Words mobilise public opinion, especially when they’re sprayed with vitriol. Speech, it’s rightly said, can be a world-defining activity. And hate speech is that powder keg that can marginalise people, besides other far-reaching implications in an election year.
Recent data reveal alarming trends. As many as 668 hate speech events were recorded last year, according to India Hate Lab report, done in collaboration with Hindutva Watch.
The report tracked daily online activity of Hindu far-right groups and their national and regional leaders.
“The normalisation of hate speech has been central to the Hindu far-right project of transforming India into a de facto Hindu nation. A form of symbolic violence itself, it has also enabled physical violence, disenfranchisement, and destruction aimed at Indian Muslims as well as other Indian religious and caste minorities,” it read.
The report claimed that Uttar Pradesh witnessed about 104 hate speech events “The state, where over 38 million Muslims reside, is led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has a prolific history of delivering hate-filled speeches.”
Haryana witnessed about 48 hate speech events, comprising 7.2% of all hate speech events, while constituting about 2% of India’s population.
Maharashtra has an unflattering hate-speech record. Between January 1 and October 1, IHL documented 91 hate speech events across 27 out of 36 districts in Maharashtra.
“Mumbai and Kolhapur district, which ranked among top five in hate speech events, were also the ones to witness most incidents of communal tension and violence in the state.” The report highlighted.
Organisations such as the VHP-Bajrang Dal, individual BJP leaders, the Sakal Hindu Samaj (SHS) and the Hindu Jagran Vedike contributed to 307 events, comprising 46% of all hate speech events last year.
Interestingly, Karnataka has seen a gradual decline in hate-speech events ever since the Congress came to power.
An analysis of those frequently giving hate speeches indicates a widespread network of BJP members, far-right leaders, and influencers. Just five speakers were in charge of 146 hate speech incidents, or 22% of all incidents of hate speech that IHL has recorded.
According to a media report, November saw a rise in the use of the conflict to spread hate speech against Muslims, with allusions made during 17 events that IHL has documented. Seventy-two (32 out of 41) of the events happened in states and union territories administered by the BJP.
“In particular, BJP leaders delivered hate speeches during their election campaigns in the opposition-ruled states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh,” the report mentioned. “The increase in tracked events during state elections in 2023 was not an isolated incident but indicative of a larger trend, observed during the 2019 national elections, which saw a sharp rise in hate speech events across the country.”
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