Anti-South Asian Hate Slurs Surge 109% in US: Report

Anti-South Asian Slurs Surge 109% in US India-West News Desk WASHINGTON, DC – Anti-South Asian hate rose significantly online between January 2023 and December 2025, with anti-South Asian slurs increasing by 109%, according to a new report by Stop AAPI Hate. The September 2026 report, 'The State of Anti-South Asian Hate', also found that 48% of South Asian adults said they experienced a hate act in 2025 because of their race, ethnicity or nationality. Stop AAPI Hate said South Asian communities continue to face high levels of hate both online and in everyday life. The report linked the heightened hostility to growing anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies, along with a backlash against the increased visibility of South Asians. Anti-South Asian slurs in online spaces associated with targeted violence rose from 22,996 in January 2023 to 48,033 in December 2025, accounting for 66% of all anti-Asian slurs in those spaces. The slurs 'jeet' or 'pajeet' accounted for 55% of all anti-Asian slurs. South Asians also accounted for 71% of all anti-Asian threats of violence recorded between August 2024 and December 2025, making them the most frequently threatened Asian regional group in those online spaces. Stop AAPI Hate's national survey found that the share of South Asian adults reporting a hate act rose from 43% in 2023 to 54% in 2024 before remaining high at 48% in 2025. Harassment was the most common type of hate reported. The report also found that 55% of South Asian adults said they or another Asian American or Pacific Islander person in their community had been affected by changing immigration policies or anti-immigrant sentiment. Online spaces were the most common location where South Asian adults experienced hate, at 49%, followed by public streets, parks, parking lots or public transit at 40%, and businesses at 34%. Reports submitted to Stop AAPI Hate's reporting center included accounts from Indian people in several parts of the US. An Indian woman in Texas described racial and anti-immigrant abuse by a customer at her workplace. An Indian woman in Georgia said a woman at a fast-food restaurant called her and others 'murderers' and 'rapists,' threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to have them deported to India, and threw food at their feet. She said they were all US citizens. An Indian man in Virginia said a stranger approached him at a Thai restaurant, used slurs against him and told him he would have to 'go home.' The person also threatened him and said he would wait for him and his friend outside the restaurant. The report found that 61% of South Asian adults were also targeted for another aspect of their identity in addition to their race, ethnicity or nationality. Religion, immigration status and class were the most commonly targeted additional identities. The hate incidents had mental, physical, financial and social impacts, with half of South Asian adults reporting negative effects on their health. The report included the story of Arun, a South Asian rideshare driver in New York, who described being followed and physically attacked by another driver after honking. The driver also made racist remarks about his background. Arun said he felt traumatized afterward and experienced neck and back pain, dizziness and memory loss, for which he was seeing orthopedic and neurology specialists. The report said a dominant theme in online posts was the xenophobic narrative of an Indian 'invasion' or 'great replacement,' portraying Indian people as taking jobs away from white people. It also said debates over H-1B visas fueled substantial increases in anti-South Asian slurs. Stop AAPI Hate said its findings were based on online monitoring by Moonshot from 2023 to 2025; its January 2026 national survey of 306 South Asian adults conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago; and firsthand accounts reported to its reporting center in 2025.