Groups affiliated to the extreme Right ideology protested PM Modi’s visits to Australia and New Zealand. They were not many in number but obtained considerable publicity thanks to certain media organisations that openly or covertly support their cause. Social media also had many ‘patriots’ commenting on the issue. The reason? The presence of a large number of Indian immigrants who have done well economically in these countries and are being held responsible for raising housing and rental prices, and ‘stealing’ locals’ jobs. They are also accused of refusing to ‘assimilate’ into the local culture, which for many of the protestors means converting to Christianity.
It must not be forgotten that the overwhelming majority of Indians in New Zealand and Australia are legal immigrants, who have obtained citizenship or rights of residence through the required process. As such, technically they have as much the constitutional right to live in these countries as anybody else. If there are those who are unhappy with the number of immigrants, they are perfectly within their rights to ask for a policy change and seek to obtain a parliamentary majority to make changes in the law. However, conducting the kind of hate campaign that PM Modi’s visit triggered is not at all acceptable. He was made the target of a whole range of cooked up allegations by ill-informed podcasters, miffed at the welcome he received from the governments, as well as local Indian communities.
Both, New Zealand and Australia are respected democracies and considered valuable members of the global community. The principles on which their constitutional systems are based have no place for racist bigotry, irrespective of what may have happened in their formative years. Unfortunately, such sentiments have emerged in other countries also. These have been mainstreamed by Donald Trump and his MAGA movement in the United States against anybody from what have been described as ‘sh…ole countries’.
As the profile of the Indians rises further, more such resentment is likely to emerge. As such, they should not merely project themselves as achievers and disproportionate taxpayers, they should take a lesson from the Parsis, who have undertaken enormous charitable and beneficial works in India. Even as Indians celebrate their culture and belief systems in these countries, they should also, in an organised manner, take steps to directly benefit the poor and needy within the ‘host’ community. Some are already doing that, but as individuals – it should be undertaken by all, as much as they can. This is necessary for them to change the image of being ‘parasites and exploiters’, as some commentators have described them.
