The year 2024 marked a disturbing and unprecedented escalation in hate speech across India, exposing the depth of communal polarisation and the systematic use of divisive rhetoric by political and religious leaders. The India Hate Lab (IHL) 2024 report meticulously documents this rise, revealing 1,165 verified instances of in-person hate speech events, representing a staggering 74.4% increase from the 668 incidents recorded in 2023. Far from being isolated or spontaneous outbursts of communal hatred, these speeches formed part of a coordinated strategy, largely orchestrated by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its affiliate Hindu nationalist organisations.
Two key factors shaped the trajectory of hate speech in 2024: the general elections held between April and June and the state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand later in the year. The election season provided an opportunity for the BJP and its ideological allies to deploy hate speech as a tactical instrument of voter mobilisation, using communal rhetoric to polarise electorates along religious lines. Additionally, the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh in August 2024 and subsequent violence against Hindus in that country were exaggerated and weaponised by Hindu nationalist groups to justify anti-Muslim sentiment in India. These events led to the second major surge in hate speech, as BJP leaders and right-wing organisations capitalised on anxieties surrounding Bangladeshi Hindus to vilify Indian Muslims as an existential threat.
This report does not merely document numbers; it exposes the deliberate strategies, key actors, and ideological motivations behind the intensification of hate speech. By analysing both the content and context of hate speech events, it highlights how communal hatred has become a structured and institutionalised feature of Indian political life.
The role of the BJP and Hindu nationalist groups in organising hate speech
The most striking aspect of the hate speech patterns in 2024 was the direct involvement of the BJP and its ideological affiliates. Unlike previous years, where hate speech was primarily driven by state-level BJP politicians and religious extremists, 2024 saw an aggressive push from the highest levels of political leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. These leaders did not merely tolerate or ignore hate speech; they actively participated in it, using their national and regional platforms to spread divisive narratives, dehumanise Muslims and Christians, and stoke communal tensions.
The BJP emerged as the largest organiser of hate speech events, directly facilitating 340 gatherings—29.2% of all documented cases. This was a massive 580% increase compared to 2023, where the party was responsible for only 50 such events. The party’s leadership strategically weaponised hate speech as an electoral tool, particularly during the general elections, where 76.7% of BJP-organised hate speech events occurred.
Alongside the BJP, its ideological allies, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its militant youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, played a central role in propagating hate. These groups organised 279 hate speech events, a 29.1% increase from the previous year. The Sakal Hindu Samaj (SHS), a Maharashtra-based coalition of Hindu nationalist organisations, was responsible for 56 hate speech events, featuring extremist speakers like Suresh Chavhanke, Kajal Hindustani, and BJP legislators T. Raja Singh and Nitish Rane.
The Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS), led by Dhananjay Desai—an individual accused in the 2014 murder of a Muslim tech professional—also expanded its operations, coordinating 19 hate speech events. Smaller groups such as the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena, Shiv Shakti Akhada, and Shri Ram Sena also played roles in spreading anti-Muslim and anti-Christian propaganda.
These findings illustrate that hate speech in India is not merely an act of individual bigotry; it is an organised, well-funded, and politically sanctioned project, strategically deployed to create a climate of fear and exclusion for religious minorities.
The election season: Hate speech as a tool for political mobilisation
The 2024 general elections and subsequent state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand were inflection points in the escalation of hate speech. During the election period, 373 hate speech incidents were recorded, with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Delhi, West Bengal, and Jharkhand being the most affected.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged as one of the most active disseminators of hate speech, particularly after his April 21 election rally in Banswara, Rajasthan, where he accused Muslims of being “infiltrators” who would take away Hindu wealth and resources. This speech triggered a nationwide surge in hate speech events, with many BJP leaders mimicking and amplifying his rhetoric.
Home Minister Amit Shah also played a pivotal role, delivering 58 hate speeches, often invoking Muslim “vote jihad” and the threat of “land jihad”. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the charge with 86 hate speeches, averaging one hate speech every four days. Other BJP leaders, including Himanta Biswa Sarma, T. Raja Singh, Nitish Rane, and Pushkar Singh Dhami, followed suit, systematically targeting Muslims and Christians.
The BJP’s election strategy relied heavily on manufacturing fear and communal resentment. A common narrative was that opposition parties, particularly the Congress and the INDIA alliance, were working to strip Hindus of their rights and redistribute resources to Muslims. Modi, Adityanath, and Shah repeatedly claimed that the opposition would take away Hindu property and give it to “Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingya refugees.”
The normalisation of such rhetoric had real-world consequences. Hate speech is not just words; it is a form of political violence—a precursor to mob attacks, communal riots, and systemic discrimination. By integrating hate speech into mainstream electoral discourse, the BJP and its allies effectively legitimised violence against minorities, making it an acceptable part of governance and state policy.
