India: Rajnath Singh faces Australia test as far right hold protests against diaspora

First published at The Wire.

As Union defence minister Rajnath Singh will soon visit Australia to sign crucial defence deals, the Indian immigrants down under will expect him to engage the Australian government on the growing social antipathy against them.

Indian-born migrants have become the latest sticking point between the far-right and anti-fascist forces of Australia. On August 31, four major cities of Australia — Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide — and some other towns witnessed far-right parties’ rallying against Indian immigrants in what was their biggest-ever mobilisation. These rallies specifically targeted Indian migrants, the second-largest immigrant community in Australia after the British. According to a 2023 estimate by the Department of Home Affairs in Australia, there are 8,45,800 Indian-born migrants in the country.

Far-right parties accused the Indian community of taking over Australia and are blaming them for the housing crisis. These rallies found an unnatural supporter in Liberal Party senator, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who went a step further to accuse the Labour government of allowing more Indians into the country because they form a part of its vote bank. Although the Liberal Party has been attempting damage control after Price’s dog-whistling, the message is out.

Indians are likely to become the central reference point in anti-immigration politics in Australia now.

Why have Indians taken precedence in far-right politics?

Unlike in countries such as Canada, the US, and the UK, the Indian diaspora’s participation in Australian politics has been elusive. They have supported both the Liberals and Labour at different times but have not developed direct representational politics in the country. Many first-generation Indians kept their heads down, worked hard, and focused on securing dignity and a better life. However, the changing dynamics of immigration rules in the UK, Europe, Canada, and now the US are closing doors for Indian aspirations abroad, leaving Australia, New Zealand, and a few other countries as the remaining options for migration.

The far right is second guessing this trend. As they are organised, well-funded, and with control over both traditional and new media, they are able to monopolise narratives. Considering their influence in other countries and governments, it was only a matter of time before their exclusionary political rhetoric entered Australia. Similarly, US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs across the world, along with responses from global actors, has given the far right renewed support and energy.

A decade ago, Indians constituted around 378,480 of the population in Australia. Today, the community has doubled in numbers, indicating how Australia has turned out to be a priority destination for them. A look at a few statistics for 2023–24 gives a significant picture for this trend. Over 287,000 temporary visas for Indians in the visitor category were issued by the Australian government in 2023-24. Similarly, student visas stood at 50,516, and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas at 18,397 for the same year. The total temporary visas under all categories for this year stood at 413,162, making it the second highest number of visas issued to Indians after 2022-23, the year after Covid-19 pandemic when 584, 487 Indians were granted entry.

New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland were the most favoured by Indians in Australia, with these three provinces making up to nearly 70% of student grants and temporary visas grants. The pattern of migration to Australia from India has been through the university route. Indians come to study professional courses like engineering, then take up a job and upon completion of minimum required time apply for Permanent Resident (PR) status and then go on to become Australian citizens.

As a population that has come to earn a dignified living and with families back home waiting for the remittances, the first generation Indians remained consciously aloof from the political conversations and trends in Australia. This made them a silent vote or an invisible diaspora compared to others. However, this is changing; the second generation of the diaspora — the younger generation of Indian immigrants — who are citizens of Australia see things differently.

The questions of racism and equality and their role in Australian politics is not a no-go zone anymore. Be it their participation in continuing protests for Palestine in major cities of Australia or the debates of First Nation people, Indian-origin naturalised citizens have been articulating their concerns.

A small but committed group of young people from the Indian diaspora — who are both young and old — is increasing. The domestic politics of India also has impacted the diaspora in Australia, with organisations belonging to the Sangh parivar actively working to take forward their vision of India. This too is making this small but vocal section of Indian diaspora noticeable.

The early immigrants ended up taking up blue collar jobs but recent ones have filled many jobs in the IT sector, which in turn has facilitated their progress in the Australian society and making them one of the biggest consumers in the housing market.

The nature of immigration policy of Australia has given immigrants, especially Indians, an incentive to reside in regional centers and such suburbs that a decade and two before had no development. The general practice of saving money and working extra jobs to find a dignified place has also made Indians’ position in Australia better than before.

Two critical issues have hit the Australian public the most. One, the prices of decent homes hitting record numbers in the country and literally no public housing available, common working class Australians are feeling the pain of being unable to earn a house. Secondly, with greater automation and technologification of the economy, job opportunities for common people are on the decline. This, coupled with the perception of growing numbers of immigrants and the visibility of Indians who now own small businesses, work better jobs and claim political space among Australian parties — the Liberals and Labour — has given the far right the opportunity to pick the Indian immigrant community as a visible target.

The current Labour government has been quick to condemn the attacks on Indians and has called the far right for spreading hate and division in society. Minister of Home Affairs, Tony Burke and Minister of Multicultural Affairs, Anne Aly speaking to various media outlets in India condemned the hate campaign and reiterated that Australia stands for plurality. The Liberals who found a loyal vote bank in the Indian diaspora are in a fix as a section of their traditional voter base is finding resonance with the narratives of far right.

The growing housing crisis in Australia is giving the far right an opportunity to frame a real concern not as a corollary of a failing welfarist model and steep decline in government spending but as a problem of immigrants. Similar crises in capitalist economies are creating platforms for far right parties to shift the blame on immigrants rather than allowing the society to question and seek changes in the system.

The anti-immigrant narrative, however, is not going unchallenged. On September 13, anti-fascist groups organised rallies in response to far-right mobilisations against immigrants in Melbourne and other places in Australia. Thousands of people including the people of the first nation (indigenous people) marched together condemning hate and racism.

New Delhi, too, has formally shown its concerns over the recent anti-immigrant political upsurge in Australia. After the August 31 anti-immigrant protests in Australia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India said it was in touch with the Australian government and the Indian community over the rallies, where Indians were reportedly singled out. The MEA told reporters at the weekly media briefing on September 5 that India’s high commission had conveyed community concerns to Canberra, which acknowledged the demonstrations “may be of concern for Australia’s diverse communities”.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal noted that Australian leaders from both the government and opposition reaffirmed the country’s multicultural character and praised the Indian-Australian community’s contributions. He said India remains committed to protecting its citizens abroad and continues to engage closely with Australian authorities and diaspora groups.

Such concerted pushback, with the Australian government’s own recent statements that records its aim to curb anti-immigrant narratives, the far right takeover over Australian politics doesn’t seem easy.

However, considering how the far right is organised, funded and united not just in Australia but world over, the threat to multiculturalism and humanity is real. In such circumstances, the big question is will Singh, who is part of a political party with a conspicuously similar anti-immigrant political approach in India, actively intervene to assure some diplomatic security to the Indian community in Australia?

N. Sai Balaji is a former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU).