Hate speech in India targeting religious minorities — mainly Muslims and Christians — rose by 13 percent in 2025, a US-based think tank has said.
The India Hate Lab (IHL) in a report released on Jan. 13 said it recorded a sharp surge in hate speech last year, documenting 1,318 verified incidents across the country.
This marks a steady rise from 1,165 cases in 2024 and 668 in 2023, with most incidents reported from states governed by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The incidents were recorded at political rallies, religious processions, protest marches, and cultural gatherings — spaces that the report says have “increasingly become platforms for inflammatory rhetoric.”