Amid anti-immigration protests, Indians abroad highlight what keeps them going

On a quiet afternoon in the UK recently a Sikh woman walking home was sexually assaulted and told ldquoYou donrsquot belong in this countryrdquo Thousands of miles away in Dallas Texas an Indian man was brutally beheaded in a hatedriven attack These are just few of the attacks against Indians across UK US Canada and Australia that have sparked outrage not only within the Indian diaspora but across communities where their identities mark them as outsidersOn Saturday the Trump administration significantly increased H1B visa fees which is a temporary US work visa that allows companies to hire foreign professionals It now requires a whopping Rs 88 lakh payment per application effective from September 21 2025 This latest move is seen as an attempt to crack down on immigration issues in AmericaAman Srivastava and Farhana BodiSharmistha Seth name changed who studied in the UK recalls being asked in all seriousness by her British classmates how many elephants her family owned The question was framed innocently yet it carried the weight of seeing Indians as primitive and otherworldly Racism often arrived unprovoked ldquoMy hijabi friend and I were waiting for a bus in UKrdquo she says ldquoand the driver simply ignored us while picking up othersrdquo She currently resides in Sydney where the discrimination continues Teenage boys once hurled abuses at her when she was enjoying a late evening walk ldquoThese boys simply shouted mdash You stink you stupid brown fcking Indian I couldnrsquot even respond to them except for flipping at them as they drove past merdquoToday stereotypes thrive online Derogatory reels mock India as dirty or unhygienic fuelling realworld hostility Itrsquos combined with extremist forums where antiAsian slurs doubled to 46000 posts in the US in January according to ReutersThe ldquoUnite the Kingdomrdquo rally in London swelled to nearly 150000 protesters where 26 police officers were injured PicsInstagramwalesonlineDev Patel name changed has seen how memes reduce Indians to curry call centres or comical accents when he was doing his PhD in Lithuania ldquoThey white people will form an opinion about you through selective reels on India and come tell you that you eat food unhygienically You try explaining to them but soon realise itrsquos futile to do sordquo Old prejudices now spread at algorithmic speed fuelling a modern cycle of ridicule and racismFor Anmol Saxena a 22yearold living in Melbourne racism was normalised in classrooms Classmates called him ldquocurry muncherrdquo and ldquobrown fellardquo He recalls ldquoWhen I was in high school a friend of mine gifted a deodorant to me for my birthday and told me to put it on to mask the lsquoIndian smellrsquordquo Saxena notes a shift in college where diversity brought more tolerance But the slurs still linger as reminders of a childhood where ridicule was routine Living in Australia for a decade with his family now he mentions that the culture and work wages are the biggest encouragements to stay in the country ldquoEven as a parttime worker the salary is better than what freshers get in India I have settled into their culture now I cannot go back to India and start afreshrdquoAn antiimmigration rally in Australia in August PicInstagramskubesnapsMeanwhile Aman Srivastava who spent two years in France for his Masters highlights how colourism intersects with racism His lighter skin spared him some of the worst taunts compared to his darkerskinned friends Job rejections were framed as ldquolanguage issuesrdquo even when he spoke better French than white peers ldquoI donrsquot know if that was bias or outright racismrdquo he says ldquoSometimes you canrsquot discern underlying discrimination because you want to give them the benefit of doubtrdquoWhile doing his PhD research in French territory Patel found racism cloaked in denial A white technical director called him ldquoPkirdquo a derogatory racial slur for Pakistanis This was said behind Patelrsquos back but some of his teammates understood the slur and informed him about it Together they confronted the technical director who refused to acknowledge it ldquoHe apologised for everything except the slurrdquo Patel recalls ldquoItrsquos a bit disturbing that he was openly doing that with his friendsrdquo As a researcher the only thing that motivates him to continue working abroad are the opportunities that are provided to him ldquoIf as a PhD researcher India gave me the funding and stipend that I get overseas I would come backrdquo He also mentioned that most of his teams have been diverse and inclusive Only a fraction of people are intolerant ldquoIt doesnrsquot happen every day but it existsrdquoThe comments