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Nayonika Bhattacharya says she is constantly looking over her shoulder when she’s out in Sydney. (Supplied: Nayonika Bhattacharya)<\/p>\n
Some believe racist abuse towards Indians has increased since the protests.<\/p>\n
“I feel scared like never before,” Ms Bhattacharya told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“The racism around now feels more aggressive, violent, insidious and uncontrolled.<\/p>\n
“I do not have the liberty to just enjoy being out and about easily anymore.”<\/p>\n
Indians targeted in protest promotions<\/p>\n
Since the anti-immigration protests<\/a>, Ms Bhattacharya said she “keeps looking over her shoulder” when she’s out in public.<\/p>\n “All to make sure I don’t get attacked. This is no way to live,” said the 26-year-old, who migrated to Australia to study law.<\/p>\n Now working as a solicitor, Ms Bhattacharya believes Indian people, “or anyone who appears Indian”, are at higher risk of racist attacks because of “targeted” communication.<\/p>\n ‘Protect white heritage’: Anti-immigration march ‘messaging’ revealed<\/a><\/p>\n An ABC NEWS Verify investigation has found organisers linked to the March for Australia protests sharing white supremacy posts on social media and, in one case, pro-Nazi and pro-Hitler memes.<\/p>\n She is referring to flyers distributed in major cities during the March for Australia rallies on August 31<\/a>.<\/p>\n The flyers specifically singled out the Indian community.<\/p>\n They claimed more Indian nationals have migrated to Australia since 2020 than there have been Greek and Italian arrivals since 1925.<\/p>\n This misinformation spread despite the fact that Australia’s Department of Immigration, which was established to promote immigration, was only created two decades later, in 1945.<\/a><\/p>\n ‘Worse than anything I’ve faced before’<\/p>\n Agi, a Perth-based content creator with 26,000 followers on Instagram, has created multiple videos about the anti-immigration marches.<\/p>\n Each video has attracted racist slurs and even death threats.<\/p>\n “Some people write things like, ‘This is why we bash Indians in Sydney and we love doing it,'” he told the ABC.<\/p>\n Agi says he receives “a constant stream of racist abuse”, even death threats. (Supplied: @babysoftarms)<\/p>\n Agi said he was sometimes recognised by his supportive followers on the streets, but he also constantly feared for his safety.<\/p>\n “I’ve been called racist slurs face-to-face, ‘Tamil tiger’, ‘dirty monkey’, ‘go back home,'” he said.<\/p>\n “I grew up here in Australia, but the racism I’m experiencing right now feels worse than anything I’ve faced before.” Thousands attended the March for Australia protest in Sydney. (ABC News: Jack Fisher)<\/p>\n The ABC asked Victoria Police, NSW Police and Queensland Police Service whether there had been a reported rise in racist attacks against Indians following the mass-migration protests.<\/p>\n They all said recent statistics were not available.<\/p>\n Police departments urge anyone who experiences or witnesses racist abuse to report them to police. (ABC News: Jack Fisher)<\/p>\n However, a spokesperson for Victoria Police said “on a broad level, we are not aware of an increase in reports of these types of incidents linked to the protests on August 31”.<\/p>\n They also urged anyone who experiences or witnesses racist abuse or harassment to report them to police.<\/p>\n “Victoria Police takes racially motivated crime very seriously,” they said.<\/p>\n “It is important for crimes to be reported to police so they can be investigated and the victim can be referred to all the support services they may require.”<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Queensland Police Service told the ABC it “actively engages with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, including the Indian diaspora”.<\/p>\n “There is no place for racism in our communities,” they said.<\/p>\n For Suraj Raja in Perth, the message sent by the March for Australia organisers was “complicated”.<\/p>\n “The organisers and promoters of the anti-immigration rallies rely on the media to portray them as peaceful white people with reasonable intentions,” the 27-year-old told the ABC.<\/p>\n Suraj Raja believes the organisers of the anti-immigration rallies try to portray themselves as “peaceful”. (Supplied: Suraj Raja)<\/p>\n “When in reality, they would rather not have any non-white face among them, only the ones they can utilise. It’s all tokenism.”<\/p>\n An example he raised was a viral video of an Indian man being booed and interrupted while speaking at a March for Australia protest in Brisbane.<\/p>\n The ABC contacted the organisers for comment but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n Loading Instagram content<\/p>\n ‘It’s not about race’<\/p>\n Some Indians based overseas have expressed different views on the protests.<\/p>\n “As an Indian, I agree that it’s not about race. It’s about excessive migration,” one person commented on a video from Hindustan Times.<\/p>\n “Australia does not have the resources to support all of them.<\/p>\n “Imagine thousands of Australians coming to India all of sudden in last 5-6 years and replacing Indians from jobs, rentals etc?” another posted.<\/p>\n “Won’t Indians be mad at them getting replaced in their own country?”<\/p>\n Sukhmani Khorana says some Indians who support the protests may not be aware of the growth of the far-right in Australia. (Supplied: Sukhmani Khorana)<\/p>\n Sukhmani Khorana, an associate professor in media and migration at the University of New South Wales, said these comments reflected a lack of knowledge around Australia’s historical and cultural context.<\/p>\n “Those commenting may not be aware that the only original Australians are Indigenous communities who have already been ‘replaced’, so to speak.”<\/p>\n Dr Khorana said there could also be a “limited understanding of the growth of the far-right” in some communities.<\/p>\n Migrants more than ‘value’, they’re human<\/p>\n Nearly half of Australians surveyed say immigration levels are “too high”, according to the Scanlon Foundation’s 2024 Mapping Social Cohesion report<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the same time, 70 per cent still believe migrants make the country stronger<\/a>.<\/p>\n Daizy Maan, co-founder of Australian South Asian Centre (ASAC), said migrants were “so much more than ‘economic value.’<\/p>\n Daizy Maan believes racism directed at Indian and South Asian Australians is “often overlooked”. (Supplied: Daizy Maan)<\/p>\n “We shouldn’t have to prove our worth by constantly reminding people that we are grateful to be here,” she said.<\/p>\n ASAC is the largest community of South Asian women founders, creatives and professionals in Australia.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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