Saturday, December 7th, 2024

From ‘dirty Indians’ to candy thieves… Indians are becoming victims of racism in Canada, know how they are becoming targets


Manimugdha S Sharma: Recently a video shot in Kitchener-Waterloo, Atlantic Canada is going viral. In the video, an elderly white woman is racially abusing a Canadian man of Indian origin without any provocation. Also asking Indians to go back. In British Columbia, on the other hand, a Conservative Party candidate in the provincial elections had to apologize for making racist and Islamophobic remarks, but his/her party did not fire him/her. The candidate defeated his/her South Asian rival by nearly 4,000 votes. Canada, once considered ‘immigrant-friendly’, has seen a rise in racist comments against Indian-origin immigrants both offline and online in the past few months. Has been. Social media posts include many types of things. This ranges from misinformation about the personal hygiene of Indian immigrants to claims that they are taking away all the unskilled jobs.

Racist comments against Indians

Some of these claims have made their way into online publications. Due to this, their viral nature has increased even more. They’ve gained credibility, and the mainstream media have been forced to pay attention. The situation is so bad that even the Mounties had to intervene. One person has been arrested in such a case. Investigation has been done in other cases.

On Friday, November 1, a CCTV video went viral. It featured a South Asian woman in Indian traditional attire. The woman was reportedly picking up Halloween candy set out for children outside various homes in the neighborhood. Almost predictably, this saw many users post racist comments and labels like ‘dirty Indian’.

There were many occasions when I was pushed and shoved, but I did not say anything. Only this time I tried to confront the woman who showed me the middle finger and said racist things without any provocation. I tried to confront her, which enraged her further.

Ashwin Annamalai, Waterloo resident

Two posts went viral in July

In July, two other posts attacking the alleged toilet habits of Indians went viral. A video on TikTok claimed that Indian immigrants are polluting Ontario’s Wasaga Beach. Another post on social media platform

Serious doubts have been raised about the authenticity of both claims. Some social media sleuths showed how the photo of the Sikh man was morphed. But others quickly created another video purportedly showing the same man defecating in public at another location. This ensured that the rumor mill continued to operate.

Punjabi Sikh main target

To understand the impact of these posts it is important to look at their framing. Terms like ‘foreigner’, ‘e-bike delivery gangs’, ‘vagrants’ and ‘mass immigration’ create a negative but common profile of Indian immigrants. It stands as an undesirable but highly represented group. Punjabi Sikhs are primarily the target of racist stereotyping. Their identity is often conflated with South Asian identity because of their numbers. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, Sikhs constitute 2.1 per cent of the population. This makes the country home to the largest Sikh population outside India.

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Increase in hate crime cases

According to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, hate crimes against South Asians are expected to increase by 143% between 2019 and 2022. A quarter of South Asian-Canadians reported experiencing discrimination or harassment in 2022 alone. Ashwin Annamalai, who filmed the Kitchener-Waterloo video, told this correspondent that he/she has faced racist attacks several times in the last few months.

The Waterloo resident said there were times when I was pushed and shoved, but I didn’t say anything. Only this time I tried to confront the woman who showed me the middle finger and said racist things without any provocation. I tried to confront her, which enraged her further.

respect among indians for canada

Annamalai, a Tamil-speaking native of South India, came to Canada as an international student in 2018. Today, he/she is a Canadian citizen and also speaks French. When asked about the futility of arguing with racists, Annamalai says he/she feels responsible as a Canadian to engage with other Canadians for the collective good of society. They say most Canadians are warm and welcoming people. You should see the ocean of support I have received since that viral video.

I have noticed several incidents in which Indians in Canada have been wrongly accused of anti-social behaviour. As an immigrant, this makes me worried about my long-term future in this country.

Nishtha Gupta, Student, University of British Columbia

Increased concerns of Indians

The concerns of Indians studying in Canada have increased. Nishtha Gupta is pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Gupta says that I have noticed many incidents in which Indians in Canada have been wrongly accused of anti-social behavior. As an immigrant, this makes me worried about my long-term future in this country.

Given the racist rhetoric against immigrants in the US elections, I fear the same issues will dominate the Canadian elections. This, combined with the increasingly anti-immigration stance of the Canadian government as well as the opposition, made me think about what I would do after graduating.

‘Model minority’ myth broken

The current wave of hostility follows a surge in the number of immigrants. However, equating immigrants with South Asians ignores the fact that people of various ethnic backgrounds, including white people from Europe, continue to come to Canada. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese Canadians faced a similar racist response. At the time, the Indian diaspora probably felt that they were immune from such vitriolic behavior. Now, when this is happening against them, many among the Indian diaspora feel that their ‘model minority’ myth has been shattered.

Frustration against Indian immigrants

Some people have expressed their frustration against recently arrived Indian immigrants. he/she has been blamed for tarnishing the image of Indians in Canada. This internalized racism manifests itself in discussions on South Asian radio stations, social media debates, and at NRI gatherings. Here angry voices call for sending these migrants back. Then there are those who claim they are Punjabi, wrongly believing that separating from their Indian identity will protect them from racist attacks. The shocking thing is that these groups use the same racist words as those of whom they are victims.

Difficulty in relations between India and Canada

Canada’s ongoing affordable housing crisis has further heightened local concerns. International students are being blamed for this, most of whom come from India. People are desperate to get answers to their existential questions. Subtle explanations fail to satisfy their need to find a scapegoat. The matter has been further complicated by strained relations between Canada and India following the killing of a prominent Khalistan separatist last year.

The recent attack on a Hindu temple in Brampton has created another flashpoint. Although its impact on public perception is difficult to measure, the constant conflict between pro-Khalistan and anti-Khalistan groups has given racists an excuse to claim that all South Asians are unruly. These people are killing the ‘Canadian lifestyle’ – whatever that is.

Who is next after Chinese and Indians?

Racism is often considered too vulgar a topic to discuss by many Canadians. Canadians like to believe that this is a problem limited to the United States. In an environment of such denial, no ethnic minority can expect to remain untouched by racism in Canada. Yesterday, it was the Chinese; Today, it is Indians; Tomorrow, it could be someone else.
(The author is Killam Doctoral Scholar in History at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver)

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