According to the India Hate Lab report, 269 hate speech instances were reported in May 2024, the highest in the year. Christians have also been targeted by hate speech, but to a lesser extent than Muslims, the report says.

India’s religious minorities have faced a “staggering” rise in hate speech over the past year, including from top leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a report released Monday.

Instances of hate speech against minorities in India such as Muslims increased 74% in 2024, a Washington-based research group said on Monday, with incidents ballooning around last year's national elections.

The country recorded 1,165 hate speech events last year, a 74.4 per cent increase from 2023, the report by India Hate Lab said. As many as 98.5 per cent of these events targeted Muslims, either explicitly or in combination with Christians, while almost 10 per cent targeted Christians in some capacity.

The researchers identified the hateful posts as a backlash to the December 22 appointment of Indian-American venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as the new White House Senior Policy Advisor for AI and Vivek Ramaswamy’s post on X, about American culture and mediocrity on December 26.

By Hera Rizwan Instances of hate speech against minorities in India such as Muslims increased 74% in 2024, a Washington-based research group said on Monday, with incidents ballooning around last year's national elections.