APCR records 405 hate incidents in nine months

Hyderabad: The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has documented 322 hate crimes and 83 hate speeches targeting Muslims and Christians across India between January and September 2026, bringing the combined total to 405 incidents. The civil-rights group released two reports based on its Hate Speech and Hate Crime Tracker on November 10.

APCR said the figures cover only reported incidents and likely understate the actual scale of violence, since many cases go unreported or receive no follow-up. The organisation said a Muslim or Christian was attacked, harassed, arrested, displaced or killed more than once a day on average during the period.

Of the 322 hate-crime cases, 307 targeted Muslims, 14 targeted Christians, and one involved both communities. The incidents occurred across 24 states and Union Territories and resulted in 54 deaths.

At least 488 Muslims and 90 Christians were harassed, attacked, arrested or displaced. Among those affected were 48 children, 26 women and nine senior citizens.

APCR said state officials were involved in at least 119 incidents, including 21 deaths. These included 12 deaths in police “encounters” and nine deaths in custody or prison.

The report cited the deaths of brothers Zeeshan and Gulfam in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, in March, as well as the custodial death of 70-year-old Zaheer Shaikh. In at least 115 cases, the group said, police, civic bodies, the army or administrative authorities were directly involved rather than acting as bystanders.

The hate-speech report documented 83 speeches by 57 speakers across roughly 16 states. APCR said 33 of these speeches were made by holders of public office, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

It also named Chief Ministers Suvendu Adhikari of West Bengal, Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam, Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh and Pushkar Singh Dhami of Uttarakhand. Modi was cited for remarks about “infiltrators” changing Bengal’s demography, while Shah reportedly made similar comments in West Bengal and Assam.

Dhami had earlier responded to an India Hate Lab report that ranked him as the most prolific hate-speech actor of 2025, saying he accepted the label if raising concerns over infiltration, conversion and violence was called hate speech.

Muslims were the target of 95 per cent of the recorded hate-crime incidents. The report said derogatory terms such as “infiltrators,” “Bangladeshis,” “green snakes,” “insects” and “filth” were used in speeches, while some speakers called for Hindus to arm themselves.

Christians were targeted in 15 hate-crime incidents, many linked to allegations of religious conversion. APCR also recorded four hate speeches against Christians, including warnings by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal that conversions would not be allowed.

According to APCR, only six of the 83 hate speeches resulted in a first information report, and just one led to an arrest. The organisation said the arrest followed anti-Muslim graffiti painted by members of the Hindu Raksha Dal.

The reports also flagged 24 items from online news outlets and channels, including Republic Bharat, TNN World, OpIndia and Sudarshan News, alleging that their coverage used leading questions and one-sided framing that could fuel hostility toward minorities.

APCR said hate speech and violence rose around elections and festivals, and argued that repeat offenders acted with little fear of consequences.