Rising Anti-Indian Immigrant Sentiments

By Sanchita Bhattacharya

Violent incidents and mass demonstrations targeting Indian immigrants have escalated in 2025, with Australia and Ireland experiencing some of the most severe cases.

Among the most recent mass demonstration incidents, on August 31, 2025, “March for Australia” rallies were held across several cities of Australia, with flyers singling out Indian migrants and invoking the “replacement” theory.

Earlier, on June 21, Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki led a march in Auckland declaring Christianity New Zealand’s “official religion.” He urged followers to tear a Buddhist flag and accused Sikhs of dominating businesses and excluding locals.

Specifically, targeted attacks against individuals are also increasing in frequency.

On September 1, an Indian-origin man was shoved while attempting to speak at an anti-immigration “March for Australia” rally in Sydney, Australia. The rallies drew nearly 8,000 participants.

On August 31, an Indian international student was assaulted by three women who spat on her, poured beer over her, and shouted racial slurs in Melbourne, Australia. These incidents, amplified by viral video circulation, underscore a climate of heightened xenophobia.

Ireland has reported a comparable surge in racially motivated violence.

On August 4, a six-year-old Indian girl was attacked in a County Waterford housing estate.

On August 1, Lakhvir Singh, a 40-year-old Indian-origin taxi driver who has lived in Ireland for over 23 years, was assaulted in the Ballymun area of north Dublin.

These incidents included stabbings, robberies, and gang attacks, prompting serious safety concerns within the Indian community.

The repeated targeting of students, professionals, and even children signal a pattern of racialized hostility that has moved beyond isolated events. India’s Ministry of External Affairs logged 91 violent attacks on Indian students abroad in the past 5 years, with 30 deaths.

Globally, the Indian diaspora – numbering more than 35 million people as of 2024 – is the largest in the world. While communities abroad are widely recognized for their contributions in technology, healthcare, engineering, and entrepreneurship, they also face rising challenges linked to integration and discrimination.

The increasing visibility of Indian immigrants, particularly in high-skilled sectors, has coincided with narratives portraying them as competitors for scarce resources such as housing and jobs.

Moreover, the increasing political mobilization of the Indian Diaspora for causes linked to domestic politics in the home country, the involvements of Indians in organized criminal activities in the host countries, as well as rising incidents of egregious or culturally offensive behaviour, have made Indians unpopular, particularly among the political Right in their countries of residence.

Available data highlights the severity of this trend. Violent attacks on Indians abroad rose from 29 in 2021 to 86 in 2023. Canada reports the highest number of hate-related fatalities, with at least 16 Indians killed over the past five years.

Ireland and Australia have seen surges in racial assaults, while Russia and the UK have reported repeated violent incidents, including fatalities. These figures suggest that Indian immigrants face growing risks across multiple host countries.

Types of Attacks include: Train assaults, rally violence and online slurs in Australia; child beatings, stabbings, and bullying in Ireland; and online hate and deportation mistreatment in the US.

Several drivers underpin this escalation. Far-right movements and populist rhetoric have increasingly framed Indian immigrants as symbols of unchecked migration, amplifying economic anxieties in countries experiencing housing shortages or labor competition.

In Australia and Canada, newer waves of Indian students have been portrayed as resistant to assimilation, while in Ireland, housing pressures have been explicitly tied to resentment against migrants. Online platforms have further intensified these sentiments, spread racist narratives and creating a hostile climate.

Public opinion surveys reinforce these tensions. A 2025 Pew Research Center study across 24 countries found that 47 per cent held a favorable view of India while 38 per cent were unfavorable.

Nations such as Kenya, the UK, and Israel expressed strong positive views, but Turkey and Australia recorded majority-negative attitudes. In the United States, views are evenly divided, with older adults and conservatives more favorable. Unfavorable perceptions of India often translate into prejudice against its diaspora communities, deepening their vulnerability to discrimination

Responses remain fragmented. The Indian government has issued safety advisories and lodged diplomatic protests following individual incidents but has not released a consolidated global statement addressing attacks on its diaspora. Host governments have at times condemned such violence, yet implementation of protective measures remains uneven and underreporting is widespread.

The escalation of racially motivated attacks against Indian immigrants represents

a growing policy challenge – one requiring stronger diplomatic engagement, community protection strategies, and coordinated international monitoring.

(Bhattacharya is a Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management which focuses on significant conflicts and geopolitical developments in the global and South Asian regional context.)

(Courtesy: https://indiawest.com/)