The Centre for the Study of Organised Hate (CSOH), a Washington-based think-tank, recently published a report analysing the role of prominent digital platforms in hosting and capitalising on the hate music industry in India. A section of the report explores recent themes of the “H-Pop” (or Hindutva Pop) genre, through statistical and profiled analysis.Across all four platforms – YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Meta – content that promotes or incites violence and glorifies hate speech is explicitly prohibited under platform guidelines. Yet, Hindutva pop songs that meet the threshold for violation remain available and unmoderated. The following section details the dominant recurring themes across the Hindutva pop music catalogue identified in this study.The following excerpt is from the ‘Profiting from Hate Music’ report by the CSOH.Threats of violence104 of the 210 songs on YouTube contain explicit violent themes targeting India’s religious minorities, particularly Muslims. These songs either glorify or encourage violence against the community. On Spotify, 51 of the 109 songs found to violate the platform’s guidelines praise violence against Muslims. On Meta’s Music Library, 46 of the 103 violating songs issue explicit calls for violence against Muslims and were used to create over 1.4 million reels. On Apple Music, 67 of the total 101 songs contained calls for violence or encouraged violence against minorities, especially Muslims.Categories of Harm Across Platforms (Categories overlap as some songs incite both violence and hatred), Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”Almost all of these songs refer to Muslims either directly by name or through barely concealed language, such as commonly-used slurs and implicit references.The most-viewed song on YouTube that issues violent threats against Muslims using coded language is “Bharat Ka Bacha Bacha Jai Shri Ram Bolega” (“Every Child In India Will Hail Lord Ram”) by singer Pooja Golhani. The song warns Muslim “enemies” that they will be “slayed” if they obstruct Hindus. Multiple versions of the song exist on YouTube; one of the most popular versions has accumulated over 43 million views, 241,000 likes and over 10,700 comments. “Topi Wala Sar Jhuka Ke Jai Shri Ram Bolega” (“The Skullcap-Donned Man Will Hail Lord Ram”), refers to Muslims with the slur “Topiwala” (used to mock and stereotype Muslim men who wear the traditional skullcap) and warns that they will be forced to accept Hindu supremacy through violence. Sung by Ajit Tandia, the song has over 980,000 views and more than 8,700 likes on YouTube. Other songs promote explicit and direct threats of brutality. “Tel Laga Ke Dabur Ka, Naam Mita Do Babur Ka” (“Apply Dabur Oil, Wipe Off Babur’s Legacy”) speaks of wiping out all signs of Muslim identity and burning them alive. Interestingly, the YouTube video consists entirely of a compilation of scenes from Hollywood movies, which may serve a dual purpose as clickbait as well as a content moderation evasion tactic. The song is available across all four platforms.Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.” “Gau Mata” (“Mother Cow”) by singer Biru Kataria uses the slur “katwein” (a derogatory reference to circumcision) to refer to Muslims and threatens to “burn alive” and “chop” them if they slaughter cows. The song was available on YouTube until around mid-2025, by which point it had accumulated 142,000 views. By February 2026, it was marked as “not available” on the platform, although it is unclear whether this resulted from platform action or a decision by the channel. Nevertheless, Kataria re-uploaded the song in January 2026, and, by March, it had garnered nearly 11,000 views. The song has also been uploaded by multiple other channels. For instance, a channel named ‘Haryanvi music studio 0’ uploaded an audio-only version of the song in October 2023. By April 2026, the song had over 204,000 views. Another channel, ‘Mental Music Haryana,’ had uploaded the same song in September 2025, and by April 2026, it had garnered over 20,000 views. The song has likewise been used in more than 40,000 Reels on Instagram.Instagram Reels created using “Gau Mata” song. Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”Some songs are extremely violent, with explicit language that unambiguously violates platform guidelines. “Cheer Ke Rakh Denge” (“We Will Chop You Up”) warns Muslims to “go back to where they came from” or face being “chopped.” The song has been uploaded by two different YouTube channels and has been viewed a combined total of over 966,000 times, with more than 9,100 likes as of April 2026. “Laaton Ke Bhoot Kabhi Baaton Se Na Mante Hai” (“Those Who Need Kicks Won’t Listen To Words”), with over 52,000 views on YouTube, refers to Muslims as “Babur Ke Pillo” (“[Mughal Emperor] Babur’s Pups”), threatening to tear legs from their bodies if they “raise a finger against Hindus.” It further warns that countless Muslims will die when Hindus take up swords. “Jis Din Mere Yogi Delhi Mein Dahadenge” (“The Day My Yogi Roars in Delhi”) by Jyoti Pandey envisions a future when Yogi Adityanath, the Hindu nationalist Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, becomes the country’s top leader: every Muslim will be killed and saffron Hindutvaflags will be planted in every corner of India. The song refers to Muslims as “Afzal-Premi,” a pejorative widely used to brand Muslims as sympathisers of Afzal Guru, who was convicted of involvement in the 2001 Parliament terror attack – and that each of them will be individually targeted. The song has over 438,000 views and more than 3,800 likes on YouTube.Hindutva pop music frequently invokes historical revisionism to justify present-day violence against Muslims. “Taj Mahal Nahin Tejo Mahalaya” (“It’s Not the Taj Mahal, It’s Tejo Mahalaya”) by Sandeep Acharya falsely claims that the Taj Mahal was built over a Hindu Shiva temple.The song portrays Muslims as barbaric destroyers of Hindu temples who built mosques in their place and asserts that Hindus will reestablish their dominance and “tear apart” any Muslim who stands in the way. It has over 97,000 views and more than 2,400 likes on YouTube.Further examples of songs issuing such violent threats include “Gaddaro Ko Sabak Sikhana Hai” (“We Must Teach Traitors a Lesson”), which characterises the Mughals as “despicable” destroyers of Hindu temples and declares that Hindus will “wipe out” Muslims in retaliation. The song has 1.6 million views and 17,000 likes on YouTube as of April 2026. “Awadh Dham Mein Math Hai Hamara” (“We Have an Abode in Awadh Dham”) similarly warns Muslims who “cast an evil eye” on Hindus of being smashed and killed. On YouTube, it has over 152,000 views and 1,600 likes.Mobilising Hindus towards violenceA distinct subset of Hindutva pop songs directly addresses Hindus by urging them to prepare for a “religious war” with Muslims. This call to action for Hindus simultaneously functions as a threat to Muslims. In most cases, the singers invoke conspiracy theories targeting Muslims and claims of existential threats facing Hindus to manufacture alarm, shock and outrage.Singer Kavi Singh, with over 1.15 million YouTube subscribers, has produced two such songs that remain unmoderated across all four platforms, despite violating guidelines. “Ran Bhoomi Taiyyar Karo, Gadaaron Par Vaar Karo” (“Get the Battlefield Ready, Attack the Traitors”) incites a direct violent confrontation between Hindus and Muslims.Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.” Another of Singh’s songs, “Dhara 30” (“Article 30”), calls for amendments to India’s secular constitution that would strip religious minorities of their existing rights and declares that Hindus will have no choice but to fight if a religious war breaks out.“Jaago Neend Se Hindu Veeron” (“Wake Up, Brave Hindus”) by Nisha Pandey frames the Hindu religion as under dire and imminent threat, urgently calling upon Hindus to take action. The song alleges that Muslims and Christians are threatening and forcibly converting Hindus. It has over 747,000 views and more than 13,000 likes on YouTube as of April 2026.Such rhetoric reflects an uptick in anti-Christian hate speech and violence across India by Hindu nationalist organisations. India Hate Lab (IHL) data show that hate speech events targeting Christians rose from 115 in 2024 to 162 in 2025 – an increase of 41%. Although Christians only account for just 2.3% of the population, Hindu nationalist groups have stoked suspicion and anger against the community through unproven conspiracy theories. In December 2025, there were attacks on Christmas celebrations acrossseven Indian states, with mobs vandalising and disrupting celebrations.Muslims, however, remain primary targets. Another song, “Oadh Ke Bhagwa Chola Ailan Karte Hai” (“Clad in Saffron, I Declare”), refers to Muslims with the “kafir” slur and declares that the tides have turned: “Hindus will answer every brick with a stone and avenge every insult they have ever faced.” The word kafir originates in Islamic contexts and historically refers to a non-believer, but in some contexts in India it is appropriated and used by Hindu nationalist actors as a derogatory label targeting Muslims.On YouTube, the song has over 