Irfan Engineer, Neha Dabhade, Diya Padalkar
13/02/2026
According to the monitoring of Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), based on reports in Mumbai edition of Times of India, Indian Express, The Hindu, Sahafat and Inquilab, there were 65 instances of hate speeches in 2025. This amounts to 47% decline from 122 hate speeches reported in 2024 in the four newspapers mentioned above, according to CSSS data[1]. Of the 65 hate speeches in 2025, 53 or 81% were made by state actors, i.e. Union Ministers, State Ministers, Governors, and Elected representatives of Union and State legislatures. 12 hate speeches were made by non-state actors. The 2025 figures represent a 47% decline from the 122 instances of hate speeches reported in 2024 by CSSS. A salient observation based on the data is that little or next to no action has been taken against individuals making hate speeches targeting Muslims or Christians.
Although CSSS monitoring data indicates a decline or relatively low incidence of recorded hate speeches, it would be analytically unsound to interpret this as evidence that hate speech is no longer a serious concern in India. The apparent reduction must be understood in light of the specific methodological framework adopted by CSSS.
The CSSS dataset is derived exclusively from reports published in the Mumbai editions of five newspapers: The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Hindu, Sahafat, and Inquilab. Consequently, the recorded figures reflect only those incidents that were reported in these selected print media sources. This narrow source base inevitably constrains the scope of documentation. In contrast, other monitoring initiatives that draw upon a broader range of sources, including digital news platforms, social media content, regional and vernacular press, video recordings, and independent documentation, report substantially higher numbers of hate speech incidents. The discrepancy underscores the extent to which hate speech may be underrepresented when documentation is limited to select mainstream print outlets.
It is therefore important to emphasize that the actual prevalence of hate speech is likely far greater than what is captured in the CSSS monitoring data. The comparatively low numbers reflect methodological limitations rather than a substantive decline in the phenomenon itself. Additionally, CSSS has adopted a cautious and rigorous definitional threshold in identifying hate speech. Speeches that articulate discriminatory ideologies, propagate stigmatizing narratives, or convey hostility in implicit forms have been excluded if they do not meet the strict legal or operational criteria for hate speech. Many statements that may be considered hateful in a broader sociological or ethical sense, particularly those framed in indirect, euphemistic, or strategically ambiguous language have therefore not been included in the dataset. This methodological restraint, while enhancing definitional precision, also contributes to lower recorded figures.
Definition of Hate Speech:
UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech defines hate speech as “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor.”
Definition of Hate speeches in India law:
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 196 prohibits the promotion of enmity between groups based on religion, race, community, or language. And the punishment for violating section 196 of BNS 2023 is imprisonment up to 3 years, a fine, or both.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 299 criminalizes deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting a religion or its beliefs and the offence is punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years, or a fine, or both.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 302 deals with deliberate and malicious acts that wound religious feelings of any person punishable by imprisonment up to three years, a fine, or both.
Hate Speeches from Position of Power:
The highest number of hate speeches was made by Nitesh Rane, Minister of Fisheries and Port Development in the Maharashtra Government (10), followed by Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (6), and Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah made five each. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, made three hate speeches. Most of the hate speeches specifically directed against Muslims were reported in BJP-ruled states. Among these anti-Muslim hate speeches, Maharashtra accounted for 16, Uttar Pradesh for 13, Assam for 9, Bihar for 8, and Delhi for four.”
Hate Speeches targeting Muslims:
61 out of 65 hate speeches were directed at Muslims. Four instances of hate speech were directed against Hindus.
The hate speeches documented in 2025 by the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) as reported in the five newspapers underscore a sustained pattern of dehumanization and stigmatization directed at Muslims in India. These speeches reproduce and reinforce long-standing Islamophobic tropes, many of which are articulated or amplified by individuals occupying positions of political or social authority. The reiteration of such narratives by actors in power not only legitimizes prejudice but also embeds discriminatory rhetoric within mainstream political discourse.
One of the most pervasive tropes employed in these speeches is the characterization of Muslims as “ghuspetiya” (infiltrators), frequently conflated with Bangladeshi migrants and so-called illegal immigrants. This narrative constructs Indian Muslims as demographic outsiders, despite their longstanding historical and constitutional status as equal citizens. The trope is further intertwined with the claim that Muslim population growth or cross-border migration is deliberately engineered to alter India’s demographic composition, thereby purportedly reducing Hindus to a minority. Such assertions lack empirical substantiation; nevertheless, they function as powerful instruments of fear-mongering, mobilizing anxieties around identity, nationhood, and majoritarian dominance.
