According to a report issued on Monday, the majority of incidents of hate speech against Muslims during the first half of the year were perpetrated by the government of prime minister Narendra Modi and its connected organisations. According to a study by Hindutva watch, more than 80% of the 255 occurrences of "hate speech gatherings targeting Muslims" took place in states and union territories governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Washington, DC-based research organisation keeps tabs on provocative speech and hate crimes in india directed towards Muslims and other minorities.

Since Modi took office in 2014, researchers claimed, anti-Muslim discourse in india has been on the rise in a "escalating trend." The investigation discovered that the bjp, which is in power, and its allies, including the Bajrang Dal, the vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the Sakal Hindu Samaj, were responsible for more over half of the reported instances this year. Those organisations are affiliated with the RSS, the BJP's parent organisation in terms of ideology.

Senior bjp official in New Delhi, Abhay Verma, referred to the story as "totally baseless" in an interview. He remarked over the phone, "We don't separate the country and individuals based on their beliefs. "The bjp does not support hate speech in any way."

Following India's police bureau's decision to stop compiling statistics on hate crimes in 2017, this research is the first of its kind to chronicle hate speech directed towards Muslims. Hindutva watch used news organisations and social media to acquire information. According to an explanation of the process, it employed data scraping techniques to find verified recordings of hate speech incidents and then carried out a thorough examination of the occurrences using journalists and researchers.

The research team used terminology from the United Nations, which defines hate speech as "any form" of communication that uses "prejudiced or discriminatory language towards an individual group based on attributes such as religion, ethnicity, nationality, and race." Although india doesn't have an official definition for hate speech, they did so in their study. According to the research, the most hateful gatherings were observed in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. One-third of reported occurrences took place in states where this year's parliamentary elections are planned.

According to Hindutva watch, which kept an eye on events in 15 states and two union territories, roughly 64% of the gatherings promoted anti-Muslim "conspiracy theories," such as the notion that Muslims are seducing Hindu women into marriage in order to convert them. According to the research, 33% of the rallies called for violence against Muslims, and 11% featured pleas for Hindus to boycott Muslims. The report claims that "hate-filled and sexist speech" directed at Muslim women was present at the remaining events.

The investigation said that instead of preventing hate speech, "government officials have frequently engaged in it themselves." As this investigation demonstrates, some of the perpetrators of hate speech are chief ministers, lawmakers, and top bjp officials.
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G GOWTHAM

26/09/2023 10:54 AM