127,000 views and 1,700 likes. “Yachna Nahi Ab Rann Hoga” (“No Appeal, Now There Will Be War”) by Sandeep Acharya declares that every Hindu will pledge to crush their enemies to dust when the time comes. The song has over 107,000 views and more than 1,400 likes on YouTube.Prem Krishnvanshi’s song “Krishna Lalla Hum Aayenge, Mandir Wahin Banayenge” (“Little Krishna, We Are Coming to Build the Temple There”) urges Hindus to take to the streets to teach a firm lesson to Muslims who hate Hindus, since Hindus “can’t take it anymore.” Thesong has over 55,000 views and more than 1,600 likes on YouTube.Threats to demolish places of worshipA substantial number of Hindutva pop songs threaten to demolish mosques and other Muslim religious sites, or construct Hindu temples at sites where mosques currently stand as part of a broader Hindu nationalist mobilisation campaign. Many songs frame these acts as historical retribution, urging Hindus to avenge the alleged destruction of Hindu temples by Muslim rulers in the past.“Mandiron ke Nishan” (“Signs of Temples”) by Sandeep Acharya declares that Hindus will snatch “your Allah Miyan’s homes” (reference to mosques) in retaliation for the historical damage Muslims allegedly inflicted on Hindu temples. By mid-2025, the song had accumulated more than 7,000 views on YouTube. In February 2026, however, the video was unavailable, likely due to YouTube terminating the host account. The song nonetheless remains available on Apple Music.“Mandiron ke Nishan” song by Sandeep Acharya on Apple Music, Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”Several songs reference the ongoing Hindu nationalist campaign to construct temples at the sites of existing mosques in the cities of Mathura and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. “Ayodhya Hui Hamari, Kashi Mathura Ki Baari Hai” (“Ayodhya Is Ours, Kashi and Mathura Are Next”) calls upon Hindus to “reclaim” the lands of Mathura and Varanasi from Muslims and to build temples, declaring that such a move will demonstrate, as the song lyrics relay, “who the boss really is.” The song is readily available across all four platforms; on YouTube alone it has more than 2.8 million views and over 24,000 likes.Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.” “Jahaan Jahaan Baitha Hai Khuda” (“In Every Place Your God Exists”) encourages Hindus to dig up every mosque in the country because Muslims have sparked a “war” against Hindus. The song’s title references the Gyanvapi mosque dispute in Varanasi, where Hindu nationalist groups have claimed that the 350-year-old mosque stands on land that once formed part of an adjoining Hindu temple. The song alleges that Muslims deliberately demolished temples to erect mosques in their place, and calls for violence to avenge every historical “wound” that Hindus have suffered at Muslim hands. As of April 2026, it has over 19,000 views on YouTube.Hindu nationalist groups in Maharashtra have similarly been mobilising support for a campaign to replace the Haji Malang Dargah – a Sufi shrine on the outskirts of Mumbai with a long history of syncretic worship shared between Hindus and Muslims – with a Hindu temple. Three separate songs by varying artists call for the “liberation” of the shrine’s land and for a Hindu temple to be built in its place.Together, these three songs have accumulated over 1 million views and more than 9,300 likes on YouTube as of May 2026. The visuals featured in these videos show images of local politicians who have publicly backed the demand, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.Inciting hatredThree of the four platforms examined in this report have published guidelines that prohibit content promoting hatred against groups on the basis of religion. Apple Music, while lacking equivalent specific provisions, requires that content on its platform follow “local regulations and cultural sensitivities” and be legal and “appropriate” for the country in which it is accessed. Since Indian law prohibits “promoting enmity” between religious groups and acts that deliberately “outrage religious feelings,” Apple Music should not, by its own standards, host such content. Yet, all four platforms host songs that actively stoke hatred against India’s religious minorities.On YouTube, 106 songs fall within this classification, collectively garnering over 76 million views. Spotify hosts 44 songs that incite hatred and regard Muslims as worthy of being hated. On Apple Music, 34 songs use slurs or harmful stereotypes, promote or glorify hate speech, or dehumanize protected groups, including Muslims. On Meta, 57 songs glorify hate speech against Muslims and employ slurs or coded language to target the community, without issuing explicit calls for violence.These songs create and sustain hatred against religious minorities in India through overlapping narratives: propagating conspiracy theories that allege Muslims are engaged in “love jihad” against Hindu women; claiming that Muslims are plotting to attack Hindus; insisting that Muslims historically destroyed and looted Hindu temples and asserting that Muslims are conducting a covert war against the Hindu community.