Another recurring theme within these hate speeches is the homogenization and vilification of Muslim historical figures, particularly the Mughal rulers. The portrayal of all Mughal kings as uniformly fanatic, despotic, and destructive erases historical complexity and nuance. It selectively amplifies episodes of conflict while disregarding contributions to governance, architecture, art, culture, and syncretic traditions that have shaped the subcontinent’s pluralistic heritage. By invoking a reductive and antagonistic interpretation of history, contemporary rhetoric seeks to transpose historical grievances onto present-day Muslim communities, thereby justifying social hostility.
Moreover, hate speeches frequently insinuate that Muslims are inherently disloyal to the nation, sympathetic to terrorism, or collectively responsible for acts of violence. Such generalizations collapse distinctions between individuals and communities, framing Muslims as a monolithic and perpetual threat to Hindus and, by extension, to the Indian nation-state. The construction of Muslims as an internal enemy serves to rationalize suspicion, surveillance, and exclusionary practices, while simultaneously reinforcing a majoritarian conception of national belonging.
Beyond rhetorical hostility, these speeches often extend to explicit or implicit calls for social and economic exclusion. In recent years, including 2025, there has been a marked increase in exhortations urging Hindus to boycott Muslim businesses, avoid social interactions, and deny economic opportunities to members of the community. This strategy of organized exclusion is frequently justified through the propagation of conspiracy theories such as “love jihad” and “land jihad,” which allege coordinated efforts by Muslims to manipulate interfaith relationships or acquire property with the intent of demographic or territorial domination. These narratives, though repeatedly discredited, circulate widely and contribute to distrust, thereby normalizing discriminatory conduct.
State-Wise Distribution of Hate Speeches:
Seventeen (17) hate speeches out of 66 took place in Maharashtra, followed by thirteen (13) in Uttar Pradesh, ten (10) in Assam and nine (9) in Bihar. 54 out of 65 hate speeches or 83% of the total hate speeches took place in states ruled by BJP and in states where BJP ruled in coalition.
State Action on Hate Speech:
An analysis of 65 hate speech incidents documented by CSSS reveals inconsistencies in state responses to hate speech. Under the monitoring framework of CSSS, state action or response against hate speech can broadly be classified into three categories.
The first category consists of actions where the speeches are treated as hate speeches by the state and followed up by legal action, but these statements, upon closer examination, do not constitute hate speech. This category often includes speech critical of the policies or ideology of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or expressions that question dominant religio-cultural or political narratives.
| Sr No. | State | Actor | Hate Speech | Action Taken |
| 1 | Bihar | JDU MLA Khalid Anwar | “Talking about prominent historical figures is purely an academic subject… Historians are divided in their opinion on Aurangzeb, with some calling him a bad ruler and others calling him a good administrator. Personally, I am on the side of those historians who called him a good administrator.” | The BJP demanded his expulsion but no action was taken. |
| 2 | Maharashtra | Akshaydeep Bharatkumar Visawadiya | Akshaydeep Bharatkumar Visawadiya, a resident of Nalasopara East in Palghar, Maharashtra, was assaulted by locals and arrested after allegedly posting derogatory remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in a housing society’s WhatsApp group.
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Police registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 299 (outraging religious feelings), 356(2) (defamation), and 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace). |
| 3 | Uttar Pradesh | Govt school teacher Rajneesh Gangwar | Composed a song to the effect that “Light the lamp of knowledge instead of going to the Kanwar Yatra” | A FIR was registered by Bareilly police under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 353-2 for public mischief intended to promote enmity, hatred, or ill-will between groups, following a complaint by a local right-wing activist. |
The second category of hate speeches are those where no action is taken though they incite ill-will, animosity and violence against Muslims and Christians. From the data, it is observed that the majority of hate speeches directed against Muslims were made in BJP-ruled states. Out of 65 hate speeches against Muslims, action was only taken by the state in 11 instances.
| Sr No. | State | Actor | Hate Speech |
| 1 | Uttar Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | Strongly defending a court-ordered survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal to ascertain claims that the mosque was built over a Hindu temple, Yogi Adityanath likened the occupation of alleged Hindu religious sites by mosques as a “wound needing surgery” and that “neglect could turn it into cancer”
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| 2 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis | The same parties (opposition parties) and forces which initiated “vote jihad” to secure votes in the Lok Sabha election, are taking it to the next level now, and people have to be “united to be safe. Their ploy helped them in cities like Malegaon, but failed in the assembly election. Thus, they are now taking it to the next level. All of a sudden, hundreds of people aged between 40 and 60 are seeking birth certificates.’’
