In the second session of “Speaking of Hatred: A three-part presentation on hatred, religion and gender in South and Southeast Asia", Dr. V. Geetha talked about the role of states in South and Southeast Asia in organising and building systems of hate directed against various minorities.

In this session, Dr. Geetha explained that when colonisers left different parts of South and Southeast Asia and nation states began to emerge, they were suddenly confronted with varying levels of inequalities based on gender, class, caste, ethnicity and religion, which had been temporarily set aside during the struggle for freedom. In the face of this challenge, nation states reacted by violently affirming their national identities – that is, the state’s version of “national identity” – in and through a logic of exclusion, especially on the basis of religion.

These sessions are part of the APC project Challenging hate narratives and violations of freedom of religion and expression online in Asia, which focuses on freedom of expression and religion in South and Southeast Asia, and on understanding and countering hate speech online, by generating narratives and discourses that defend diverse opinions.