South Asia State of Minorities Report 2021: Hate Speech Against Minorities

This report was published by the South Asia Collective, a human rights group aiming to document the discrimination faced by various minority groups – “religious, linguistic, ethnic, caste and gender, among others” – across South Asia. Member organisations of the Collective are based in Dhaka, New Delhi, London, Kathmandu, Lahore and Colombo. This 2021 report is the fifth edition of the South Asia State of Minorities Report, the first of which was published in the year 2016. It focusses on exploring the prevalence and causes of hate speech in six South Asian countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It also examines the legislative and regulatory frameworks in place to curb hate speech. The report notes that laws and regulations across South Asian countries are not adequately formed or enforced to prevent the incitement of hatred against minorities. The report also highlights the efforts of civil society and non-governmental organisations in addressing this lack and working to promote enforcement of the rights of minorities. The 306-page report consists of seven chapters: Hate Speech and Incitement to Violence in Afghanistan (Chapter 1); Hate Speech and Incitement to Violence against Minorities in Bangladesh (Chapter 2); India’s Other Pandemic: Anti-Minority Disinformation, Hate, and Incitement to Violence and Discrimination (Chapter 3); Nepal: Hate Speech against Minorities (Chapter 4); Charting Hate Speech against Religious Minorities in Pakistan (Chapter 5); Online Hate Speech in Sri Lanka 2019-2021: Trends, Challenges and Recommendations (Chapter 6); and State of South Asian Minorities 2021 (Chapter 7).