Human Rights Watch, a global body, has analyzed 173 campaign speeches made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Lok Sabha election in 2024. In at least 110 speeches, Modi made Islamophobic remarks intended to undermine the political opposition, which he said only promoted Muslim rights, and to foster fear among the majority Hindu community through disinformation, it said.
“These inflammatory speeches, amid a decade of attacks and discrimination against minorities under the Modi administration, have further normalized abuses against Muslims, Christians, and others,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Here is an excerpt from the lengthy write-up titled, "India: Hate Speech Fueled Modi’s Election Campaign Prime Minister, Ruling Party Targeted Muslims, Other At-Risk Groups."
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During the campaign, Modi regularly raised fears among Hindus through false claims that their faith, their places of worship, their wealth, their land, and the safety of girls and women in their community would be under threat from Muslims if the opposition parties came to power.
He repeatedly described Muslims as “infiltrators” and claimed Muslims had “more children” than other communities, raising the specter that Hindus will become a minority in India.
During an election campaign at Banswara in Rajasthan, on April 21, Modi alleged that the Congress would “snatch gold and mangalsutras of women” to distribute them among Muslims and also “take away their buffaloes” if it comes to power.
On May 7, in a speech in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, he falsely said that the opposition Congress Party “intends to give priority to Muslims even in sports. So, Congress will decide who will make the Indian cricket team based on religion.”
In a speech on May 14 in Koderma, Jharkhand, Modi said that “the idols of our gods are being destroyed” and that “these infiltrators [Muslims] have threatened the security of our sisters and daughters.”
In a May 17 speech in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, he made false claims that the political opposition would harm the newly opened Ram Temple, controversially built atop a razed historical mosque at Ayodhya. He said that if the opposition alliance came to power, “they will again send Ram Lalla [the Hindu deity Lord Ram] to the tent and they will run a bulldozer over the temple.”
Subsequently, in interviews with journalists, when asked about anti-Muslim speeches during the campaign, Modi responded: “The day I start talking about Hindu-Muslim [in politics], I will be unfit for public life. I will not do Hindu-Muslim. That is my resolve.” Modi has rejected allegations of anti-Muslim bias, pointing to India’s democratic, secular, and diversity standards. He said: “We are not against Muslims. That is not our domain.”
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Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1978 as “Helsinki Watch,” initially aimed at investigating rights abuses in countries that signed the Helsinki Accords. Currently, its ambit has expanded to about 100 countries worldwide. It is headquartered in New York City.
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*Freelance journalist
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