PUCL Delhi Conference on Communal Harmony: Combating Hate Speech & Hate Crimes
Nov 01, 2025By PUCL Delhi
PUCL Delhi organized a conference on “Communal Harmony: Combating Hate, Crimes and Hate Speech” at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi on 20th and 21st September 2025. The PUCL Delhi executive estimates that around 350 people participated in the conference. In times when it is difficult to gather people in Delhi for an issue like this, the turnout of 350 people can be considered a tremendous response.
The conference was divided into nine sessions, including the inaugural and valedictory sessions. The sessions saw experts from various fields discussing concerning details regarding the spread of hate in the country today. The event brought together diverse voices to address the erosion of the secular and democratic order, with a focus on the disproportionate targeting of minorities, especially Muslims and Christians. In this report, we cover the first two sessions.
Mr. T S Ahuja, General Secretary of PUCL Delhi, welcomed the participants and the inaugural panel consisting of Mr. Najeeb Jung (former Lt. Governor of Delhi), Ms. Syeda Hameed (former member of the Planning Commission), Mr. Justice Rajiv Shakdhar (former Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court), Mr. Salil Shetty (former General Secretary, Amnesty International), and Mr. Sanjay Parekh (Sr. Advocate, Supreme Court of India).
Mr. T S Ahuja, while making the opening statement, said that the framers of India’s Constitution placed freedom of thought and expression, equality, social justice, fraternity, and the right to life at the heart of our Republic. Yet, these foundational promises stand imperiled today, as escalating hate speech and communal violence erode the very fabric of Indian democracy. This conference was convened in response to this alarming rise in hate speech and hate crimes. He stressed the need for and purpose of holding the conference.
Mr. Najeeb Jung, former Lt. Governor of Delhi, emphasized the importance of communal harmony in India, highlighting its historical significance and connection to democracy.
He said India’s essence lies in its civilizational diversity, which has fostered communal harmony through various cultures and faiths. This harmony is crucial for the strength and stability of democracy. He noted that communal harmony is under siege globally, as tensions between religions often stem from a lack of understanding and education, a situation exacerbated by political agendas that promote division. He urged for deeper understanding between religions, particularly Hinduism and Islam, and called for education and dialogue to combat rising communal tensions. He highlighted that scholars from both faiths are contributing to this dialogue and stressed the need for courage to challenge hate speech and communalism, asserting that love and unity will ultimately prevail.
Mr. Justice Rajiv Shakdhar, former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, stated, “Freedom of expression is sacrosanct, but unchecked hate speech corrodes democracy itself.” He noted that while the Constitutional framers privileged freedom of thought, expression, equality, and social justice, this social and cultural fabric is now being torn by threats to minorities and hate speech. He cited a 74% increase in hate speech from 2023-24, with Muslims and Christians as primary targets, and pointed out that many purveyors of hate are politicians who both frame and violate the law. He observed how ideas of “jihad” – such as love, land, and now flood “jihad” – morph into hate crimes. Victims of hate speech are often incarcerated, while perpetrators go scot-free. He criticized the insincerity of lawmakers, noting that the BNS does not even incorporate the suggestions of the 267th Law Commission report regarding hate speech.
Furthermore, regulations intended to control hate speech on social media are instead used to clamp down on political and free speech. He warned that if hate speech goes unchecked, it will aggravate into violence. Solutions include educating, creating awareness, and engagement by youth and civil society with religious leaders to explain the tenets of secularism. He also highlighted the lack of compliance with the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Ashwini Kumar case, which mandates that incidents of hate speech be registered without a complaint.
Mr. Salil Shetty, former Secretary General of Amnesty International, discussed the importance of Human Resources, noting that in South Asian societies, particularly India, this development is challenged by rampant prejudice and discrimination. He stated that “no one is born free or equal” due to the 3000-year-old caste system. He argued that since Hinduism is fragmented, the ruling regime has achieved “caste consolidation” through anti-non-Hindu rhetoric, including anti-Christian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Sikh sentiments. He also observed the capitulation of formerly “unbiased” state institutions. When discussing the risks for Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and Women, he said that oppressor caste men often provoke riots, while men from oppressed castes are pushed to carry out the violence.
Ms. Syeda Hameed, former Planning Commission member, began with a couplet: ”Basti ami apni hinduon muslim sau bas gaye, Insaan ki shakal dekhno ko hum taras gaye”. She referred to recent incidents of hate speech and noted that the ruling party openly acts as a perpetrator, while opposition leaders are selectively targeted. She stressed the history of Hindu-Muslim unity, reminding the audience that Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad, and Ambedkar all stressed unity. The need of the hour is to propagate that unity. “I, as a practicing Muslim… don’t want to become bitter but work towards a solution,” she said, highlighting the contributions of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali. She urged making appropriate use of social media to spread peace and called on young people to join the campaign for secularism.
