We are in an era when the open-minded lack conviction, while the bigoted are full of passionate intensity. The brutal beheading of an Indian-origin motel manager in Texas has brought back the issue of immigrants’ safety amid a rising tide of majoritarian muscle-flexing. Donald Trump waded into the dreadful drama in Dallas with a social media post that blamed it on “illegal immigrant criminals”. It’s true that the alleged perpetrator of Cuban origin has criminal antecedents and a dodgy immigration history. However, it’s also undeniable that Trump’s unrelenting anti-immigrant rhetoric has itself added fuel to the xenophobic fire. It’s not just the family of the 50-year-old Chandramouli Nagamallaiah, who had emigrated from Karnataka five years ago, whose lives were violently upended. The Trump administration this week detained Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh grandmother who has spent more than three decades in the US, as part of its immigration crackdown.
These extreme actions follow a pattern playing out for months. As part of the largest diaspora, Indians can expect more unwanted attention abroad than usual at a time populist nationalism is washing across Europe, Australia and the US. In recent weeks, London, Sydney, Warsaw and Dublin have witnessed large anti-immigration marches. Large waves of immigration often push the political dial towards conservative nativism, as has happened in parts of India, too. What’s worrying about the recent turn in the West is that it threatens to upend many more lives and undo decades of social and political action towards inclusivity. America’s administrative mood became more apparent when the secretary of state threatened to revoke the visas of those perceived to have not mourned the killing of racist activist Charlie Kirk.
The government stated this August that 318 Indians have been attacked abroad since 2022. The worry is also about the lakhs of students we send out every year. While we thankfully receive the largest annual remittance and negotiate mobility and migration partnerships with richer nations, we must also extend the protective umbrella to those leaving home. Action must go beyond offering 24x7 helplines, community funds, and consular services. Energetic promotion of Indian culture abroad will go some way in normalising our presence, as will hosting of bridge-building events in trouble hotspots. Otherwise, the worries of and for Indians abroad will keep rising.