New Delhi: India witnessed at least 1,318 hate speech events targeting religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, across states and union territories in 2025. On average, four hate speech events occurred per day, according to the new India Hate Lab report.This marks a 13% increase from 2024, and 97% increase from 2023, when 668 such incidents were recorded.In a 100-page report, the India Hate Lab detailed how a total of 1,289 speeches, or 98%, targeted Muslims. While in 1,156 cases, it was explicit, in another 133 cases, Muslims were targeted alongside Christians. This is an increase of nearly 12% from the 1,147 instances recorded in 2024.Meanwhile, in 162 cases, hate speech was targeted at Christians, accounting for 12% of all events, either explicitly in 29 cases or alongside Muslims in 133 cases.This is a nearly 41% increase from the 115 anti-Christian hate speech incidents documented in 2024, signalling a worrying shift. Recently, an annual global study published by the US Holocaust Museum placed India fourth out of 168 nations assessed for the likelihood of what researchers call intrastate mass killings. More significantly, India topped the list of countries facing such danger that are not already experiencing large-scale violence.BJP-ruled states recorded more hate speechesUttar Pradesh, with 266, recorded the highest number of hate speeches in 2025, followed by Maharashtra, 193; Madhya Pradesh, 172; Uttarakhand, 155; and the national capital region of Delhi recording 76 such events. In Uttar Pradesh, ahead of Holi, the state’s BJP leader Raghuraj Singh said that Muslim men should “make a hijab of tarpaulin for themselves” to avoid any inconvenience during Holi celebrations.The India Hate Lab report stated that across the 23 states and union territories analysed, 1,164 hate speech incidents – 88% – occurred in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), either where it held power directly or as part of a coalition, along with BJP-administered union territories.This is a 25% increase from the 931 incidents recorded in 2024. Breakdown of hate speech targeted at communities. Photo: India Hate LabUttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami emerged as the most prolific hate speech actor in 2025, as per the report, with 71 speeches; followed by Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad chief Pravin Togadia (46) and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay (35).Dhami made headlines for mainstreaming conspiracy theories such as “love jihad,” “land jihad,” and “thook jihad.” Under his administration, Uttarakhand has consistently witnessed punitive demolitions of Muslim-owned properties under the pretext of removing “illegal encroachments,” alongside broader patterns of state violence and discriminatory governance. Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane also ranked among the top five actors issuing calls to violence. In one instance, he claimed to be the “Gabbar” of Hindus and used derogatory language against Muslims. In another, he referred to Muslims as “jihadis” and “green snakes,” declaring that all religions are not equal in the “Hindu Rashtra” because “Hindus come first.” In the seven opposition-ruled states, 154 hate speech events were recorded in 2025, with Congress-ruled Karnataka also featuring in the top 10 ranking, recording 40 such cases.In the communally volatile West Bengal, on the other hand, the opposition BJP has increasingly used hate speech as an opportunity to lure voters ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. In March last year, the state’s leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he would “physically throw Muslim MLAs out of the assembly” after the party “forms the next government” in the state.However, in total, this is a 34% decrease from the 234 such incidents documented in opposition states in 2024.As many as 656 hate speeches – nearly 50% – of all speeches referenced conspiracy theories, including “love jihad,” “land jihad,” “population jihad,” “thook (spit) jihad,” “education jihad,” “drug jihad,” and “vote jihad,” representing a 13% increase from the previous year.A total of 308 speeches, 23% contained explicit calls for violence, while 136 speeches included direct calls to arms. While calls for violence increased by 19%, calls for social or economic boycotts rose by 8% from 2024.A disturbing trend“Following the unprecedented surge in hate speech observed in 2024, the total volume of hate speech events in 2025 climbed further, indicating the deep entrenchment of sectarian rhetoric as a routine feature of India’s political and social landscape,” the India Hate Lab report notes.