In a growing list of hate crimes against Hindus, a temple in Australia's Brisbane was targeted by Pro-Khalistani supporters on Saturday. The president of Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple, Satinder Shukla said "Temple Priest and devotees called this morning and notified me about the vandalism on the boundary wall of our temple."
According to Sarah Gates, Director of Hindu Human Rights, "This latest hate crime is a pattern of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) globally, clearly attempting to terrorise Australian Hindus. Coupled with a barrage of propaganda, illegal signs, and cyberbullying, the organisation intends to present all-pervasive threats, fear, and intimidation".
This is not the first such an incident has come to light. Earlier in January, Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Australia's Carrum Downs was vandalised with anti-Hindu graffiti. The act came to notice on January 16 after temple devotees came for 'darshan' amid the three-day long "Thai Pongal" festival which was celebrated by Australia's Tamil Hindu community, according to the Australia Today.
On the evening of January 15, 2023, Khalistan supporters tried to draw support for their referendum through a car rally in Melbourne. However, they failed miserably as less than two hundred people gathered out of an almost 60,000-strong Melbourne community, according to The Australia Today.
A week before the above-mentioned incident, the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Australia's Mill Park was smeared with anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti on January 12. The temple was vandalised by anti-India elements with anti-India slogans written on the temple's walls, located in the suburb of Mill Park, The Australia Today reported. Patel, an onlooker shared how he witnessed the vandalised walls of the temple when he visited the site.
The management of Melbourne's International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple also known as the Hare Krishna Temple found the temple walls vandalised with anti-India graffiti. The attack on ISKCON Temple came two days after Victorian multifaith leaders held an emergency meeting with Victorian Multicultural Commission, per the news report. The Victorian Multicultural Commission issued a statement condemning the vandalism of Hindu temples in Mill Park and Carrum Downes.
Later, India condemned the vandalization of Hindu temples in Australia and said that the matter has been raised with the Australian government in Canberra and asked for expeditious investigation against the perpetrators. Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs had assured, "Our Consulate General in Australia has taken the matter with the local police. We have requested expeditious investigation action against the perpetrators and of course measures to prevent such incidents in future. The matter has also been taken up with the Australian Government, both in Canberra and New Delhi. And we are looking forward to the action that we have requested."
(With ANI inputs)
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