Australia: Swaminarayan temple defaced with racist graffiti days after attack on Indian national

The Swaminarayan Temple in Australia’s Melbourne was vandalised with racist graffiti earlier this week, local media reports say. The walls of the Hindu temple, located in Wadhurst Drive, were defaced with the words “Go Home Brown…” Similar graffiti were also spray-painted on the walls of Asian restaurants nearby.

The incident comes a day after an Indian student was brutally attacked in Adelaide, resulting in severe injuries. The student, Charanpreet Singh, continues to receive treatment at the hospital after he was physically assaulted by a group of men in a parking lot over a parking dispute.

The incident has drawn condemnation from South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, who called it “deeply disturbing.”

“Any evidence of a racial attack is completely unwelcome in our state. It’s not who we are, and not where the majority of our community stands,” the Premier said.

The temple graffiti incident, meanwhile, was condemned by the President of the Hindu Council of Australia, Makrand Bhagwat, who told Australia Today, “Our temple is meant to be a sanctuary of peace, devotion and unity. Seeing it vandalised with hateful words was heartbreaking for volunteers and worshippers alike.”

The Victoria Police said that it is investigating the four incidents of vandalism in the area and said they might be linked to each other. “Graffiti was discovered on a temple on Wadhurst Drive in Boronia about 9.30 am. Two further restaurants were located with graffiti on Boronia Road,” the police said.

The Australia Today report said that Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan sent a letter to the temple authorities condemning the incident.  She said, “What happened this week was hateful, racist and deeply disturbing. It wasn’t just vandalism – it was a deliberate act of hate, designed to intimidate, isolate, and spread fear. It was an attack on your right to feel safe and to belong, and on the values that bind us together. There’s no place for it anywhere in Victoria. And it must be called out for what it is.”