The alarming rise was “deeply intertwined with the ideological ambitions of the ruling BJP and the broader Hindu nationalist movement”, the India Hate Lab (IHL) said in a report.
During India’s bitterly contested election last year, critics and rights groups accused PM Narendra Modi and his BJP of ramping up rhetoric against Muslims to unprecedented levels in a bid to mobilise the Hindu majority.
“The number of hate speech incidents targeting religious minorities surged from 668 in 2023 to 1,165 in 2024, marking a staggering 74.4 per cent increase,” the IHL report stated.
It said 98.5pc of the hate speeches targeted Muslims, with more than two-thirds of them taking place in states controlled by the BJP or its allies, according to the report.
More than 450 hate speeches were delivered by leaders of the BJP, with Modi himself responsible for 63 of them, the report said. The India Hate Lab is part of the Washington-based Centre for the Study of Organised Hate (CSOH), a non-profit think tank.
A Muslim man was brutally attacked by right-wing Hindu outfits, including VHP and Sanskriti Bachao Manch inside Bhopal district court premises on Friday, while he was there for a court marriage with his Brahmin neighbour under the Special Marriage Act.
The couple from the Pipariya area of Narmadapuram district had reportedly come to the Bhopal district court for the legal procedure when the incident happened.
A video of the shocking incident shows the Muslim man lying on the ground, possibly in the court canteen, as he is being kicked on the face and beaten mercilessly.
In another video clip, shot possibly by men from the right-wing Hindu outfits, the man is seen bleeding near his right eyebrow while being questioned aggressively. The attackers can be heard asking him, “Why are you behind Hindu girls, tell us will you again indulge in Love Jihad? If you want to remain safe, marry a Muslim girl."
In yet another video, the man can be seen verbally abused, even while the police escort him towards a vehicle to take him to the local MP Nagar police station.
Chandrashekhar Tiwari, who represents the local outfit Sanskriti Bachao Manch, claimed that they had foiled the Muslim man’s bid to marry the Hindu woman "through trickery."
“He was indulging in Love Jihad, he had tricked the Hindu woman by chatting through a fake ID and then forced her into an illicit relationship for marriage and subsequent religious conversion. We’ll seek action against him under the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act," tiwari claimed.
A lawyer who was accompanying the men from the Hindu outfits’ said that the Muslim man was trying to marry the Hindu woman based on a fake affidavit.
“The woman, who is the daughter of a Hindu priest, has been tricked by the Muslim man for the sole purpose of religious conversion via Love Jihad. Before asking us about the assault on that man, ask him why he had brought the daughter of the Hindu priest with him for religious conversion through Love Jihad,” the lawyer stated.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (MP Nagar) Akshay Chaudhary said, “The police were informed by some advocates about a man and a woman from different religions coming to the court for marriage. We are recording the statements of the interfaith couple, and based on their account, appropriate action will be taken.”