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| 3 | Uttar Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | In a speech welcoming Uttarakhand govt’s decision to implement a uniform civil code, Yogi said it was aimed at stopping “land jihad” in the hill state. Saying that there had been large-scale migration out of the state for employment, he claimed that persons of a certain religion had started purchasing land and it was important for ‘Dev Bhumi to retain its identity’. He also claimed that Uttar Pradesh had already taken steps to prevent ‘land jihad’ by making changes in the Waqf Board Act, identifying only 7000 of out of the original claimed 1.27 lakh properties belonged to Muslims.
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| 4 | Maharashtra | Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan | ‘Had Shivaji Maharaj not been there, there might have been “too many Pakistans. What would have happened if a great warrior like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was not born in this country? Today, I am standing with the name Radhakrishnan. My name may have been something else. There may have been too many Pakistans within Bharat Mata. This (Shivaji) is a great warrior who fought against aggressors. Are we against Islam? No, that is all over. We have to live together. But, at the same time, we ought to remember history in its real sense. We must know the truth as it is”
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| 5 | Jharkhand | BJP Minister Sanjay Seth | Following a clash that occurred between Hindu and Muslim communities in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district over Mahashivratri, Seth blamed Bangladeshi infiltrators saying, ”Such incidents happen in Jharkhand because Bangladeshi infiltrators are destroying the demography and law and order of the State. You see, wherever there is a BJP-NDA government, be it Delhi, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh – Bangladeshi infiltrators are identified and driven out.”
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| 6 | Assam | Assam Health Minister Ashok Singhal | ”Don’t give it(shops) to Miyas. Give it to our youths. How can Miyas enter our festival? Our boys do not enter on Eid…I am not with them. If you mingle with them, I am not with you.”He added he had ”zero support” for them.
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| 7 | Uttar Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Ketaki Singh | ”If they (Muslims) have problems in the celebration of Holi, Diwali, Ram Navami, and other festivals, they might feel problems in getting treated with Hindus in the same wing of the hospital. Hence, a separate wing should be made for them. To ensure that they do not encounter problems while receiving treatment alongside others, I appeal through the media to Maharaj Ji (CM Yogi) that since there is already significant expenditure, a separate wing should be constructed for them to receive the treatment there. It will also help Hindus to ensure that they are not getting medicine or anything with anyone’s spit in it.” She also said, ” You must have seen videos on the internet, spitting on fruits, spitting on vegetables, mixing urine. I demand from the CM that a separate wing should be made for them so that they can get mental and physical treatment. ”
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| 8 | West Bengal | West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari | “We will physically throw Muslim MLAs out of the assembly” after the party forms the next govt in the state that goes to poll in 2026. He also labelled the Mamata govt ”a communal administration that is behaving like the 2nd version of Muslim League.”
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| 9 | New Delhi | BJP MP Nishikant Dubey | ”Bangladeshi infiltrators have changed the demography in the tribal-dominated state. Congress had said the delimitation would take place on the basis of population. It is the same party which advocated for making population the benchmark for the delimitation drive. In the delimitation exercise that happened in 1973, there was no change in the number of seats in Uttar Pradesh. Don’t talk about the population here. Even Tamil Nadu did not have any increase. The increase happened only in Congress-ruled-states – be it Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra or Rajasthan. The Bangladeshi infiltrators are forcibly marrying the Adivasi girls in Jharkhand and converting them. I urge the Government that when they conduct the delimitation exercise, they should exclude the Bangladeshi infiltrators.”
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| 10 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | Expressing solidarity with Hindutva organisations demanding the razing of a tomb in Khuldabad, Maharashtra, Rane said,” While the government will do its job, Hindutva organisations should do their job. After all, when Babri Masjid was demolished we did not sit and discuss with each other. Our kar sevaks did what was appropriate”.
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| 11 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | “Shivaji Maharaj’s army did not have any Muslims” and that he was not a secular king. He also stated that “Shivaji Maharaj was the founder of Hindu Swarajya. His identity of Hindutva cannot be diluted.”
