Australia: On Monday, January 23, 2023, graffiti with anti-India messages was painted on the Hindu temple located in Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia. This was the third temple in the region to experience such an attack, as the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs was previously vandalized.
The ISKCON Temple in Melbourne had been defaced with anti-India graffiti, as reported by management. Also known as the Hare Krishna Temple, the walls of the building were found to have been vandalized.
According to the Communication director of ISKCON temple, they were disappointed and shocked to see the disregard towards worship. He also informed that they had already filed a police complaint.
IT consultant and devotee of Iskcon temple, Shivesh Pandey, said that this is hidden hate-filled agenda towards the Hindu community, and Australian police have failed to take any major steps against this issue and offenders.
Following the emergency meeting with the Victorian Multicultural Commission, the incident of vandalizing the ISKCON temple was reported one day later. The commission released a statement in which it expressed strong disapproval of the acts of desecrating Hindu Temples in Mill Park and Carrum Downs.
However, this incident is not new. The same incident occurred on January 16 when the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Australia’s Carrum Down was damaged. The temple belonged to the Tamil community residing in Australia.
This year in 2023, on January 12, some anti-Indian elements damaged the Swaminarayan Temple in the Mill Park area of Melbourne. The witness of the incident said, “when I reached the temple, the walls were coloured with graffiti of Khalistan hatred towards Hindus.” He then said he was angry when he saw all of these.
