Campbell: Modi warns Albo about attacks on Hindu temples in Australia

Attacks on Hindu temples add sudden chill to an otherwise harmonious Albanese visit to India, but what was it really about, asks James Campbell.

It was a jarring note in what until then had been a harmonious visit to India by Anthony Albanese.

As the Prime Minister stood alongside Narendra Modi on Friday, it was clear from his tone that his host’s bland remarks had suddenly turned chilly.

It took a moment for this to register however because, though the Indian PM speaks English, he prefers to make his public remarks in Hindi meaning journalists have to listen on headsets for an interpreter.

“It is a matter of regret,” the Indian PM said “that attacks on temples have been regularly reported in Australia over the past few weeks. It is natural that such news worries the people in India, and disturbs our mind. I have shared these feelings and concerns of ours with Prime Minister Albanese and he has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is a special priority for him. Our teams will be in regular touch on this topic, and will cooperate as much as possible.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint media briefing at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi. Picture: Money Sharma/AFP

I suspect that most people would be are blissfully unaware of this spate of Hindu temple attacks because they haven’t really been reported much in Australia, because the perpetrators are suspected to be Sikhs.

It goes without saying, of course, if attacks were the work of let’s say, a right-wing white nationalist group with connections to the Liberal Party, the local media would be piling in with the BBC and New York Times not far behind.

But Hindu-Sikh trouble in the Indian community? Who cares?

A poster promoting the pro-Khalistan campaign by Australia's Sikh community.

Well we can see from Modi’s remarks, the Indian Government does, enough to raise them with Albo both in public and private.

As to why he did so, well as the as the leader of the BJP, a Hindu nationalist political party, that’s would you expect him to do for domestic consumption.

But there’s a bit more to it than that.

The background to the temple attacks was a mock ‘referendum’ for an independent Sikh state of Khalistan that was run in Australia in January by a US-based mob called Sikhs For Justice.

In the mid-1980s, the violent wing of the Khalistani movement was a big deal in the Punjab and was treated as serious national security threat by the Indian state.

By the mid-1990s, the movement was in decline, thanks in part to some pretty raw work from the Indian security forces.

But now it’s back, and we saw from the rallies which took place in Sydney and Melbourne it clearly has a strong appeal to elements of the Sikh community, though it’s debatable just how big an element.

The Indian Government banned Sikhs for Justice in 2019 for “indulging in activities prejudicial to the internal security of India and public order” which it said had “the potential of disturbing peace and unity and integrity of the country”.

The rights and wrong of this don’t really concern us, suffice to say the Indian Government takes this very, very seriously and keeps a very close watch on the movement.

And at least since December, their officials have been telling plenty of people, including MPs, ministers and journalists how worried they are about it.

You’d think, given the importance of India to this country, that no one in either of the major parties would be stupid enough to try and use this dispute for internal political gain, wouldn’t you?

Victorian ALP staffer and pro-Sikh separatist campaigner Amritvir Singh walks with a Khalistan flag on November 19. Picture: The Australia Today

But that would be without factoring in the Socialist Left faction of the ALP in Victoria.

Back in December, The Australian reported: “A Victorian ALP staffer has emerged as a high-profile supporter of the local Sikh separatist movement that is stepping up its campaign as historic tensions over a Khalistan state flare in Melbourne’s Indian community.”

This staffer, who now works in the party’s HQ previously worked for Federal Labor MP Julian Hill, a close ally of the Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.

You might say, what he does in his own time is his business.

But given the sensitivities of the Indian Government, it’s pretty stupid keeping him around.

A more sinister suspicion is that elements of the Left in Victoria might not be averse to using the Khalistani issue as a way of attracting people to join the ALP.

In the past, the factions recruiters have been caught on tape at meetings making anti-Muslim remarks to fire up the Sikh members.

Whether this is true or not, I couldn’t 100 per cent say.

What we do know from Canada is that the Indian Government keeps a really close eye on these things.

When Justin Trudeau turned up for his costume party tour of India in 2018, Modi gave him the cold shoulder, in part because his entourage included elements the Indian Government regards as connected to Sikh terrorism.

Was irritation at the ALP in Victoria playing footsie with Khalistani separatists the back story to Modi’s comments on Friday?

Obviously, we can’t know for sure. The best way to think about it, perhaps, is that Modi was sending a message to Albanese, that you play in this space at your peril.