Rising hate calls for tough curbs

India in 2024 saw a 74% rise in anti-minority hate speeches than in 2023, according to Washington-based, non-partisan research group India Hate Lab. Hate speech is a parasite which, if not weeded out, will further damage India’s secular fabric. The challenge, as observed by the Supreme Court in 2023, is in implementing existing verdicts – and that is where the Union and various state governments have fallen short.

The ‘Report 2024: Hate speech events in India’ notes that out of the 1,165 hate speeches documented in 2024, close to 80% took place in states either ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or by its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). About 32% of all hate speeches in 2024 were delivered while the Model Code of Conduct was in effect (between March 16 and June 1), and BJP leaders topped the list of hate mongers. Given this, it’s evident that BJP leaders resorted to communal rhetoric to polarise the electorate. It must be recollected here that in May last year, at the height of campaigning for the general elections, a non-political group of around 100 former civil servants wrote to the Election Commission of India asking why there was “little visible action against hate speech targeting both minorities and the opposition parties by senior leaders of the ruling party.” Furthermore, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms, at least eight ministers in the current Modi Cabinet have FIRs registered against them for alleged hate speeches.

Clearly, it is impractical to expect our political leadership to put an end to hate speeches, especially from the BJP whose leaders are rarely pulled up for making incendiary statements. The India Hate Lab report must act as a reminder that we, as a society, need to wake up to this social evil which has the potential to divide the country on religious lines, and maim our social, cultural, and democratic values. This could lead to a breakdown of law and order, which could even threaten India’s economic progress. At a global stage, this could diminish the world’s largest democracy’s moral authority to project itself as a polestar for the Global South. Focus must also be on social media platforms where hate speech spreads like wildfire. Over 85% of hate speeches in 2024 were either first shared or live-streamed on these platforms, with Facebook alone accounting for 42%. Finally, alongside the opposition to hate speech, care must be taken to not curb free speech and expression within reasonable restrictions. A good starting point would be to legally define hate speech.