Indian Consulate in Brisbane Briefly Shut Due To Khalistani Menace

MELBOURNE, (IANS) – The Indian Consulate in Brisbane was forced to close temporarily on March 15 after Khalistani supporters blocked the entry raising slogans against Hindus, days after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s assurance to curb anti-India elements in the country, 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.

Queensland Police said it was an unauthorized gathering.

“Indian Consulate was forced to close today due to safety concerns after Sikhs for Justice 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.

“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 Consulate, told the media.

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

Last month, Khalistani flags were found at the Indian Consulate in Brisbane, just days after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Australia.Beginning 2023, Hindu temples in Australia have seen a spurt in vandal attacks by Khalistani elements defacing the walls with anti-India slogans and graffiti.