Brisbane’s Indian Consulate forced to close down by Khalistan supporters

Slogans were raised against Hindus calling them supremacists with Khalistan Zindabad

March 15, 2023

The situation in Australia remains unchanged, despite PM Albanese’s assurances.

Days after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese‘s assurance to curb anti-India elements in the country. The Khalistani supporters blocked the entrance to the Indian Consulate in Australia’s Brisbane, raising slogans against the Hindus. The Consulate was forced to close down temporarily, a media report said.

According to The Australia Today, slogans were raised against Hindus calling them ‘supremacists‘ at the Consulate, which is located on Swann Road in the Taringa suburb of Brisbane.

The Queensland Police said it was an unauthorized gathering.

“Indian Consulate was forced to close today due to safety concerns after Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) targeted them with their propaganda,” Sarah L Gates, Director of Hindu Human Rights, told The Australia Today.

“They have been shouting Khalistan Zindabad slogans,” Gates said, adding that there is a heavy police presence in the area.

“These thugs should not be allowed to dictate how we live our life in Australia,” Parvinder Singh, a resident of Queensland who took leave from work to attend an appointment at the Indian Consulate, told The Australia Today.

The development comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Albanese and conveyed India’s concerns over the vandalism of several Hindu temples allegedly by the activists demanding Khalistan.

In response, Albanese said that Australia won’t tolerate any extreme actions and attacks in religious buildings, and there is no place for such action against Hindu temples while addressing a press meeting in New Delhi.

Last month, Khalistani flags were found attached to the Indian Consulate in Brisbane, just days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar‘s visit to Australia.

Beginning in 2023, Hindu temples in Australia have seen a spurt in vandal attacks by Khalistani elements defacing the walls with anti-India slogans and graffiti.

The Hindu community in Australia expressed their “anger, fear, and dismay” at Khalistan supporters’ open display of religious bigotry. This has caused a lot of pain in an otherwise peaceful Indian diaspora.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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