The Centre for the Study of Organised Hate (CSOH), a Washington-based think-tank, recently published a report analysing the role of prominent digital platforms in hosting and capitalising on the hate music industry in India. A section of the report explores recent themes of the “H-Pop” (or Hindutva Pop) genre, through statistical and profiled analysis.

Across all four platforms – YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Meta – content that promotes or incites violence and glorifies hate speech is explicitly prohibited under platform guidelines. Yet, Hindutva pop songs that meet the threshold for violation remain available and unmoderated. The following section details the dominant recurring themes across the Hindutva pop music catalogue identified in this study.

The following excerpt is from the ‘Profiting from Hate Music’ report by the CSOH.

104 of the 210 songs on YouTube contain explicit violent themes targeting India’s religious minorities, particularly Muslims. These songs either glorify or encourage violence against the community. On Spotify, 51 of the 109 songs found to violate the platform’s guidelines praise violence against Muslims. On Meta’s Music Library, 46 of the 103 violating songs issue explicit calls for violence against Muslims and were used to create over 1.4 million reels. On Apple Music, 67 of the total 101 songs contained calls for violence or encouraged violence against minorities, especially Muslims.

Categories of Harm Across Platforms (Categories overlap as some songs incite both violence and hatred), Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”

Almost all of these songs refer to Muslims either directly by name or through barely concealed language, such as commonly-used slurs and implicit references.

The most-viewed song on YouTube that issues violent threats against Muslims using coded language is “Bharat Ka Bacha Bacha Jai Shri Ram Bolega” (“Every Child In India Will Hail Lord Ram”) by singer Pooja Golhani. The song warns Muslim “enemies” that they will be “slayed” if they obstruct Hindus. Multiple versions of the song exist on YouTube; one of the most popular versions has accumulated over 43 million views, 241,000 likes and over 10,700 comments.

“Topi Wala Sar Jhuka Ke Jai Shri Ram Bolega” (“The Skullcap-Donned Man Will Hail Lord Ram”), refers to Muslims with the slur “Topiwala” (used to mock and stereotype Muslim men who wear the traditional skullcap) and warns that they will be forced to accept Hindu supremacy through violence. Sung by Ajit Tandia, the song has over 980,000 views and more than 8,700 likes on YouTube.

Other songs promote explicit and direct threats of brutality. “Tel Laga Ke Dabur Ka, Naam Mita Do Babur Ka” (“Apply Dabur Oil, Wipe Off Babur’s Legacy”) speaks of wiping out all signs of Muslim identity and burning them alive. Interestingly, the YouTube video consists entirely of a compilation of scenes from Hollywood movies, which may serve a dual purpose as clickbait as well as a content moderation evasion tactic. The song is available across all four platforms.

Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”

“Gau Mata” (“Mother Cow”) by singer Biru Kataria uses the slur “katwein” (a derogatory reference to circumcision) to refer to Muslims and threatens to “burn alive” and “chop” them if they slaughter cows. The song was available on YouTube until around mid-2025, by which point it had accumulated 142,000 views. By February 2026, it was marked as “not available” on the platform, although it is unclear whether this resulted from platform action or a decision by the channel. Nevertheless, Kataria re-uploaded the song in January 2026, and, by March, it had garnered nearly 11,000 views.

The song has also been uploaded by multiple other channels. For instance, a channel named ‘Haryanvi music studio 0’ uploaded an audio-only version of the song in October 2023. By April 2026, the song had over 204,000 views. Another channel, ‘Mental Music Haryana,’ had uploaded the same song in September 2025, and by April 2026, it had garnered over 20,000 views.

The song has likewise been used in more than 40,000 Reels on Instagram.

Instagram Reels created using “Gau Mata” song. Photo: Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, “Profiting from Hate Music.”

Some songs are extremely violent, with explicit language that unambiguously violates platform guidelines. “Cheer Ke Rakh Denge” (“We Will Chop You Up”) warns Muslims to “go back to where they came from” or face being “chopped.”

The song has been uploaded by two different YouTube channels and has been viewed a combined total of over 966,000 times, with more than 9,100 likes as of April 2026. “Laaton Ke Bhoot Kabhi Baaton Se Na Mante Hai” (“Those Who Need Kicks Won’t Listen To Words”), with over 52,000 views on YouTube, refers to Muslims as “Babur Ke Pillo” (“[Mughal Emperor] Babur’s Pups”), threatening to tear legs from their bodies if they “raise a finger against Hindus.” It further warns that countless Muslims will die when Hindus take up swords.

“Jis Din Mere Yogi Delhi Mein Dahadenge” (“The Day My Yogi Roars in Delhi”) by Jyoti Pandey envisions a future when Yogi Adityanath, the Hindu nationalist Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, becomes the country’s top leader: every Muslim will be killed and saffron Hindutva flags will be planted in every corner of India. The song refers to Muslims as “Afzal-Premi,” a pejorative widely used to brand Muslims as sympathisers of Afzal Guru, who was convicted of involvement in the 2001 Parliament terror attack – and that each of them will be individually targeted. The song has over 438,000 views and more than 3,800 likes on YouTube.

Hindutva pop music frequently invokes historical revisionism to justify present-day violence against Muslims. “Taj Mahal Nahin Tejo Mahalaya” (“It’s Not the Taj Mahal, It’s........

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