(The 2024 elections will mark a critical year for hate speech in India, as per the India Hate Lab report 2023. The Quint stands committed in its coverage of hate crimes and communal tensions through our project Uncovering Hate. With your support, we can do more.)
Earlier, when they (the Congress) were in power, they had said Muslims have the first right to the wealth of the nation. This means they will distribute this wealth to those who have more children, to infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators? Do you agree to this?
These were the words of the Prime Minister of India during a campaign rally on Sunday. Of course, he deliberately misquoted former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's words, but more important is the end to which he chose to do this.
We have launched the biggest political show on earth in the world's largest democracy with an open season for the use of religion in election campaigning, but the Election Commission of India is either sleeping on the job or drowning itself in a sea of technicalities on what constitutes the use/abuse of religion in campaigning.
Speeches, interviews, and campaign hoardings are full of religious issues, either linked to temples, personal laws, dietary habits or historical narratives that reek of religious appeal.