Hate Speech Forces Demographic Shift, Court Warns, Cites Kashmiri Pandits

The Delhi High Court said while dismissing a petition related to Union Minister Anurag Thakur and MP Parvesh Verma's speeches concerning anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.

Hate speeches are the beginning point of attacks against a targeted community and there have even been instances of demographic shifts in the aftermath of inflammatory speeches -- the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley being a prime example, the Delhi High Court on Monday said.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said that the methodology of hate speeches is not restricted to any religion or community and there are instances of hate speeches in different parts of the country targeted against people of specific communities based upon demography.

The judge asserted that hate speeches are targeted at a community to create a psychological impact on their psyche and the attacks can range from discrimination to ostracism, ghettoization, deportation, and even genocide.

"Hate speeches are almost invariably targeted towards a community to impart a psychological impact on their psyche, creating fear in the process. Hate speeches are the beginning point of attacks against the targeted community that can range from discrimination to ostracism, ghettoization, deportation, and, even genocide. The methodology is not restricted to any religion or community in specific," the court said.