Viral Video: Indian-Origin Man Faces Hate In Canada, Told To ‘Return To India’

Ashwin Annamalai, a Canadian citizen of Indian origin, has expressed concern about a “disturbing rise” in hate crimes against the country’s Indian population.Rising worries coincide with the ongoing diplomatic level tensions between India and Canada. Mr Annamalai shared a video on microblogging website X, in which he is seen being the target of a racist outburst from a woman who wrongly assumed he was an Indian national. He described the experience as deeply unsettling, adding that such incidents are becoming increasingly frequent.

“The once welcoming community of Kitchener-Waterloo has seen a disturbing rise in hate, particularly against people of colour. Here’s a personal account of what I experienced today: A random woman gave me the finger and spewed hate while I was out for a walk at Erb/Avondale. She wrongly assumed I am Indian and I must leave immediately. When I challenged her very politely, she went about her racist rants… She is also upset that there are black people in the community. She also accuses me of not speaking English and that I need to just leave,” he wrote in the caption of the video.

Watch the video here:

She WRONGLY assumed I am Indian and I must leave immediately. When I challenge her very politely she went about her racist rants… She also is upset that there are black people in the community. She also accuses me of not speaking English & that I need to just leave.

— Ashwin Annamalai (@ignorantsapient) October 15, 2024

Mr Annamalai also shared a link of a news report from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which titled as Waterloo region has highest rate of police-reported hate crimes in Canada.

“This is not an isolated incident New data from Statistics Canada reveals that Waterloo region has the highest rate of police-reported hate crimes in Canada,” he wrote in the comment thread.