“Tod Tod Kar Mandir Saare Masjid Bahut Banaye Tum” (“You Broke Our Temples to Build Your Mosques”) by Gaurav Bittu Raja has over 29,000 views on YouTube, and is also available on Spotify. The song accuses Muslims of deliberately targeting Hindu temples to erect mosques in their place, of conspiring to “finish off” the Hindu religion, and of beheading Hindu men. The lyrics seek to cultivate feelings of anger, fear, and hatred directed primarily at Indian Muslims, but also toward Christians and communities in neighbouring Muslim-majority countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.Similarly, “Asteen Ke Saanp” (“Snakes in the Sleeve”) likens Muslims to snakes and backstabbers, while promoting the conspiracy theory that Muslims are having more children than Hindus and therefore represent a demographic threat to the Hindu majority.Such population replacement conspiracy theories have long served as a mobilising narrative among Hindu nationalist groups. On YouTube, the song has over 48,000 views and more than 1,300 likes. Its album art reinforces the song’s dehumanising rhetoric, depicting a Muslim man wearing a skullcap alongside images of snakes.Targeting ‘anti-nationals’Many Hindutva pop songs deploy terms such as “traitors,” “terrorists” and “enemies” as synonyms for Muslims, portraying the community as actively working against India’s national interests. This narrative is often reinforced by linking Indian Muslims to Pakistan and Bangladesh, the country’s neighbouring Muslim-majority nations. In the case of Pakistan, Hindu nationalist rhetoric frequently frames Indian Muslims as more loyal to Pakistan than to India, often accompanied by threats to “send” them there. More recently, political instability in Bangladesh and attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus have been weaponised by Hindu nationalist groups to further target Muslims in India. In December 2025, a 20-year-old Bengali-speaking Muslim man was branded a Bangladeshi and lynched by a mob in the eastern state of Odisha. In January 2026, another Muslim Bengali-speaking man, aged 32, was lynched by Hindutva men in Andhra Pradesh on the suspicion of being a Bangladeshi.In this context, eight songs on YouTube directly incite hatred or issue threats of violence. While the number of songs may appear modest, their collective reach underscores their popularity, with over 22 million overall views and more than 116,000 likes across different YouTube channels. Spotify features four of these songs, Apple Music hosts two, and Meta’s Music Library includes four, which have been used in at least 1,943 Reels.Many of these songs call for Pakistan to be “obliterated” and allege that Indian Muslims are effectively agents of Pakistan operating within the country. One of the most widely viewed, “Pakistan Chale Jao” (“Go to Pakistan”), brands Indian Muslims as traitors and demands that they be sent to Pakistan. The song calls upon Hindus to crush such traitors “like worms.” On YouTube, it has accumulated over 1.8 million views.Several songs beyond the eight mentioned also refer to Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi migrants in abusive terms, reinforcing the framing of Muslims—even those who are dispossessed and marginalised – as fundamentally hostile to Hindus and to India. “Yogi Denge Azaadi” (“Yogi Will Free Us”) declares that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will “exterminate criminals, traitors, and those who criticize the country.” The song portrays Muslims through coded language, calling them “stone-pelters” and warning that they will no longer be able to carry out “love jihad.” It further asserts that Yogi will “free” India of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi immigrants. As of March 2026, the song has over 7,400 views on YouTube, and is also available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Meta’s Music Library.Weaponisation of violent incidentsOn April 22, 2025, a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killed 26 civilians. Survivors reported that the gunmen targeted Hindu men after ascertaining