ISLAMABAD: A Hindutva gathering in Kodagu district of Indian State of Karnataka was flagged by rights watch Clarion India on Sunday.
The event triggered outrage after videos circulated online showed speakers urging Hindus to boycott Muslim businesses, in the latest incident to spotlight concerns over rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in India.
The gathering, held in Napoklu on April 1 under the banner of "Hindu Raksha Samiti", was described by organizers as an “awareness drive”.
However the "No Muslims allowed" banner at the entrance and hate speeches calling on attendees to avoid trade with Muslims and other non-Hindus, drew sharp criticism.
According to Clarion India, speakers at the event invoked terms such as “love jihad,” “land jihad” and “economic jihad,” and those present were asked to take a pledge not to engage in commercial dealings with Muslims.
Community members said such calls could damage livelihoods in an area where many families depend on small businesses and daily trade.
One organizer, Kukkera Ajith, was quoted as saying the meeting was intended to raise awareness after a recent local attack on a Hindu man.
The controversy comes against a wider backdrop of growing concern over Islamophobia in India.
Hate speech in India
In January, international media reported that anti-minority hate speech in India rose by 13% in 2025, citing data from India Hate Lab, a project of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH).
The report documented 1,318 incidents, up from 1,165 in 2024, with 1,289 of those speeches targeting Muslims either explicitly or alongside Christians.
The majority of incidents occurred in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its allies.
CSOH’s 2025 report said hate speech in India continued to rely heavily on Hindu nationalist tropes portraying Muslims as outsiders and as an existential threat, often through conspiracy narratives built around various forms of “jihad.”
Researchers also identified a sharp surge in such speeches during moments of political and communal tension.
As of now, no public statement from the Kodagu district administration or police has come forward in connection with the Napoklu speeches.
The episode has renewed demands from local residents and activists for legal action, with critics warning that calls for a Muslim boycott risk deepening communal divisions in a state long seen as socially diverse and commercially interdependent.
