Modi delivers hate speech against Bangladeshis, calls them “infiltrators”

In Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a hate speech stirring fears about demographic change and linking Jharkhand’s socio-economic issues to “Bangladeshi infiltrators.” He accused the opposition of betraying the tribal community and attempting to reduce them to a minority by encouraging the rise of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have been actively campaigning in the region, claiming that “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and “Rohingyas” are marrying tribal women to seize their land and property and use them as proxies to gain influence in the area. Rights groups and media outlets have found that such claims are false and not based on facts.

USCIRF flags deteriorating religious freedom in India

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has reported a “deteriorating and concerning trajectory” for religious freedom in India this year. The commission pointed to inflammatory rhetoric from top leaders during the general elections and in government policies, which have fuelled a surge in attacks on Muslims and Christians.

“In the lead-up to the June 2024 elections, political officials increasingly wielded hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric against Muslims and other religious minorities,” the report stated.

Police book Muslims who held candle march against killing of Hezbollah chief

The police in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh Amethi have booked nearly 50 Muslims for participating in a protest march in response to the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike. 

The candle light march protest was organized to express outrage and mourn the killing of Nasrallah, a prominent figure in the Shia Muslim community.