India condemned an alleged vandalisation of a park sign in Canada and called it a 'hate crime'. The Indian High Commission in Canada called out the alleged incident in a tweet, saying that a Bhagavad Gita park sign in Canada was vandalised.
The park, which was previously called Troyers Park, was renamed Shri Bhagavad Gita Park and unveiled on September 28.
We condemn the hate crime at the Shri Bhagvad Gita Park in Brampton. We urge Canadian authorities & @PeelPolice to investigate and take prompt action on the perpetrators @MEAIndia @cgivancouver @IndiainToronto pic.twitter.com/mIn4LAZA55
— India in Canada (@HCI_Ottawa) October 2, 2022
What happened? On October 2, 2022, news broke of a "Bhagavat Gita" park sign in Brampton, Canada, allegedly being vandalised. Patrick Brown, the Mayor of Brampton confirmed the incident in a now-deleted tweet, saying, "We have zero tolerance for hate and vandalism like this."
— Sumit (@Sumit11445055) October 3, 2022
What did the investigation find out? It turned out to be a false alarm. The Peel Regional Police updated that there was no evidence of vandalism, and that the sign was a temporary one that was moved. A permanent sign is still waiting to be lettered, according to the police.
- Shri Bhagavad Gita Park, #Brampton
— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) October 2, 2022
- Permanent sign is still waiting for the lettering to be applied
- There was no evidence of vandalism to the permanent sign or any park structure
- It was a temporary park sign used in the park naming ceremony
- PR22035311
Context: The Indian embassy's reaction and the misunderstanding came at a time when a rising number of racist attacks targetted at Indians are being reported in Canada as well as in the neighbouring US.
Advisory for Indian Nationals and Students from India in Canadahttps://t.co/dOrqyY7FgN pic.twitter.com/M0TDfTgvrG
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 23, 2022
Rising hate crimes: Over the past few months, several incidents of racially-fuelled attacks on Indians have been reported in Canada. While some attacks have been fuelled against Indians at large, there are others cropping up which seemed to be targetted mostly at "Hindu" Indian immigrants.
Similar incidents have also been reported in the US.