| 27 September 2023
| Christie Anto
New Delhi, India - A recent report by Hindutva Watch, a Washington-based group monitoring attacks on minorities, has revealed alarming statistics regarding the rise of anti-Muslim hate speech incidents in India during the first half of 2023. According to the report, these incidents have averaged more than one per day and have been particularly prevalent in states slated for upcoming elections.
The report, released on Monday, documented a staggering 255 incidents of hate speech gatherings targeting Muslims in the first six months of 2023. Notably, there is no available comparative data for previous years. These incidents align with the United Nations' definition of hate speech, which encompasses any form of communication that employs prejudiced or discriminatory language based on attributes such as religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or other identity factors.
What is particularly concerning is that approximately 70 percent of these hate speech incidents took place in states scheduled to hold elections in 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, the report found that 80 percent of these events occurred in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat were the worst affected, with Maharashtra alone accounting for 29 percent of such incidents.
The hate speech incidents described in the report were rife with conspiracy theories, calls for violence, and socioeconomic boycotts against Muslims. Hindutva Watch utilized various methods to compile this data, including tracking online activity of Hindu right-wing groups, verifying videos of hate speeches posted on social media, and collecting information on isolated incidents reported by the media.
In response to these alarming findings, the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Modi, has consistently denied the presence of minority abuse. The Indian embassy in Washington has not issued any comments regarding the report. Meanwhile, advocates for minority rights are calling for more stringent measures to combat this surge in hate speech.
Abu Asim Azmi, a Muslim legislator from Mumbai, has urged the invocation of anti-terror laws to control hate speech. He stated, "The Supreme Court has already made strong observations about hate speech. Have the governments become so impotent that they can't act on it? If the law and order situation has deteriorated in the country, 70 percent of it is because of hate speech."
Azmi's concerns about hate speech within the Indian Parliament were highlighted when a BJP parliamentarian made Islamophobic and racist remarks against a Muslim MP during a recent debate. Azmi lamented, "The people who have taken oaths on the constitution are making such remarks. There could be nothing more shameful than this."
This surge in anti-Muslim hate speech incidents has not occurred in isolation. Rights groups have long alleged mistreatment of Muslims under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, pointing to a range of policies and actions that they view as discriminatory. These include the 2019 citizenship law, anti-conversion legislation, the revocation of Kashmir's semiautonomous status, demolition of Muslim properties, and bans on wearing the hijab in schools.
In response, BJP spokesman Tom Vadakkan has blamed opposition parties for allegedly "promoting hate speech" and suggested that actions taken against the offenders should be left to the parliamentary speaker. However, activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad argues that hate "flows from the top" in India and is often used for political mobilization.
Setalvad contends that elected officials in constitutional positions have frequently employed slurs, stigma, and abuse against India's minorities, primarily Muslims. She notes that states going to polls are often hotbeds of such instigatory speech and highlights the lack of action against perpetrators despite public outrage.
"It's the silence of complicity," Setalvad asserts. "It is this silence and the impunity enjoyed by criminal perpetrators of hate that has made the everyday lives of Indian minorities fragile and vulnerable."
As India grapples with this surge in anti-Muslim hate speech incidents, there is a growing call for meaningful actions to curb the spread of hate and to protect the rights and dignity of all its citizens. The forthcoming elections in affected states may serve as a litmus test for the government's commitment to addressing this pressing issue.
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