their religious identity. The Indian government described the attack as a “clear attempt to incite communal violence” in a press briefing.100 Hindu nationalists closely aligned with the ruling party weaponized the incident to stoke anger and hatred against Indian Muslims, equating all Muslims with the perpetrators and framing the attack as part of a broader Islamic conspiracy targeting Hindus.Within hours of the attack, Hindutva pop artists began releasing songs targeting Indian Muslims. Five of these songs, marked by anti-Muslim bigotry and incitement to violence, collectively garnered over 1.1 million views on YouTube as of May 2026. Four of the five also accumulated more than 16,000 likes, while the fifth has had its like count disabled.“Pehle Dharm Pucha” (“They First Asked Our Religion”) by Kavi Singh castigates Hindus for attempting to remain secular, claims that all Muslims conspire against Hindus, and mocks Hindus for their “inaction.” Released on April 23, just one day after the attack, the song has since garnered over 355,000 views on YouTube. Its lyrics leave little ambiguity about their intent:Hum Ne Badi Yeh Galti Kar Di, Tumko Yahaan Panah Dekar,Desh Bana Tha Alag Tumhara, Kyun Gaye Nahi Parivaar Lekar.(We made a mistake letting you stay on,You got your own country, why didn’t you leave then?) “Jaago Hindu Jaago” (“Wake Up, Hindus, Wake Up”) by Gulshan Music similarly appeals to Hindus to “wake up” to the Muslim “traitors inside the country.” It insists that being Hindu has “become a crime” in India and declares that it is “our turn now” to avenge the Pahalgam killings. Released two days after the attack, the song has over 613,000 views and more than 13,000 likes on YouTube as of April 2026. Both songs are also available on Spotify and Apple Music. Another song available on both platforms, “Aapas Mein But Jaaoge Tukdo Mein Kat Jaaoge” (“If You Bicker Within, You Will Be Shred to Pieces”) by Shen Dutt Singh, invokes the Islamophobic conspiracy theory of “Ghazwa-e-Hind”: a claim that Muslims are engaged in a coordinated plot to transform India into an Islamic nation. The song refers to Muslims as “enemies” who have infiltrated India and are readily waiting to execute this conspiracy, warning Hindus that they will be slaughtered if they fail to unite.Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”“Hindu Ko Bachalo, Hindutva Ko Bachalo” (“Save Hindus, Save Hindutva”) by Lavkush Singh makes similar assertions, insisting that “traitors” living inside India pose a mortal threat to Hindus, who will be killed if they do not unite in response.Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”These songs coincided with and likely contributed to an environment normalising anti-Muslim bigotry and violence at a time when the country was collectively grieving the terrorist attack, and correlated with a sharp spike in anti-Muslim hate speech and incidents of violence. Monitoring by India Hate Lab documented 64 anti-Muslim hate rallies within the ten days immediately following the Pahalgam attack, rising to a total of 113 hate crimes and hate speech incidents within three weeks.For instance, on Instagram, “Ab Maha Yudh Ho Jaane Do” (“Let the Great War Begin Now”) by Ritesh Pandey generated over 130,000 Reels, as of May 2026. The song, which asks for the terror attack to be avenged, insists that Hindus will “kill after declaring our religion”, without making any direct reference to Muslims.Instagram Reels created using “Ab Maha Yudh Ho Jaane Do” song, Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”The content of these Reels illustrates the sophisticated ways in which Hindutva pop is deployed to evade content moderation while maximising its hateful impact. One Reel features a woman in a doctor’s white lab coat with the text: “They killed on the basis of religion. Should we also cure patients on the basis of their religion?”Instagram Reel using “Ab Maha Yudh Ho Jaane Do” song overlayed onto a video of a female medical professional. Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”Similarly, Kavi Singh’s “Pehle Dharm Pucha” (“They First Asked Our Religion”), which frames Muslim presence in post-partition India as a historical mistake, was used in at least 117 Reels within days of its release. These Reels multiplied the song’s reach, with one accumulating more than 24,000 views, another over 21,000 views, and others collectively extending the song’s reach well beyond its original YouTube audience.Kunal Purohit is a journalist and the author of H-Pop: The Secretive.Tavishi is a South Asia Researcher at CSOH. Hamaad Meer is a Digital Research Analyst at CSOH.