'Disturbing Rise In Hate...': Canadian Woman Asks Indian-Origin Man To 'Go Back' - VIDEO

Ottawa: An Indian-origin man living in Canada raised concerns about the "disturbing rise in hate" against Indians as diplomatic relations between the two countries have seen a rift due to the ongoing issues. An X user, Ashwin Annamalai, shared one such incident on the microblogging platform, alleging that he had been a victim of racism by a woman who "mistakenly assumed" that he was an Indian, even though he holds Canadian citizenship. Sharing on X, Annamalai posted a video of the woman, in which she can purportedly hear asking him to "go back" where he came from in a very "aggressive tone." He recorded the incident and later shared it on social media with a caption: "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." WATCH: *Warning: Strong Langauge, Viewers Discretion Is Advised*

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 & spewed hate while I was out for a walk at Erb/Avondale 🧵 1/n pic.twitter.com/TxvXeXW3Yd

— Ashwin Annamalai (@ignorantsapient) October 15, 2024

Ashwin Annamalai came to Canada as an international student in 2018 and has since gained Canadian citizenship. Talking to the Waterloo Region Record, he said, “I have never faced the hardships international students face nowadays. This is not the Canada I came to.”During a recent confrontation, Annamalai found himself explaining repeatedly that he is not Indian but Canadian. “I am Canadian,” he said multiple times.The woman’s response was, however, overtly "racist." She told Annamalia, “You’re not Canadian. I’m being aggressive to you because too many Indians are in Canada, and I want you to go back.”Despite Annamalai’s insistence on his Canadian identity, the woman shouted, “Go back, go back to India.” She continued, “Your parents are not from Canada; your grandparents are not from here.”When he tried to reason with her, the woman stated, “You can’t even speak English.” In response, Annamalai switched to French and asked if she could speak the language—one of Canada’s official languages. The woman, however, continued to argue in English, claiming she understood French, before walking away while hurling profanities.Annamalai, in a thread posted on X, wrote that the woman had “wrongly assumed” he was Indian. He explained, “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 added, “This isn’t an isolated incident. Such hate-filled encounters have been happening regularly since the beginning of the year, and people seem to be getting more emboldened."In September, he told the Waterloo Region Record that he had never encountered racism in Canada until 2023. He attributed the rise in hate incidents to the growing tension between India and Canada.