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| 12 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | “Help Hindus identify mutton shops owned by people from the community. A new concept has been launched for jhatka mutton in the form of Malhar certification for the Hindu community of Maharashtra. This will help Hindus identify mutton shops owned by Hindus, who will sell unadulterated meat. The initiative will empower Hindu traders, and I urge Hindus to refrain from buying mutton from shops that do not carry the Malhar certification.”
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| 13 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | Nitesh Rane questioned the Block Development Officer of Ahilyanagar over his decision to stay a resolution of the Madhi village banning Muslim community traders from conducting business during the annual Madhi Chi Yatra. He said, “The BDO should remember that a Hindutva sarkar is in power in Maharashtra. Though the resolution passed by the Madhi gram panchayat has been stayed by the BDO, I urge the villages to again pass the resolution. If all villagers sign the resolution, then how will the BDO reject it?”
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| 14 | Uttar Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | “If Agra is to be linked to any historical figure, it should be Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj”. Adityanath criticized the previous government for naming a museum in Agra after the Mughals. Questioning the relevance of such a decision, he asked, “What connection do the Mughals have with Agra?”
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| 15 | Bihar | Deputy Chief Minister Vinay Kumar Singh | Speaking on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Bihar Deputy CM warned, ”The Bill is duly passed in both Houses of Parliament. Those who still say they will not accept are traitors. Such people should be immediately arrested. This is not Pakistan, this is Hindustan. This is the Narendra Modi government.”
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| 16 | Jharkhand | BJP MP Nishikant Dubey | In his remarks to the ex-CEC commissioner Dubey said, “You were not an election commissioner, you were a Muslim commissioner. The maximum number of Bangladeshi infiltrators were made voters in Santhal Pargana in Jharkhand during your tenure.” “Prophet Muhammad’s Islam came to India in 712. This land (Waqf) before that belonged to Hindus or tribals, Jains or Buddhists associated with that faith.”
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| 17 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | “Yes, we are EVM MLAs, but EVM means every vote against Mullah.” Addressing opposition claims about EVMs, Rane claimed that opposition parties in Maharashtra are raising concerns about electronic voting machines because “they cannot digest the fact that the Hindu community voted unitedly.”
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| 18 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | “If a particular community does not stop love jihad, land jihad and looking at Gau Mata with a crooked eye, then the government will find and send them to jail one by one. We are in the government and if these bearded people do not stop this love jihad, land jihad, and the drama against Hindu society in time, then even those sitting in Pakistan will not be able to recognise you, I guarantee, trapping girls of Hindu religion, converting them, killing them, all these dramas will not work anymore. We will bring the strictest law against conversion in the state, we will not let these green snakes work, they had a lot of fun during the tenure of Maha Vikas Aghadi. Everyone in the government was their father, during Maha Vikas Aghadi they used to raise slogans of Pakistan Zindabad but now the fun will not work.”
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| 19 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | “I have demanded that the organization named ‘Ijtema Jamat’[2] be declared a terrorist organization. Are there different groups under this name? After the inflammatory speeches at their event in Khargar, Hindus were targeted, leading to the death of a young Hindu.”
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| 20 | Uttar Pradesh | Hindu Priest Yati Narsinghanand | Yati Narsinghanand in his letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has appealed to make it easier for Hindus to get a licensed gun. The letter was written by BJP leader Udita Tyagi on behalf of Narsinghanand.
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| 21 | Uttar Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | “Sanatan Dharma followers have never sought to convert others or establish dominion over them. We see the world as a family. A Muslim family is the safest among a hundred Hindu families. They will have the freedom to practice all their religious deeds. But can 50 Hindus be safe among 100 Muslim families? No. Bangladesh is an example. Before this, Pakistan was an example. What happened in Afghanistan? If there is smoke or someone is being hit, we should be careful before we get hit. That is what needs to be taken care of.”
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| 22 | Assam | Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | Amid ongoing eviction drives against illegal encroachments, Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged a conspiracy behind people with roots in Bangladesh traveling miles to settle in Hindu or Assamese Muslim-dominated areas. He said, “Why are they moving 200-300 km from their native places to where Hindus or Assamese Muslims live? This is an issue beyond eviction; this is a hidden conspiracy to make us a minority.”
