BJP-ruled states accounted for 88% of anti-minority hate speech events in 2025: Study

Out of 1,318 documented hate speech incidents targeting religious minorities in India last year, 1,163 or 88% took place in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, said a report by Washington-based research group India Hate Lab on Tuesday.

The report documented hate speech incidents in 23 states and Union Territories, including Delhi.

The researchers used the United Nations' definition of hate speech, which describes it as pejorative or discriminatory language towards an individual or group based on attributes including religion, ethnicity, nationality, race or gender.

According to the report, “in-person hate speech” events targeting religious minorities, primarily Muslims and Christians, rose by 13% in India in 2025, as compared to the previous year. There was a 97% increase in such incidents since 2023.

“In-person hate speech events” refers to incidents that took place at political rallies, religious processions, protest marches and cultural gatherings.

Of the 1,318 such incidents, 1,289, or 98%, targeted Muslims, said the report.

Muslims were explicitly targeted in 1,156 cases and targeted alongside Christians in 133 cases, a nearly 12% increase from 2024, it added.

Hate speech targeting Christians was recorded in 162 incidents, accounting for 12% of all events. Of these, Christians were explicitly targeted in 29 cases, while the remaining incidents involved speeches targeting both Muslims and Christians.

This was a 41% increase from the 115 anti-Christian incidents recorded in 2024.

April recorded the highest monthly spike, with 158 hate speech events. This coincided with Ram Navami processions and hate rallies organised in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

In the 16 days between April 22 and May 7, following the Pahalgam attack and before Operation Sindoor, India’s military action against Pakistan, 98 in-person hate speech events were documented. This indicated a rapid and nationwide anti-Muslim mobilisation, the report said.

Meanwhile, of the 10 most “prolific hate speech actors” identified in the report, five were leaders of the ruling BJP, it added.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, a BJP leader, emerged as the “most prolific hate speech actor”, with 71 speeches, followed by the chief of the Hindutva organisation Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad Pravin Togadia with 46 speeches and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay with 35 speeches, the report noted.

Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane ranked fourth with 28 speeches.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah ranked sixth with 27 speeches, while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ranked ninth with 22 speeches, said the report.

It also found that 88% of all hate speech events occurred in BJP-ruled states or those governed by the National Democratic Alliance.

This was 25% higher than in 2024, when 931 incidents were recorded in these jurisdictions.

Of the 23 states and Union Territories analysed, the BJP was in power, either independently or as part of a coalition, in 16 for most of the year.

The highest numbers of hate speech events were recorded in Uttar Pradesh (266), Maharashtra (193), Madhya Pradesh (172), Uttarakhand (155) and Delhi (76).

Together, these accounted for 65% of all incidents nationwide.

In contrast, the seven states governed by Opposition parties or coalitions recorded 154 hate speech events in 2025, a 34% decline from the 234 incidents documented in these states in 2024.

Additionally, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal were linked to 289 hate speech events, followed by the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad with 138 events.

In total, more than 160 organisations and informal groups were identified as organisers or co-organisers of hate speech events in 2025.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal are part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling BJP.