Anti-Muslim speech has also risen dramatically, a recent report by the Washington-based research group India Hate Lab showed, which documented 668 such cases in 2023.
BJP politician T. Raja Singh openly called for violence against Muslims in an October speech in Rajasthan, proclaiming: “If they (Muslims) take one Hindu girl, we’ll take 10 of theirs.” At another event, he allegedly said: “You (Muslims) are half cut (circumcised), we will cut you fully.”
India prohibits hate speech under several sections of its penal code, including a section that criminalizes “deliberate and malicious acts” intended to insult religious beliefs. Singh is facing a slew of police investigations, including for his alleged hate speeches, but in October last year he was fielded as a BJP candidate in state elections – winning his seat for the third time in a row.