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| 23 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | “Why does the Congress need to run Marathi schools? The opposition should ask Muslims to give the Azaan in Marathi. Instead of Urdu, teach Marathi in Madrasas. Otherwise, all you get from there is a gun.”
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| 24 | Assam | Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | Hitting back at West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s remarks condemning the evictions in Assam, Sarma said, “While we are acting decisively to preserve Assam’s identity, you, Didi (Mamata Banerjee), have compromised Bengal’s future by encouraging illegal encroachment by a particular community, appeasing one religious community for vote banks, and remaining silent as border infiltration eats away at national integrity—all just to stay in power.”
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| 25 | Bihar | Home Minister Amit Shah | “The Election Commission released the draft list and neither the Congress nor the RJD submitted a single objection. So who exactly are you defending? Those who come from Bangladesh and take away jobs meant for Bihar’s youth?”
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| 26 | Kerala | SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan | “Muslims have become an unbeatable force in the state. Whichever party is in power, Muslims clerics are interfering in the govt.”
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| 27 | Bihar | Home Minister Amit Shah | “Rahul Gandhi did a yatra in Bihar… His yatra was aimed at saving the ghuspaithiya (infiltrators) who have come from Bangladesh. This was Rahul Gandhi’s Ghuspaithiya Bachao Yatra”. He warned BJP workers that Bihar would be “teeming with infiltrators” under RJD-Congress rule and accused Gandhi of spreading a “false narrative” on “vote chori” to protect them, urging exposure of these tactics.
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| 28 | Assam | Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | If the Assamese people remain “silent”, in two decades, the Independence Day flag will be hoisted by an “unknown Chief Minister”, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma declared in his Independence Day speech, exhorting people to “resolve” not to sell land or rent houses to “unknown people”.
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| 29 | Bihar | Prime Minister Narendra Modi | “Due to infiltrators, people of Bihar, Bengal and Assam are worried about their sisters and daughters. But these people are holding yatras and raising slogans in favour of infiltrators. Bharat mein Bharat ka kanoon chalega, ghuspaithiyon ka nahin (the country’s law will prevail, not that of the infiltrators). The NDA government will firmly stop infiltration. I challenge those who are protecting infiltrators – that no matter how much power they use, we will work to kick them out of the country”.
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| 30 | Assam | Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | The AI-generated “Assam without BJP” video, posted by BJP Assam’s X handle on September 15, 2025, portrays a dystopian future of an overwhelmingly Muslim-dominated state under Congress rule, featuring visuals of bearded men in skullcaps and lungis, burqa-clad women crowding streets, legalized roadside beef sales with animal carcasses, and iconic landmarks like Guwahati airport, tea estates, zoo, stadium, and theme parks redesigned with Islamic motifs and Arabic signage; it includes exaggerated claims of a 90% Muslim population due to illegal Bangladeshi infiltration, accuses Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and Rahul Gandhi of prioritizing Pakistan, and ends with an ominous narration warning voters against this “dream of Paijaan.”
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| 31 | Uttar Pradesh | Former Member of Rajya Sabha Vinay Katiyar | “Ayodhya Nagari ke andar Dhannipur iska koi matlab nahin. Is jile ke andar kyon rahen… woh log jayen nadi ke us paar chale jaeyen, Gonda, Basti chale jayen. Yahan kya kam hai unka? Yahan Ram ka mandir hai, wahi kaam karega.”
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| 32 | Uttar Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | “Those spreading chaos are ruining the lives of children by handing them ‘I Love Mohammad’ placards and posters and making them protest. Those causing riots and anarchy have been handed a ticket to hell without even asking for it.”
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| 33 | New Delhi | Home Minister Amit Shah | “The Muslim population has increased by 24.6 per cent, whereas the Hindu population has decreased by 4.5 per cent. I am telling you this because it hasn’t happened because of the fertility rate. It has happened because of infiltration… Infiltration from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hindu population decreased in Pakistan and Bangladesh as many of them fled and took refuge in India. And the Muslim population that increased in India wasn’t due to fertility, it was because many from the community infiltrated into the country.”
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| 34 | Bihar | Minister of Textiles of India Giriraj Singh | During an NDA nomination event for candidates in Arwal district, Bihar, Singh recounted a conversation with a Muslim cleric who admitted benefiting from schemes like Ayushman Bharat cards, PM Awas, toilets, and Jal Jeevan Mission but allegedly lied about voting for BJP. Singh said that the BJP did not want the votes of “namak haram” (betrayers) while referring to Muslims.
