India sees nearly 950 hate crimes in first year of Modi’s third term
Muslims and Christians targeted in violence and hate speech as report warns of deepening impunity and institutional complicity
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Nearly 950 incidents of hate crimes and hate speech were recorded across India in the first year of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term, with religious minorities—especially Muslims and Christians—bearing the brunt of the attacks.
A new report by civil rights groups—the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and the Quill Foundation—reveals a grim picture of religiously motivated violence under BJP rule, documenting 947 incidents from June 7, 2024, to June 7, 2025. Of these, 602 were hate crimes and 345 were instances of hate speech, many directly linked to members or affiliates of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The report notes a dangerous institutional gap: while crimes against Dalits are tracked under Indian law, there is no legal framework to monitor or document hate crimes against religious minorities. “Despite the scale and intensity, there is no official mechanism to track these attacks,” the report warns.
Muslims were overwhelmingly targeted—1,460 affected across 419 incidents. At least 25 Muslims were lynched or killed, and 173 attacks involved physical violence.
Christians faced fewer incidents but a disproportionately high number of victims—1,504 across 85 attacks, many involving mob violence against churches and prayer meetings.
Hate speech has become deeply normalized, with 178 of the 345 incidents traced to BJP leaders and affiliates, including Prime Minister Modi himself, multiple chief ministers, and even members of the judiciary. Two sitting judges and a state governor were also flagged for making inflammatory comments, raising concerns about the institutionalization of hate.
The worst-affected states were Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand—all governed by the BJP. The report also found a clear link between electoral activity and spikes in hate violence, with the most inflammatory speeches and attacks occurring around campaign periods.
The nature of attacks was broad and brutal—mob lynching over cow slaughter rumors, assaults during Hindu festivals, and campaigns targeting interfaith couples and Muslim-owned businesses. In March 2025 alone, 267 Christians were affected in a coordinated wave of attacks on churches and prayer meetings.
Even children and the elderly were not spared. The report recorded 32 incidents targeting minors and 10 attacks involving senior citizens, most of them Muslims.
Only 13% of hate crimes resulted in formal police complaints, exposing a deep failure of the criminal justice system to protect victims or hold perpetrators accountable. “This low figure is not just a statistic—it reflects the deepening fear, distrust, and marginalization Indian Muslims are living with,” the authors wrote.
The report concludes with a stark warning: “Hate crimes and hate speech never happen in isolation. They fracture families, devastate communities, and corrode the soul of a nation.”
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