Hate Speech Surges in Costal Karnataka as Moral Policing Declines, Reports Activist
Offline hate speech and hate crime-related incidents also remained significant, with 36 cases reported during the year.
Mangaluru: While incidents of moral policing have declined in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi over the past year, hate speech—especially on social media—has seen a sharp rise, according to a comprehensive compilation by activist Suresh Bhat.
Social activist Suresh Bhat B, member of Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum and PUCL reports 142 communal incidents in 2025 in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, compared with 50 cases in 2024 across the two districts. Bhat, who systematically tracks communal activities in the region, releases it at the end of the year. The data is based on the media reports.
Interestingly, the data indicates that the nature of incidents has undergone a significant shift, with online platforms accounting for a substantial share of communal activity.
Notably, moral policing, which had frequently put the coastal districts in the spotlight, recorded a sharp fall in 2025.
Bhat has classified communal incidents under categories like moral policing, allegations of religious conversion, cattle vigilantism, hate speech, attacks/desecration of places of worship, and other communal incidents.
The report includes incidents of both Hindu fundamentalists and Muslim fundamentalists.
According to Bhat, a total of 110 hate speech incidents were recorded in the coastal districts in 2025, compared to 27 such incidents in 2024.
The data states, of the total incidents recorded in 2025, 74 were linked to hate speech (statements) on social media, making it the single largest category. Of these, 38 incidents were allegedly associated with Hindu fundamentalist groups, 32 with Muslim fundamentalists, one with Christian fundamentalists, while three cases could not be attributed to any group.
Offline hate speech and hate crime-related incidents also remained significant, with 36 cases reported during the year.
Other categories recorded in the compilation include eight incidents of moral policing, seven cases related to allegations of religious conversion, and 10 incidents of cattle vigilantism. An additional seven incidents fell under other communal activities.
Moral policing was the only category to record a decline, with the number of incidents dropping sharply from 23 in 2024(22 cases allegedly involving Hindu vigilantes and one involving Muslim vigilantes) to eight in 2025 (seven incidents allegedly by Hindu vigilantes and one by Muslim vigilantes). Incidents involving attacks or desecration of places of worship remained unchanged, with no cases reported in either year.
Bhat, who has been systematically tracking communal incidents in the region since 2010 using local media reports, said the data reflects only reported cases and that the actual numbers could be higher.
The report shows that communal incidents in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi peaked in 2015 with 228 cases, before gradually declining in subsequent years. After recording 84 incidents in 2023, the figure dropped to 50 in 2024, marking the lowest level in 14 years.