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| 35 | Maharashtra | BJP/Congress Maharashtra | Following distribution of Diwali faral (snacks) by BJP, the Congress Party alleged that the faral packets carried a message reading, ‘Batoge oh katoge’, to which they issued a counter-slogan of, ‘Fasoge…phir loot jaoge’
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| 36 | Maharashtra | BJP Mumbai President Ashish Shelar | “A fake narrative has been set up by the opposition about vote chori. We also stand for clean electoral rolls but we want to know how the opposition can only see the names of Marathi manoos, Hindu and Dalit voters and not Muslim voters. We too are studying electoral rolls, and we have found eight categories of duplication in various assembly constituencies from Karjat-Jamkhed, Islampur, Bandra East, Mumbra-Kalwa, Dharavi, Malad West…in 31 assembly constituencies, we found over 2,52,000 duplicate Muslim voters, and if we look at the electoral rolls of all the 288 assembly constituencies, it is over 1.6 million duplicate Muslim voters.”
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| 37 | Assam | Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | Sarma compared RJD candidate Osama Shahab to Osama bin Laden, stating, “We have to eliminate all Osama Bin Ladens in the state… This small Osama must be finished here in the election… If not defeated here, he will spread across Bihar and the country.” He added: “When Hindus awaken, no ‘Osama,’ ‘Aurangzeb,’ or ‘Babur’ can survive,” boasting of clearing 50,000 acres from “ghuspaithiyas” (infiltrators).
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| 38 | West Bengal | LoP Suvendhu Adhikari | In a BJP rally ‘Parivartan Yatra’, in Kolkata, Adhikari said, “Every infiltrator must be detected and sent back… Hindus must unite to save Bengal from becoming Bangladesh.”
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| 39 | Maharashtra | BJP Poll Manager | “We took the anti-Constitution narrative of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) lightly in last year’s Lok Sabha polls and paid a heavy price. It served as an eye-opener. Now, we are determined to counter every issue effectively, with our ‘vote jihad’ campaign.”
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| 40 | Bihar | Prime Minister Narendra Modi | ‘’RJD-Congress has a soft corner for infiltrators… They dislike Lord Ram, Chhath traditions, yet protect ghuspethiyas (infiltrators) for votes through Voter Adhikar Yatra.’’
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| 41 | Bihar | Home Minister Amit Shah | “INDIA alliance wants an ‘infiltrator corridor’ from Bihar to Bengal, unlike Modiji’s industrial corridor… NDA vows to detect, delete, deport every infiltrator to save Biharis.’’
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| 42 | Telengana | Bandi Sanjay | “The grooming gang lures Hindu girls under the pretext of celebrations, gives them chocolates laced with drugs to create dependency and later abducts and assaults them. AIMIM leaders are backing gangs that lure minor girls in Hyderabad’s Charminar area into consuming drugs and later exploit them.”
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| 43 | Uttar Pradesh | Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | Reacting to the opposition by SP MP, Ziaur-Rehman Barq and others of his decision to make singing Vande Mataram in all schools and colleges compulsory, Yogi Adityanth said, “This is part of a conspiracy to create new Jinnahs. The country cannot allow a second Jinnah to take birth. If attempts are made to revive Jinnah then such attempts must be buried.”
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| 44 | Uttar Pradesh | Hindu Priest Yati Narsinghanand | Terrorist dens like Al-Falah University, AMU, Jamia Millia, Darul Uloom Deoband should be blown up with cannons by sending in the army.” He further urged: “Pressure your leaders to demolish them with cannons, otherwise, there will be no escape.”
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| 45 | Assam | Ashok Singhal | Singhal shared a post on social media platform X showing a cauliflower field captioned “Bihar approves Gobi farming.” This was an alleged reference to the Logain massacre during the 1989 Bhagalpur violence in Bihar, in which more than 100 Muslims were killed and buried in farmland where cauliflower saplings were later planted to conceal the bodies.
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| 46 | Assam | Prime Minister Narendra Modi | “The Congress has no concern for the identity of Assam… They like illegal Bangladeshi migrants more. The Congress had settled them and is saving them. This is the reason why the Congress is opposing the ongoing exercise to correct voters’ list.