The role of social media in amplifying hate
Hate speech in 2024 was not confined to public gatherings. Social media played a critical role in amplifying and mainstreaming hate speech, ensuring that it reached millions within seconds. The IHL report tracked 995 videos of in-person hate speech events back to their original sources on Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
Facebook alone hosted 495 hate speech videos, while 211 were traced to YouTube. Additionally, 266 anti-minority hate speeches delivered by BJP leaders were simultaneously live-streamed across multiple platforms. This demonstrates how social media platforms, despite their stated policies against hate speech, served as key enablers of communal propaganda.
The virality of hate speech on digital platforms exacerbated the cycle of radicalisation, with algorithm-driven amplification prioritising the most extreme voices. Instead of curbing communal incitement, Facebook and YouTube allowed inflammatory content to spread unchecked, effectively becoming complicit in the proliferation of Hindu nationalist extremism.
Anti-Muslim hate speech: From dehumanisation to calls for violence
The IHL report reveals that 1,147 out of 1,165 hate speech events targeted Muslims, demonstrating that anti-Muslim rhetoric remains the cornerstone of Hindu nationalist politics.
Dehumanisation and conspiracy theories- The report documents an alarming rise in the use of conspiracy theories to portray Muslims as an existential threat to Hindus. These include:
- “Love Jihad” – The false claim that Muslim men are seducing Hindu women to convert them to Islam and destroy Hindu culture.
- “Land Jihad” – The baseless allegation that Muslims are systematically occupying Hindu lands.
- “Vote Jihad” – The claim, propagated by Modi himself, that Muslims vote as a bloc to weaken Hindu political power.
- “Population Jihad” – The debunked theory that Muslims are deliberately increasing their population to outnumber Hindus.
- “Thook Jihad” (Spit Jihad) – The unfounded conspiracy that Muslims spit on food to contaminate it.
- “Economic Jihad” – The assertion that Muslim businesses are attempting to monopolise the economy to subjugate Hindus.
PM Modi, CM Adityanath, and other BJP leaders actively promoted these narratives in election speeches, fuelling hate crimes and vigilante violence against Muslims.
Direct calls for violence and social boycotts- The report documents 259 hate speeches that explicitly called for violence against Muslims. This included:
- Calls to “eliminate infiltrators”, a dog whistle for Muslim extermination.
- 111 speeches advocating economic boycotts of Muslim businesses.
- 274 speeches calling for the destruction of mosques and Muslim homes.
- 123 speeches that urged Hindus to arm themselves against Muslims.
In one of the most egregious incidents, at a VHP weapons worship event in Uttarakhand, a speaker openly declared that “killing non-Hindus would lead to salvation”.
By endorsing and institutionalising hate speech at the highest levels of political leadership, the BJP has created an atmosphere where state-backed discrimination and violence against Muslims have become routine.
Anti-Christian hate speech: A surge in persecution
While anti-Muslim hate speech remains dominant, 2024 also witnessed a sharp increase in anti-Christian rhetoric. The report documents 115 hate speech events targeting Christians, a number that correlates directly with the rise in attacks on churches and Christian institutions.
Religious persecution and forced conversions- Hindu nationalist groups, particularly the VHP, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal (RBD), have aggressively pushed the narrative that Christian missionaries are engaging in mass conversions.
At a VHP event in Siliguri, West Bengal, on November 24, a speaker urged activists to “resort to violence if necessary” to stop Christian pastors from entering villages.
Targeting Christian institutions- Christian schools and churches have faced relentless attacks. In March 2024, Hindu nationalist groups in Assam posted threats across Christian-run schools, demanding the removal of crosses and religious symbols.
In December 2024, a Hindu monk in Rajasthan boasted of shutting down “10-15 churches” and jailing 80 Christian priests.
At a Rashtriya Bajrang Dal event in Uttar Pradesh, leaders called for attacks on Catholic schools, branding them as “centres of religious conversion”.
The surge in anti-Christian hate speech has led to a documented increase in mob attacks, forced “reconversion” events, and desecration of churches across India.
Conclusion: Hate speech as a normalised political strategy
The findings of the India Hate Lab 2024 report point to a chilling reality: hate speech has been fully absorbed into India’s political mainstream. The BJP, through both its top leadership and its allied organisations, has made communal rhetoric a central feature of its governance and election strategy. Social media platforms have failed to contain the spread of hateful content, creating an ecosystem where violent rhetoric thrives with impunity.
This normalisation of hate speech is not just a symptom of rising intolerance—it is a deliberate and structured political project, designed to marginalise Muslims and Christians, consolidate Hindu nationalist power, and undermine India’s democratic framework. The consequences of this state-sanctioned hate will reverberate for years to come.
The complete report may be viewed here.
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