New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday said that it does not have any statistics on hate crimes committed on the basis of gender, religion, and caste as the Indian Penal Code (IPC) does not define any crime as a 'hate crime'.
'The IPC does not define any crime as a hate crime and therefore, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not maintain data under the head 'hate crime'.' Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai said in a written reply to the question in these regards asked by Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain.
In his question, Hussain asked the Ministry for data on the number of hate crimes in the past three years, state-wise, and further details on any actions taken by the government in order to curb the same.
According to a research account published by Statista, hate crimes in India have been recorded to be highest against Dalits and Muslim communities in the year 2019-20. The research, released in June 2020, shows a total of 619 reported hate crimes against Dalits, followed by 196 against Muslims with Adivasis, Transgenders, and Christians included further in the list. The website also lays down a basic definition of hate crimes as 'criminal acts against people based on their real or perceived membership of a particular group, such as caste, religion or ethnicity.'
Also read: 2,900 communal violence cases in last 5 years; no data on mob lynching: Govt in RS
The Home Ministry had earlier submitted that it has no separate data on mob lynchings even as over 2,900 cases of communal or religious rioting were registered in the country between 2017 and 2021.