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| 47 | West Bengal | Union Minister Shantanu Thakur | Thakur stated at a BJP meeting in Hanskhali-Garapota, “If 50 lakh Rohingya, Bangladeshi Muslims are removed during SIR exercise, while one lakh of our own people are required to stop voting for a while, where are we gaining more?” He added that if 1 lakh Matua names were deleted from the electoral roll during the SIR, then the community should endure the ‘sacrifice’ for the sake of their own safety against ‘those who used to terrorise them.’
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| 48 | Assam | Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | “The BJP government’s goal is development, but existence is as important. Our politics is development, and along with that it is preserving the identity… Today, if you look at our state, two civilisations will be seen in front of us. One civilisation is a 5,000-year-old civilisation. A Sanatan civilization which gives acceptance to all kinds of prayers… Our is an inclusive civilisation… But in our state, because of the Congress’s weakness and its appeasement politics, gradually another civilisation was created… In the 2011 census, in Assam, the Hindu and Muslim breakup shows 34% Muslims. If we don’t consider 3% Assamese Muslims, Muslims from Bangladesh who have settled here at different times were 31%. In every census, there is a 4% increase… In the 2027 Census, in Assam, Bangladeshi-origin Miya Muslims will be near 40%.”
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| 49 | Assam | Home Minister Amit Shah | “I want to declare from this sacred land that the BJP’s goal is to drive out every single infiltrator from across the country, not just from Assam. ” – “Ghuspethiye were a major threat to national security and Assam’s culture.”
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| 50 | Maharashtra | Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nitesh Rane | Mr. Rane, while addressing a gathering in Ratnagiri, urged Hindus to inquire about the religion of shopkeepers before making purchases. He said, “They asked our religion before killing us. Therefore, Hindus should also inquire about their religion before shopping. Hindu organisations should raise such a demand.” Rane further added, “Whenever you go shopping, ask about their religion. If they say they are Hindus, then tell them to recite the Hanuman Chalisa. If they don’t know how to recite it, don’t buy anything from them” |
The third type of action entails where the government or the judiciary took cognizance of the hate speeches. It is observed that action is taken mostly where there are hate speeches against Hindu gods and goddesses or where Muslims are accused of hate speeches. For instance, out of 65 hate speeches, four were directed against Hindu community for allegedly targeting Hindu deities or figures. Action was taken by the state in all four of these cases.
| Sr No. | State | Actor | Hate Speech | Action Taken |
| 1 | Kerala | P.C George | “All Muslims in India are communalists. There is not a single Muslim in India who is not a communalist. They have killed thousands of Hindus and Christians in the country. They have looted the nation.” | Police filed an FIR against P C George under BNS Sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity between groups), 299 (outraging religious feelings), 353(1)(c) (public mischief statements), and 353(2) (inciting riots)
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| 2 | Maharashtra | 3 Unnamed organizers of Ram Navami Rally | “Aurangzeb ki kabr khudegi” (“We will dig Aurangzeb’s grave”), “Jisko chahiye Afzal Khan, usko bhejo Pakistan” (“Send Afzal Khan lovers to Pakistan”), plus vulgar anti-Muslim songs blaring from loudspeakers.
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FIR filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 296 (public nuisance via loudspeaker) and 3(5) targeted “obscene songs”; notices served, but identities undisclosed
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| 3 | Tamil Nadu | K. Ponmudy | Ponmudy recounted a vulgar anecdote where a sex worker asks a confused man if he prefers Shaivite (horizontal tilak, mocked as “lying down position” or pattakai) or Vaishnavite (vertical tilak, mocked as “standing position” or namam), reducing sacred Hindu symbols to crude sexual innuendos; he prefaced it with “Women, please don’t misunderstand.” | Madras High Court ordered Tamil Nadu police to register one FIR against Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy for his warning of contempt if ignored. Justice N Anand Venkatesh, criticized police inaction on hate speech. DMK removed Ponmudy as Deputy General Secretary (retaining his ministerial post) after backlash; he apologized publicly, admitting the comments were inappropriate while the video remains online.
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| 4 | New Delhi | Baba Ramdev | “Jaise love jihad. vote jihad chal raha hai naa, waise sharbat jihad bhi chal raha hai (Like there is love jihad and vote jihad), there is sharbat jihad.
