An average of four hate speech events targeting religious minorities occurred every day in India in 2025, according to the India Hate Lab report 2025. Hate speech targeting religious minorities rose to their highest level yet last year , extending an upward trend seen since 2023.
The India Hate Lab (IHL) documented 1,318 such events across 21 states, one Union Territory, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, marking a 13% rise from 2024, when 1,165 incidents were recorded, and a 97% increase from 2023, which saw 668 incidents.
The report said that the surge reflects the deep entrenchment of sectarian rhetoric in India’s political and social landscape. High-stakes state elections in Delhi and Bihar, along with local body polls, emerged as key drivers. Electoral campaigns provided repeated platforms for exclusionary and fear-based narratives.
At the same time, state-level responses such as the proposed Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, pointed to a growing but uneven recognition of the scale of the problem, even as hate speech continued at the national level.
According to IHL, Muslims were the primary targets of hate speech in 2025. Of the 1,318 incidents recorded, 1,289 speeches, that is 98%, targeted Muslims. In 1,156 cases, Muslims were explicitly targeted, while in 133 cases they were targeted alongside Christians.
This marked an increase of nearly 12% from the 1,147 anti-Muslim incidents recorded in 2024.
Christians were targeted in 162 incidents, accounting for 12% of all events. Of these, 29 explicitly targeted Christians, while 133 targeted Christians alongside Muslims. The report said this represented a nearly 41% increase from the 115 anti-Christian hate speech incidents documented in 2024.
Nearly half of all recorded hate speeches, that is, 656 incidents, invoked conspiracy theories such as “love jihad,” “land jihad,” “population jihad,” “thook (spit) jihad,” “education jihad,” “drug jihad,” and “vote jihad.” This marked a 13% increase from the previous year.
BJP-ruled states account for bulk of incidents
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of hate speech events in 2025, with 266 incidents, followed by Maharashtra (193), Madhya Pradesh (172), Uttarakhand (155), and Delhi (76).
Of the 1,318 incidents documented across 23 states and Union Territories, 1,164 (88%) instances occurred in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), either directly or as part of a coalition, as well as BJP-administered Union Territories. This marked a 25% increase from the 931 incidents recorded in BJP-ruled regions in 2024.
In contrast, seven opposition-ruled states accounted for 154 hate speech events. Congress-ruled Karnataka featured among the top 10 states, with 40 incidents recorded in 2025.
VHP and Bajrang Dal lead as event organisers
The IHL report identified the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, as the most frequent organisers of hate speech events for the third consecutive year. In 2025, these groups directly sponsored or facilitated 289 gatherings, accounting for 22% of all documented incidents.
Among individual actors, the report named several figures associated with the BJP. Five of the top 10 individuals involved in hate speech were linked to the party.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami topped the list, with 71 hate speech instances attributed to him. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were also named in the report as perpetrators of hate speech.
Ram Navami and Pahalgam attack triggered major spikes
April recorded the highest monthly spike, with 158 hate speech events coinciding with Ram Navami processions. The report noted a growing trend over recent years of communal tensions during Ram Navami, with processions often taken through Muslim neighbourhoods. In April 2025, hate rallies were also organised in 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, IHL documented 98 in-person hate speech events. The report described this as rapid and nationwide anti-Muslim mobilisation, alongside heightened communal discourse on social media platforms.
Violence and intimidation also intensified towards the end of the year. During the Christmas season, the report documented widespread harassment of Christians and disruptions of prayer services, which it said reflected an increasing anti-Christian sentiment within the same hate-speech ecosystem that has historically targeted Muslims.
Calls for boycotts and destruction of places of worship
Throughout 2025, minorities were repeatedly described using dehumanising terms such as “termites,” “parasites,” “insects,” “pigs,” “mad dogs,” “snakelings,” “green snakes,” and “bloodthirsty zombies,” most of them directed at Muslims.
The report recorded 120 hate speeches that explicitly called for social or economic boycotts of minority communities, primarily Muslims. A further 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.