“Hate Debate: Should Hate Be Punished as A Crime”, a book by Paul Iganski reveals the relationship between hate speech and hate crimes. Hate speech is the reflection of bad values and thoughts. It paves way to hate crimes or violence in society.
If the impact of hate speech is pathological as well as deviant then who should be punished for this? Those who commit the hate crimes or those spread the prejudices and motivate the violence? Further, adding to Paul’s concern, why are these prejudices so rampant and spreading like an epidemic?
As a sociologist, I may refer Zawdaki's “Well-earned Theory.” It tells that the members of a particular group or community having bad reputation are victimized by other groups or communities those are numerically stronger. For instance, Minority and marginal groups and communities have bad reputation in India, which make them prone to discrimination, both physical and digital. To be very specific, there is a public discourse about Muslims which focuses on some issues such as responsible for population growth, anti-nationalist, forced marriage, beef eaters, polygamous, female genital mutilation, veil etc. This is not true always. Islamophobia is growing and it is displaying in hate speech forms. As per a survey by Boomlive.in it is revealed that Islamophobia has increased in social media because fake narratives are widely accepted by the users. A narrative says Hindus suffer because of minority appeasement. Haridwar Dhram Sansad case is the live example of hate speech against Muslims. We advocate secularism, multiculturalism, melting pot society or group rights but in reality there is huge trust deficit for minor communities.
There is no stopping for hate speech. Another ripple effect of hate speech in online had come to surface when photos of hundreds of Muslim women were uploaded illegally by an app called GitHub by the name of 'Bulli Bai.' This app had encouraged people for auctioning those women through online. In just a span of 7 months Muslim women are again targeted through the auction site. Last year 'Sulli Deals' controversy was in roof but no action has been taken against the culprits. In both the cases Bulli Bai and Sulli Deals , women photos are displayed and are labeled like a product to sell. Needless to say, Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai are the few examples of women harassment out of many.
These are not all about only Muslims females; women around the world irrespective of caste, race and religion are the victims of hate speech. Yes , we have to admit that online or digital misogyny is a women rights issue as well as a global tragedy. As per a report by Equality Lab on Quantum Of Hate Speech On Facebook In India, it is reported that Islamophobia tops the list. Anti-Muslim sentiments hate speech is at top with 37% of total hate speech. False News has 17% of space in hate speech. Gender related or misogynist hate speech content and Dalit or caste related hate speech have 13% of share each respectively. Violence hate speech has 11% and anti-religious content has 9% of total hate speech in Facebook.
Hate speech is deadly dangerous for India as well as for the world. It is overriding communities on communities. Muslims across the globe are projected as antinationalist. Nationalism is a collective effort. Voices of many women, girls, transgender and Dalits are abused and choked through hate speech. Many women do not want to be in social media due to the fear of online harassment or abuse. It is a threat to their freedom.
There is no specific definition for hate speech. As per the Law Commission of India, hate speech is an incitement to hatred against a race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and religious belief. Similarly, The Bureau Of Police Research And Development has defined hate speech in terms of a threat, abuse and target of one individual or group towards another individual or group based on the identity. The United Nation is having a strong concern on hate speech. As per the UN, hate speech has been increasing since 1950s. Further to this, it has become one of the strong reasons for violence across the globe.
During the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic, the quantum of hate speech has increased. For example, some ethnic groups, migrants and foreigners have been victimized by hate speech and held responsible for spreading covid virus. Journalists, medical and health workers are also subjected to fall as victims of hate speech. Hate speech is a threat to society when it is circulated by political leaders, religious leaders, role models and Government officials. Hate speech is a danger to human rights. It attacks on tolerance and social inclusion. It damages peace, social solidarity and diversity.
Hate speech has many reflections. It may come in the forms of xenophobia, islamophobia, anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance or may be in form misogyny. The reasons are very hard to find. Ideological difference, threat, prejudices and superiority complexes are some reasons of hate speech.
There are many laws and efforts in India to curb the menace of hate speech. Still it is observed there is a spike in the number of cases registered under Section 153A and 153AA . These two IPC sections say ‘Promotion of enmity between groups on the basis of religion, race, place of birth, residence , language etc.' Further, it is alarming for India that during 2015-2020, there is a more than four times increase in the number of cases registered under153A. There are many IPC sections such as 153B, 295A, 298, 505(1) meant to control the hate speech. Also, the United Nations has emphasized on some plan of actions and strategies on hate speech. The UN has been promoting the efforts to find out the root cause and drivers of hate speech. A clear cut demarcation should be done to know the difference between freedom of speech and hate speech. Responsibilities should be given to civil societies, media along with social media to curb the quantum of hate speech.
(Dr Parida is an assistant professor. email id: abash.parida@gmail.com)