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