Hate Crimes Against Sikhs And Hindus On Rise In US, Say Groups As FBI Data Shows Decline Of 75
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New Delhi : Hate crime incidents against Sikhs and Hindus in the United States of America (USA) have increased by 24.6 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.
While there was an overall decrease of 7 per cent in hate crimes, as per the data with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), civil rights organisation Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) and Sikh advocacy group Sikh Coalition, note “anti-immigrant rhetoric and attempts being made to portray Sikh and Punjabi truck drivers as public safety threats.”
The anti-Sikh hate crime incidents increased by 24.6 per cent from 142 in 2024 to 177 in 2025, while the anti-Hindu hate crime incidents also increased by 12 per cent from 25 in 2024 to 28 in 2025, and so did the anti-Buddhist hate crime incidents, which increased by 7.7 per cent from 26 in 2024 to 28 in 2025.
The total number of hate crimes published by the FBI for 2025 on August 14 shows a 7 per cent decrease from 11,404 incidents reported in 2024 to 10,606 incidents in 2025.
Similarly, while the FBI’s statistics show a decline in anti-Asian hate crime incidents compared to 2024, the data makes clear that these crimes remain substantially elevated compared to pre-pandemic level averages, as per the study by AAJC.
It further stated that while the data continues to document serious threats facing Asian American communities, the statistics likely represent only a fraction of the bias incidents, harassment, intimidation, and violence experienced across the country (USA).
“Hate crime data has long suffered from significant underreporting by both victims and law enforcement agencies. The risk of statistical underreporting is heightened by the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies that increasingly rely on and reinforce anti-Asian, anti-South Asian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Sikh narratives,” it read.
The study noted that increased surveillance and information-sharing practices, and highly publicised extrajudicial enforcement operations have created fear and uncertainty in many communities, regardless of citizenship status.