In the past year, India saw a sharp spike in hate speech against minority communities. As per a report published by the Washington-based research group India Hate Lab, an increase of 74 percent has been recorded.
The report, released on Monday, has documents 1,165 such instances, some of which have been stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah.
In the past year, India saw a sharp spike in hate speech against minority communities. As per a report published by the Washington-based research group India Hate Lab, an increase of 74 percent has been recorded.
The report, released on Monday, has documents 1,165 such instances, some of which have been stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah.
As per the report, Muslims were the most targeted. Around 98.5 percent of the instances of hate speech which were recorded were directed towards the community.
The number of recorded hate speeches in 2024, which was also the year Modi took oath for a third term, was more than double the instances recorded in 2023. As per the report, in 2023, the number stood at 668.
India Hate Lab further added that a majority of the hate speech instances were recorded at political rallies, religious processions, protest marches and other cultural gatherings.
During the campaigning for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, Prime Minister Modi was under fire for the controversial remarks. Speaking in Rajasthan, Modi alleged that the Congress government wants to "take away women's gold and managalsutras to give to the infilitrators."
"When Congress were in power, they had said Muslims have the first right to the wealth of the nation. This means they will distribute this wealth to those who have more children, to infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators? Do you agree to this?" asked PM Modi.
A few days after the row, the prime minister went on record and stated that he has not and will never make such remarks which target one community or the other.