Election Brief: Hate Speech and Polarization Overshadow Election Campaigning in Maharashtra
The Maharashtra state elections, set to take place on November 20, 2024, have been marked by rampant anti-Muslim hate speeches during the ongoing campaign. One of the most controversial elements of the rhetoric has been the popularization of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s slogan, “batoge toh katoge,” which translates to “if divided, you will […]
Election Brief: BJP Star Campaigners in Jharkhand Resort to Anti-Muslim Hate Speech to Polarize the Electorate
As Jharkhand heads to the polls between November 13-20, 2024, the election campaign in the state has been inundated with hateful rhetoric from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, particularly regarding alleged Rohingya and Bangladeshi ‘infiltration.’ This reflects a clear surge in anti-minority hate speech targeting Muslims living in the state, who are indirectly referenced through […]
Outlook Magazine: India Hate Lab’s Hate Speech Report Highlighted in Indian Parliament
The 18th Lok Sabha witnessed a change in the Indian Parliament. For the first time in a decade, there is a consolidated Opposition with a potential to hold the ruling party accountable. Member of Parliament Sagarika Ghose cited the data of India Hate Lab that states that 75% of the hate speech comes from the […]
TIME: How India’s Newly Empowered Opposition Can Stand Up for Rohingya
The Muslim Rohingya came to India fleeing genocide by the military in neighboring Myanmar, but now has to contend with death threats, police brutality, arbitrary arrest, deportation, and dehumanizing hate speech from leading figures within Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The hatred of the Rohingya is pervasive in India. Despite them comprising only around 0.02% of the country’s 200 million Muslims, 6% of […]
London School of Economics: Religiophobia or Islamophobia? Deciphering India’s inconsistency
The use of ‘religiophobia’ and ‘Islamophobia’ have been at odds during recent United Nations assemblies. Muhammad Ahmad Khan and Shafaq Zernab provide an analysis of India’s contribution to the debate. Instances of hate speech have been instigated over time in India. Meticulous data gathered by the India Hate Lab Report documented nearly two anti-Muslim hate speech […]
Asia Nikkei: Hindu mob lynchings stoke fear and anger among India’s Muslims
A string of lynchings in India has stoked fear and anger among minority Muslims, just weeks after an election that saw the ruling Hindu nationalist party accused of spouting hate-filled rhetoric. Longstanding religious tensions have soared as critics blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for ignoring a jump in violence and hate directed at Muslims, who make […]
Al Jazeera: What will Modi 3.0 look like for India?
As Modi prepares to be sworn in with a reduced mandate, analysts and critics say allies he depends on could serve as a check on his government. Meanwhile, hate speech has soared in India in recent years. India averaged nearly two anti-Muslim hate speech events per day in 2023 and three in every four of […]
Frontline: A vote for constitutional values
Modi government’s actions belittling constitutional values opened up space for opposition parties to revive the struggle to protect the Constitution. India Hate Lab (IHL), a Washington-based research group, has documented around 668 instances of hate speech in 2023 that targeted Muslims. Almost 75 per cent of these took place in BJP-ruled States, with Maharashtra and […]
PARI: ‘I once voted to build the country…now I am voting to save it’
Khwaja Moeenuddin, 92, recalls voting in India’s first elections; he also voted in General Elections 2024. A resident of Beed, Maharashtra, he speaks on the past, present and future of our secular democracy. According to the India Hate Lab, a Washington DC-based organisation documenting hate speech and hate crimes, India had 668 hate speech events […]
Outlook: Decoding Narendra Modi’s Popularity Amidst An Economic Crisis
In spite of huge economic inequalities and cultural discrimination, the identification of the common enemy through cultural nationalism has kept the momentum going for the present regime. The first one is acute hatred against cultural minorities. According to the India Hate Lab, around 668 hate speeches targeting Muslims were recorded in 2023. Around 75 per cent of […]