hindu culture, demographic dominance, and the very character of Indian social and economic life. As is the case with such narratives in any context, Hindu nationalist tropes and conspiracy theories are explicitly designed to be psychologically internalized as unquestionable truths and obvious within the majority consciousness. Their translation into policy is already evident in the passage and weaponization of anti-conversion laws in several BJPruled states that disproportionately target minority Muslim and Christian communities. Similarly, the ubiquity of conspiracies such as “halal jihad” and “thook jihad” contributes to entrenching a permanent sense of Hindu victimhood and siege at the hands of Muslims, laying the social and political groundwork for additional discriminatory legislations and administrative actions." (Conclusions, pages 95-96)
1 Introduction, 1
2 Key Findings, 4
3 Methodology, 6
4 Hate Speech Trends in 2025, 10
5 Hate Speech Events Post Pahalgam Terror Attack , 33
6 Twin Pillars of Majoritarian Mobilization, 36
7 Hate Speech During Local and State Elections, 39
8 Weaponizing Demographic Fear During Elections and Beyond, 43
9 Anti-Christian Hate Speech, 48
10 Dangerous Speech and Call to Arms, 53
11 Dehumanization, 61
12 Social and Economic Boycott of Minorities, 64
13 Calls for Destruction of Places of Worship, 68
14 Hindu Religious Leaders and Hate Speech, 71
15 Judicial and Legislative Developments on Hate Speech, 80
16 Social Media Platforms and Hate Speech, 83
17 Conclusion, 95
2 Key Findings, 4
3 Methodology, 6
4 Hate Speech Trends in 2025, 10
5 Hate Speech Events Post Pahalgam Terror Attack , 33
6 Twin Pillars of Majoritarian Mobilization, 36
7 Hate Speech During Local and State Elections, 39
8 Weaponizing Demographic Fear During Elections and Beyond, 43
9 Anti-Christian Hate Speech, 48
10 Dangerous Speech and Call to Arms, 53
11 Dehumanization, 61
12 Social and Economic Boycott of Minorities, 64
13 Calls for Destruction of Places of Worship, 68
14 Hindu Religious Leaders and Hate Speech, 71
15 Judicial and Legislative Developments on Hate Speech, 80
16 Social Media Platforms and Hate Speech, 83
17 Conclusion, 95