under Sara Singh Takrsquos business account on Instagram for Humans of AustraliaFounder and CEO of media channel Humans of Australia Sara Singh Tak has witnessed prejudice in boardrooms She recalls her friendrsquos company laying off people of colour including Indians in the first round of redundancies ldquoYou sometimes hear junkies on trams yelling at people of colour to lsquoGo back to your countryrsquordquo she says But online abuse is harder to dismiss Her business account is filled with slurs like ldquopjeetrdquo another ethnic slur directed towards Indians or mocked for an ldquoAppu accentrdquo Tak founded Humans of Australia to humanise immigrants through storytelling and to challenge what she calls the ldquowhite supremacy syndromerdquo ldquoItrsquos not just news we humanise and give visibility to people brands and businesses of Australia from all diverse backgrounds and communitiesrdquo she explainsWhile Tak reshapes immigrant narratives others like Farhana Bodi have fought to redefine visibility in industries long resistant to brown women A beauty entrepreneur content creator and Dubai Bling cast member Bodi describes her move to Dubai as persistence ldquoMy move to Dubai was driven by a vision to build my brand at the heart of the Middle Eastrsquos cosmopolitan and fastgrowing marketrdquo she saysSara Singh Tak Supriya Singh and Punam RaneWhile she didnrsquot face overt discrimination she noticed ldquosome international beauty brands prioritised working based on their nationality It wasnrsquot a personal rejection but a clear pattern in brand priorities at the timerdquo Her coping mechanism was simple but powerful ldquoMy hard work and talent I knew that the quality of my content would speak louder than any industry preferencerdquo Over the years Bodirsquos determination helped her ldquobecome one of the brownskinned girls to really make it in the Arab worldrdquo proving that merit can outshine biasIf racist taunts feel personal the past yearrsquos protests show prejudice mobilised on a mass scale In Australia the March for Australia rallies on August 31 drew an estimated 54000 people across major cities Linked to farright nationalist groups the protests featured arrests and chants accusing immigrants of stealing jobs and causing the housing crisis In the UK anger over asylumseeker hotels has escalated into a nationwide movement The ldquoUnite the Kingdomrdquo rally in London swelled to nearly 150000 protesters under the banner of Operation Raise the Colours Twentysix police officers were injured and 24 people arrested underscoring how quickly antiimmigrant sentiment can turn violent Ireland presents a chilling counterpoint Recent weeks have seen targeted violent attacks on Indian individuals in Dublin suburbs like Tallaght Clondalkin and Ballymun These incidents include assaults and threats In one case a sixyearold girl was punched and told to ldquogo back to IndiardquoMeanwhile in April over 10000 people joined an antiimmigration march in Dublin led by farright activists with endorsements from public figures promotingnarrow nationalismAcross these geographies the pattern is clear resentment is less about migration numbers and more about political scapegoatingLeaders in the UK and Australia divert to immigration investing in border crackdowns rather than tackling housing or inequality As Tak puts it ldquoI think there are always people who are antisomething but the real issues are the incorrect policies which immigrants are often blamed forrdquoAs Farhana Bodi reflects ldquoI didnrsquot see the bias as a barrier but as a challenge to outwork and innovaterdquo Her words carry a larger promise that true belonging emerges when difference is not just tolerated but celebratedSame place contrasting sentimentsFor Dublin City Councillor Supriya Singh racism in Ireland is a reality but not a defining one Singh who moved from the UK in 2016 recalls antiIndia protests and the shock of attacks such as Tallaght Yet she insists these moments are outweighed by solidarity ldquoWhat truly defined my journey was the overwhelming encouragement from my neighbours and community who placed their trust in me and elected me as their councillorrdquo she says Singh expresses clearly that negativity exists but the spirit of inclusion runs strongerFellow councillor Punam Rane by contrast views the current moment with sharper unease On a recent trip to India she was struck by how Irish racism had become frontpage news ldquoAlmost every conversation I had circled back to the same topic mdash the safety of Indians in Irelandrdquo she says Rane has no doubt that Indian professionals can rise to prominence in Irelandrsquos economy She believes Ireland to be a neutral country with its environment welcoming of all communities