'947 Hate Crimes Reported in Year One of Modi Govt 3.0,' Says New Report

As per APCR, out of the 345 hate speeches made in the year, 178 were made by individuals associated with the BJP.

APCR claimed that 947 incidents of hate crime took place in the first term of Modi 3.0.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

A new report titled, 'Hate Crime Report: Mapping First Year of Modi’s Third Government,' by the the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (ACPR) lays down the magnitude and nature of hate crimes recorded in the first year of Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government's third term.

The APCR's team has mapped the time period from 7 June 2024 to 7 June 2025, a year into PM Narendra Modi's third term. Essentially, the report is part of an effort to fill in the gap and documentation around the targeting of religious minorities in India.

As part of a similar endeavour, The Quint continues to report and document hate crimes that have been recorded since June 2024 in our interactive Hate Tracker.

The APCR's report stated that their data collection involved sourcing information mainly from secondary sources such as media reports and social media platforms. Providing a caveat that they have looked at only reported incidents and do not lay any claim to comprehensiveness.

APCR claimed that 947 incidents of hate crime took place in the first term of Modi 3.0, out of these 602 are classified as hate crimes and 345 as hate speeches.

"Out of the 602 hate crimes, 173 involved physical violence targeted at minorities. In 25 of these, the victim died. All victims were Muslims. The incidents of the year also affected 25 Hindus. While not the main victims or targets of the hate crime, their presence at the scene resulted in direct harm to their person or property. Here, Hindu women were more affected than Hindu men," reads the report.

Hate Crime Incidents: UP Tops The List

Uttar Pradesh emerged as the epicenter, recording 217 hate crime incidents. Other heavily-affected states included Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh, all BJP ruled.

October stood out with 80 hate crimes. There were multiple crimes motivated by conversion allegations, non-vegetarian food, and denial of access to public space in Navratri and Dandiya/Garba functions.

State-wise breakdown of the hate crime incidents.

(Photo: APCR report)

However, at 96, the most hate crimes were recorded in April 2025. Out of these, Uttar Pradesh saw 27 hate crimes. Most of these were attributed to the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

"The state had only recorded 10 hate crimes before the Pahalgam Attack, but afterward, there was more than a 100% spike with 17 hate crimes recorded thereafter, 68 hate crimes occurred in April, of which 44 were directly caused by the Attack," it stated.

APCR also stated that In totality, "from 23 April to 6 May, 87 hate crime incidents were recorded, out of which 51 were explicitly related to Pahalgam and 36 were in relation to Pahalgam."

Even though the recorded hate crimes spanned 25 regions across India, cutting across 23 states and 2 Union Territories, BJP ruled states dominated the list.

The report flags that 12 of the 25 most affected states were under BJP rule, and four of the top five were governed by the party throughout the year.

Nearly half of the most affected states were BJP-ruled states.

(Photo: APCR report)

Among those recorded, 398 crimes involved intimidation and harassment of religious minorities. Out of these, 214 of these involved organizations and political parties. The activities of Bajrang Dal, BJP, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad were particularly conspicuous and most repeated as well the report noted.

The nature of violence varied, 32 incidents stemmed from accusations of meat consumption or transport, and 17 were linked to interfaith relationships. Notably, six hate crimes were linked to calls for demolishing Aurangzeb’s tomb, showing how historical issues were used to stir communal tension.

Harassment/intimidation was the leading cause in the hate crimes, followed by communal or mob violence.

(Photo: APCR report)

Who Were the Victims?

The report recorded 2,964 victims of hate incidents over the year. Among them, 1,460 were Muslims in 419 incidents, and 1,504 were Christians in 85 incidents. While Christians outnumbered Muslims in terms of individuals affected, the frequency and intensity of attacks on Muslims was significantly higher.

Men were more vulnerable to these hate crimes, however, the gap between men and women victims is also decreasing. APCR stated that out of the 2,964 individuals affected in the year, 1,264 were men and 942 were women.

The report stated, "1,460 Muslim individuals were affected this year. Of these, 691 were men and 376 were women. On the other hand, the proportion of gender in Christians was more or less the same. Of the 1,504 targeted, 573 men and 566 women of the Christian community were affected."

Gender and religion demarcations of the victims in the hate crimes.

(Photo: APCR report)

Meanwhile, among the minors, 62 children were targeted in 32 hate crimes across the year. Of them, 30 were Muslim minors affected in 24 attacks, and 10 were Christian children in 8 incidents.

'178 Hate Speech Incidents by BJP Leaders'

Another concerning revelation as APCR pointed out that among the 345 hate speeches recorded, 139 hate speech incidents were made by individuals elected to public offices.

Hate speech was largely a political tool: 257 speeches were made by individuals associated with political parties or groups. BJP topped the list with 178 hate speech incidents, followed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (21) and Bajrang Dal (20).

Among the 139 speeches by elected officials, five by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 63 by BJP Chief Ministers, and 71 by other BJP legislators. Even a governor and two judges were implicated in making hate filled remarks. ACPR noted that 61% of hate speeches (212 incidents) fulfilled international thresholds for incitement to violence.

Breakdown of hate speeches by elected officials and others.

(Photo: APCR report)

Most hate speeches occurred in public rallies (288), with others during press conferences, interviews, or legislative sessions.

Uttar Pradesh again led the chart with 55 speeches, followed closely by Maharashtra and Jharkhand (41 each). In contrast, Punjab and Kashmir recorded just one hate speech incident each.

The themes of hate speech ranged from “jihad conspiracies,” alleged infiltrators, and Waqf Board controversies, to historical revisionism around figures like Aurangzeb. Right-wing media channels also played a role —Sudarshan News alone accounted for six incidents.

The Hate Around Election Time

The APCR report revealed that local elections could also become the loci of hate crime incidents, particularly hate speeches, as was revealed during the election for the Local Councillor in Uttarakhand.

ACPR mapped hate incidents around state and local elections in six regions, with Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Uttarakhand showing notable surge in communal activity. These states experienced either State Legislative Assembly or Councillor Elections between June 2024 and June 2025.

In Delhi, post-election months saw a 66% rise in hate crimes, including five cases in March and seven hate speeches by BJP leaders, including Chief Ministers and MLAs.

In Jharkhand, 35 hate speeches were made after the November election, including 17 by Chief Ministers and three by the Prime Minister.

In Maharashtra, the October spike included 11 hate crimes, two involving Bajrang Dal. Uttarakhand, which held Councillor Elections in January, witnessed 16 hate speeches before polling and four hate crimes after.

ACPR concludes that this clustering of hate incidents around electoral dates reflects a pattern of political benefit derived from communal polarization, often tilted in favor of the ruling party.