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Delhi High Court ordered removal of Baba Ramdev’s “sharbat jihad” video and issued a contempt warning |
| 5 | Karnataka | BJP MLA Harish Poonja | During an event Brahmakalashotsava at Gopalakrishna Temple in Thekkaru village, Poonja accused local Muslims (Bearys) of breaking tube lights and stealing diesel for the event, questioning invitations sent to mosques: “What was the need for us to go to the mosque and give an invitation?… We are Hindus and should remain so,” warning Hindu families (150 vs. 1,200 Muslim) their numbers would grow while urging unity beyond caste.
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Police registered FIR under BNSS Sections 196 (promoting enmity) and 352(2) (inciting breach of peace) |
| 6 | Madhya Pradesh | Tribal Affairs Minister Kanwar Vijay Shah | Shah said that those who had widowed India’s daughters were taught a lesson by Prime Minister Narendra Modi using their own sister “(unki samaaj ki behen ke zariye).” He repeated this statement thrice. | The Madhya Pradesh High Court took Suo motu cognizance of derogatory remarks made by Shah against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and criticized the FIR for being weak and vague. The court expressed concern that the police may not conduct a fair investigation and decided to monitor the probe to ensure justice. The Supreme Court also intervened, rejecting Shah’s apology as a mere attempt to escape consequences. It directed the formation of a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) consisting of senior IPS officers (not belonging to Madhya Pradesh), including one female officer, to investigate the matter thoroughly.
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| 7 | Uttar Pradesh | Hindu Priest Yati Narsinghanand | “I do not consider Gandhi as my father… Because of them, we 100 crore Hindus do not have even an inch of land to call our country.” He also abused Ghaziabad Police Commissioner Ajay Mishra and Loni APC, accusing them of plotting his killing and insulting Ramayana | Ghaziabad police registered the case under BNS sections for inciting religious sentiments, criminal intimidation, defamation, and disturbing peace, prompted by complaints over hate-spreading and officer abuse.
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| 8 | Karnataka | BJP MLC Ravikumar | “The Kalaburagi DC office has also lost its independence. The DC madam is also listening to what they (Congress) say. I don’t know whether the DC has come from Pakistan or is an IAS officer here.”
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Police registered the case under BNS Sections 197 (defamation), 224 (criminal intimidation), 299 (outraging religious feelings), 302 (hurting religious sentiments), 351 (criminal intimidation), 353 (public mischief), plus SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act provisions for casteist slur against Kalaburagi DC Fouzia Tarannum |
| 9 | Karnataka | Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat | Bhat framed the condolence for VHP activist Suhas Shetty as “revengeful,” urged Hindus to keep swords ready, called cow protectors “patriots,” abused Beary Muslims as conversion instigators behind attacks, and declared during clashes “Hindus must kill—we are children of lions.”
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Bantwal Rural police deemed statements capable of “spoiling social health, creating enmity between communities,” filing FIR under BNS Section 353(2). |
| 10 | Haryana | Sharmista Panoli | The 22-year-old law student from Pune used abusive language targeting a specific religious community (Muslims), made derogatory comments about Prophet Muhammad, and accused “Khans” of lacking patriotism amid the India-Pakistan military operation following the Pahalgam attack. | Arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram on June 1, 2025, sent to 14-day judicial custody by Alipore Court under Section 295A (outraging religious feelings); Calcutta HC denied interim bail initially but granted it on June 5.
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| 11 | Assam | Wazahat Khan Qadri Rashidi | Wazahat Khan Qadri Rashidi posted social media content mocking Guwahati’s Kamakhya Devi temple, using “rapist cultures,” “urine drinkers” for Hindus, and sexually explicit/vulgar language against Hindu deities, traditions, temples, and festivals. | Assam Police formed an arrest team; Rashidi surrendered after deleting content; additional FIRs filed in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan.
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| 12 | Uttar Pradesh | Mohammad Amir | Amir, who runs the channel “Top Real Team” posted a video where he dressed as a Hindu priest (sadhu) and used abusive, vulgar language to mock Hindu saints, sages, and deities. | FIR was registered under BNS sections 197(1), 353(2), 352, and IT Act provisions; Amir was granted bail the next day and issued a public apology video. |
[1] This observation is contrary to the report of India Hate Lab. The India Hate Lab (IHL) has documented 1,318 verified in-person hate speech events targeting religious minorities across India in 2025.
[2] Ijtema Jamat,’ is an annual three-day congregation of Tablighi Jamaat, a transnational Deobandi missionary movement and not an organization. By asking for a ban on this gathering, Rane is defaming the whole Muslim community