“This increase signals a significant shift in India’s political landscape, in which inflammatory rhetoric has evolved from a campaign-specific tactic into a normalized and continuously deployed mechanism of political governance. Such rhetoric now functions as a round-the-clock instrument for Hindu far-right mobilization on the ground,” it adds.Hate speech trends across India in 2025. Photo: India Hate LabThe report also noted that in 2025, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, two Hindu nationalist groups who have also played a central role in facilitating hate speeches in 2023 and 2024, emerged as the most frequent organisers of hate speech events, directly sponsoring or facilitating 289 gatherings, accounting for 22% of all documented incidents.“Historically, the RSS and the BJP have relied on organizations such as the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, and other Sangh Parivar affiliates to function as frontline mobilizers of anti-minority hatred and violence. These groups have played a critical role in translating ideological narratives into street-level action,” it states.According to the report, April recorded the highest monthly spike, with 158 hate speech events coinciding with Ram Navami processions. Over the past few years, there has been a growing trend of communal tensions around Ram Navami, with Hindu processions often taken deliberately through Muslim areas.In addition to it, in April 2025, hate rallies were organised as a response to the Pahalgam terror attack.In the 16-day period between April 22 and May 7, following the Pahalgam attack and preceding active hostilities between India and Pakistan, as many as 98 in-person hate speech events were documented, indicating rapid and nationwide anti-Muslim mobilisation, the report noted.This is aside from heightened communal discourse on social media platforms during that period.Throughout the year, minorities have been described using terms such as “termites,” “parasites,” “insects,” “pigs,” “mad dogs,” “snakelings,” “green snakes,” and “bloodthirsty zombies” – most of them were used against Muslims.The Wire has extensively reported on the rise in targeting of Bengali Muslims, particularly of migrant workers, terming them Bangladeshi. The India Hate Lab report recorded 192 speeches that invoked the “Bangladeshi infiltrator” trope. In addition, 69 hate speech events targeted Rohingya refugees. These instances were seen the most in Delhi and Bihar, as well as in Assam and West Bengal.A total of 120 hate speeches explicitly called for social or economic boycotts of minority communities, primarily Muslims, whereas 276 speeches called for the removal or destruction of places of worship, including mosques, shrines and churches. The Gyanvapi mosque and the Shahi Idgah mosque in Uttar Pradesh were among the most frequently targeted sites in 2025, as per the report.Violence further escalated during the Christmas period, with widespread harassment of Christians and disruptions of prayer services showing an increasing anti-Christian sentiment embedded within the same dangerous hate-speech ecosystem that has historically targeted Muslims. Hate speech trend over time. Photo: India Hate LabThe BJP-led Union government has once again largely evaded the issue of rising communal divide or the surge in hate speeches. To a question in Lok Sabha, about the surge in hate speech by politicians and the need for new laws, Union minister Kiren Rijiju in July last year even declined to provide any data, strategically deferring all accountability to state governments, citing that ‘public order’ and ‘police’ are state subjects.The Supreme Court, which previously demonstrated judicial activism, exhibited a noticeable restraint in 2025. In November, a top court bench stated it was “not inclined to monitor every incident of hate speech” nationwide, directing petitioners to the high courts and local police.This is even as another Supreme Court bench, in May, while issuing notices to a group of comedians for allegedly making insensitive jokes, had affirmed that hate speech cannot be misconstrued as a fundamental right.Sliver of hopeIn a welcome change, the Karnataka government enacted the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, marking the first comprehensive state-level effort in India to systematically define and penalise hate speech. The bill was passed amid loud protests from the opposition. The legislation prescribes imprisonment of up to seven years along with a fine of Rs 50,000 for hate crimes, and covers communication made in public view through verbal, print, public, or electronic means.Such a measure, according to the India Hate Lab report, “stands as a defining legislative moment”. However, it “underscored a growing, if fragmented, state-level recognition of the severity of the issue, even as the rhetoric continued unabated at the national level”.