“There has been an increase in Hindu nationalism and that has led to an increase in violence against those who go against this ideology. There are fears violence might make its way to Australia.”
A Melbourne-based small business owner, an Indian origin woman, was targeted by far-right Indian nationalist groups, reported thesaturdaypaper.com.au.
The owner said that people affiliated with the Hindutva movement made certain demands of her business, with which she refused to comply. After that, she was quoted saying that “they started posting our personal photos on Facebook groups. Very important Facebook groups like ‘Indians in Melbourne’ who have over 90,000 to 100,000 Indian people following – basically our direct customers”.
The lady complained to the police but she has not been left alone. “Business has gone slow … I’m getting threats saying that ‘we’ll find each and every member of your family and beat them up’ ”, she was quoted saying.
The article goes on to mention that there had been an increase in Hindu nationalism and that has led to an increase in violence against those who go against this ideology. There are fears violence might make its way to Australia.
The report quoted Dr Priya Chacko of the University of Adelaide saying that “there have been forms of Hindu nationalism around maybe since the early 20th century, but a specific form of Hindu nationalism which is espoused by the ruling regime in India is a Hindutva version… [The] concept of India was that it was a land of Hindus and that Muslims and Christians were invaders. So, to be Indian, you had to be Hindu and you had to follow a religion that was from the soil of India, which is Hinduism or Buddhism or Sikhism and so on. But Muslims and Christians were considered foreigners. So that’s the basic ideology that underpins the governing practices of the current government in India”, she said.
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According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, there are more than 700,000 India-born people in Australia and this community is becoming influential.
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Both the present Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the former PM Scott Morrison wooed the Indian diaspora communities during the recent federal election campaign.
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They attended separate events where they took part in cultural activities that included being given saffron scarves that carried the logo of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP)
Chacko said it was worrying that this ideology had made its way to Australia. “The thing about Hindutva is that it’s exclusionary toward minorities, but it’s also patently anti-democratic because there’s this focus on unity. Anything that dissents from the vision that is espoused by the ruling party is considered dissent and disunity and has to be marginalised”, she said.
According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, there are more than 700,000 India-born people in Australia and this community is becoming influential. Both the present Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the former PM Scott Morrison wooed the Indian diaspora communities during the recent federal election campaign. They attended separate events where they took part in cultural activities that included being given saffron scarves that carried the logo of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Peter Varghese, who was Australia’s High Commissioner to India from 2009 to 2012 and is now Chancellor of the University of Queensland, said the incidents involving the VHP scarves underlined the importance of political leaders being aware of who they were meeting from across Australia’s multicultural communities.
While authorities work to determine if the threat posed by Hindutva ideology on Australian soil is of concern, experts such as Priya Chacko are calling for greater awareness by government officials and policymakers about the complexities and potential flashpoints involving the Indian community
Waseem Razvi, a community activist based in Melbourne’s outer south-west, says much of the tension between those affiliated with Hindutva ideology and other members of the community began in 2020 following the farmers’ demonstrations in India. The farmers, from mostly Sikh communities, were protesting over the Indian government laws that they argued would ruin their livelihoods. Razvi said the protests were supported by some in the Indian community in Australia. “That started to have a bit of heat between hate groups here and the Indian Sikh community.”
Razvi spoke about a Sikh who was seriously assaulted in one incident, which reportedly took place at Harris Park in Sydney’s west. A Hindu Indian student was arrested by New South Wales police and charged with several counts of assault and damage to property. He was later deported to India, with the then Immigration Minister, Alex Hawke, tweeting that moves to undermine Australia’s social cohesion would not be tolerated.
“I thank community leaders who have worked to build cross-community unity and resilience against attempts by a small minority to incite discord and disharmony, demonstrating the importance and benefit of our nation’s strong social cohesion.” Despite this, according to Razvi, the student was welcomed as a hero in India for his role in the hate crimes.
In a letter addressed to the Australian Federal Police commissioner this month, and seen by The Saturday Paper, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils requested an investigation into Hindutva-linked hate groups, saying, “Despite the widespread community concerns, Australian law enforcement agencies have to date not been able to effectively address the threat posed by Hindutva Hate Groups to our internal security and democratic institutions.”
While authorities work to determine if the threat posed by Hindutva ideology on Australian soil is of concern, experts such as Priya Chacko are calling for greater awareness by government officials and policymakers about the complexities and potential flashpoints involving the Indian community.
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