Anti-minority hate speech in India rose by 13 percent in 2025, US research group says

A Muslim man sits with his children after offering prayers during the Eid al-Adha festival, the feast of sacrifice at the Jama Masjid in New Delhi on July 21, 2021. (AFP/ file)
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Updated 13 January 2026
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Anti-minority hate speech in India rose by 13 percent in 2025, US research group says

  • India Hate Lab documented 1,318 instances in 2025
  • The Indian government calls such reports biased

WASHINGTON: Hate speech against minorities, ​including Muslims and Christians, in India rose by 13 percent in 2025, with most incidents occurring in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, a Washington-based research group said on Tuesday.

India Hate Lab documented 1,318 instances of what it called hate speech in 2025, up from 1,165 in 2024 and 668 in ‌2023, at ‌events such as political rallies, religious ‌processions, ⁠protest marches ​and cultural ‌gatherings.

Of that number, 1,164 incidents occurred in states and union territories governed by the BJP, either directly or with coalition political parties, the group said. The Indian embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Modi and his party deny being discriminatory and say their policies, including ⁠food subsidy programs and electrification drives, benefit all communities.

April recorded the highest ‌monthly spike, 158 events, with nearly 100 ‍occurring between April 22, ‍after a deadly militant attack in India-administered Kashmir, ‍and May 7, when four days of deadly fighting broke out between India and Pakistan.

Rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say abuse of minorities has risen in India since Modi ​took office in 2014, pointing to a religion-based citizenship law the UN calls “fundamentally discriminatory,” anti-conversion legislation that challenges ⁠freedom of belief, the 2019 removal of Muslim-majority Kashmir’s special status, and the demolition of Muslim-owned properties.

India Hate Lab, founded by US-based Kashmiri journalist Raqib Hameed Naik, is a project of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a nonprofit Washington-based think tank. The BJP has previously said India Hate Lab presents a biased picture of India.

India Hate Lab says it uses the UN’s definition of hate speech, which defines it as prejudiced or discriminatory language toward an individual ‌or group based on attributes including religion, ethnicity, nationality, race or gender.


Kazakhstan president to explore trade, connectivity cooperation in first state visit to Pakistan tomorrow

Updated 12 min 19 sec ago
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Kazakhstan president to explore trade, connectivity cooperation in first state visit to Pakistan tomorrow

  • Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to visit Pakistan from Feb. 3-4 with high-level delegation, says Pakistan’s foreign office
  • Kazakh president to meet Pakistani counterpart, hold talks with PM Shehbaz Sharif and address Pakistan-Kazakhstan Business Forum

ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will explore bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in trade, regional connectivity, logistics and other sectors when he undertakes his first state visit to the country this week, Pakistan’s foreign office said on Monday. 

Tokayev will arrive in Pakistan leading a high-level delegation comprising senior cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials from Feb. 3-4, the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. 

Tokayev is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart President Asif Ali Zardari, hold talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and address the Pakistan-Kazakhstan Business Forum during the visit, the foreign office said. 

“The visit will provide the two sides an important and timely opportunity to undertake a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, discuss new avenues for broadening cooperation, particularly in trade, logistics, regional connectivity, people-to-people contacts, and explore collaboration at regional and international forums,” the statement said. 

The foreign office said Tokayev’s visit reflects the strengthening bonds between Pakistan and Kazakhstan, their mutual commitment to transforming historic and cultural affinities into robust cooperation, as well as their common desire for peace and progress in the region. 

Relations between Pakistan and Kazakhstan are rooted in shared Islamic heritage and a growing strategic partnership, with Pakistan offering landlocked Central Asian republics access to southern seaports for global trade. Pakistan was among the first countries to recognize Kazakhstan when it gained independence in December 1991 and formally established diplomatic relations with it on Feb. 24, 1992. 

The two countries have held regular interactions over the past couple of years on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meetings and other international events. Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Murat Nurtleu visited

Pakistan in September 2025 to discuss economic and trade cooperation with Islamabad. 

Islamabad and Astana engage with each other to promote business and political ties via three forums mainly, which are: Bilateral Political Consultations, the Intergovernmental Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, and the Joint Business Council. 

According to the government of Kazakhstan, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $53.7 million in 2024. Pakistan’s main exports to Kazakhstan include citrus fruits, pharmaceutical products, garments, soap, sports equipment and gear and others.

Kazakhstan’s exports to Pakistan primarily include onions and garlic, dried leguminous vegetables, oats, buckwheat and other cereal grains, seeds and fruits of other oil-bearing crops, among others.