Mr. Sanjay Parekh, Sr. Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, emphasized that the nation’s diversity is its cultural strength, while division shows an erosion of humanity. He pointed to statistics showing an average of three hate speeches a day in 2024, a 74% increase since 2023, and expressed concern over the prevailing fear to voice dissent. Quoting Ambedkar, he said that Fraternity, above all other ideas, awakens humans to reality; without it, “justice, liberty and equality will struggle to survive”. He expressed concern that old scars from riots are reopened by new hate speech. He criticized the term “minority” as a “false logic to disempower oppressed communities” and spoke of the inferiority internalized by these communities due to systemic exploitation. He pleaded for the dissemination of positive news about communal harmony, giving examples of inter-religious mutual respect. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi’s book, ‘The way to communal harmony’, he called on people to learn from historical episodes like the Raksha Bandhan movement initiated by Rabindreanath Tagore and to organize cultural and symbolic acts of political protest.
Second Session: Causes for Escalation of Communal Violence and Hatred
This session was moderated by Mr. N D Pancholi, former President, PUCL Delhi.
Prof. Ravikant, Associate Professor at Lucknow University, Uttar Pradesh, and a renowned Dalit scholar, stated, “The sponsored hatred is set to make Muslims the ‘new Dalits’ of India through cultural and political exclusion and economic deprivation.” He noted that the poison of hatred towards Dalits and OBCs has decreased in the past two years due to civil society efforts. He characterized the current establishment as “Manuvadi,” noting that framers like Nehru and Ambedkar were against such Manuvad. He added that Golwalkar said giving universal adult franchise meant giving voting rights to “kutte-billiyan” (cats and dogs), by which he meant Dalits and Muslims. He argued there is an economic basis for the attack, with demolitions aimed at economically crippling and ghettoising Muslim communities into a servant class. We have moved from riots to massacres, such as in Godhra, and the forces behind these actions want to subvert constitutional authority.
Ms. Teesta Setalvad, General Secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace, said, “We need to defeat the ideological thrust of ‘firqaparasti’ and address the educational needs of the younger generation.” She stated that hate-mongering and crimes are ideologically driven, citing the use of media for genocidal provocations, such as India Today’s coverage of Tablighi Jamaat as a COVID hotspot. She pointed to the emergence of “Hindutva pop” and the propagation of ‘Sulli deals’ where Muslim women were targeted. She called for disseminating judicial commission recommendations on communal harmony and for “peace meetings” to juxtapose communal rallies, which increasingly weaponize religious festivals. She contextualized the citizenship question with the historical precedent of the Assam movement, where “we all were tardy in our responses,” and urged collaborative interventions.
Mr. Irfan Engineer, from the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, stated, “Communalism is on steroids and crony capitalism seems to be the root cause.” He stated he is vexed that “Communalism is on steroids,” the roots of which, he argues, lie in “crony capitalism”. He explained how, post-2002, big industrialists like Tata and Bajaj expressed their desire for a Prime Minister like CM Modi, and with their funds, the 2014 campaign portrayed Modi as the only alternative. He pointed to two industrialists who have benefited the most from the Modi regime, acquiring public assets and ports and buying out media houses with the backing of the courts. He blamed media houses for facilitating hate speech, noting that polarization no longer needs riots because “the cops do it on behalf of the rioters”. The way forward, he argued, is understanding that Hindu Dharma is incompatible with nationalism due to its core principle of “Vasudeva Kutumbakam”. He called for electoral reforms where hate speech and the use of religion in political mobilization are criminalized.
Mr. Degree Prasad Chauhan, former PUCL Chhattisgarh President, pointed out the disproportionate targeting of non-Hindus, Dalits, and Adivasis in Central India. He condemned the Salwa Judum, where Adivasi youth were recruited to fight the Naxalite insurgency. He argued that these camps were used by the RSS to communalize and polarize Adivasi youth to become “footmen of the Sangh’s agenda”. He spoke of incidents where, post-conversion to Christianity, people’s ancestors are dug out of their graves and gram sabhas have called for a boycott of all religions except Hinduism, resulting in people being cast out. He also noted a pattern of crackdowns on those criticizing Brahmanism under the new BNS.
(Proceedings of the subsequent sessions and the conclusions of the meeting will follow in the next issue.)