Waterford Indian Sangam attend protest and talks in Dublin
Members of Waterford Indian Sangam attended the protest in Dublin.
This week, the Waterford Indian Sangam joined in the protests and talks held in Dublin over the rising attacks on members of the Indian community across Ireland.
Founder of the Sangam Senthil Ramaswamy attended the peaceful protests outside Leinster House, calling for a proactive approach from the Government in quelling racist attacks.
According to Mr Ramaswamy, the Indian community had a 'productive' meeting with Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister of State Colm Brophy about the recent spate of attacks and other issues affecting the community.
They discussed a number of different avenues in tackling racism in Ireland, including adopting a zero-tolerance policy, support for victims of racist attacks and establishing educational tools for schools to combat racism.
In their meeting with Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan, the Minister expressed concern that 'most of these attacks appear to be carried out by young people and emphasized that such behaviour is unacceptable.'
The community submitted a petition to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, calling for accountability of perpetrators of racist attacks, supports for victims and for the review and strengthening of anti-racist policies to deter further attacks.
In Waterford, a 6-year-old child of Indian descent was reportedly attacked by a group of boys in their early teens. Gardai are investigating the incident. In Dublin there have been several racist-fuelled attacks on Indian people reported in the last month.
In a recent article in The Irish Times, Conor Gallagher reported that Gardaí have difficulty in recording crime victim's ethnicity and in establishing a pattern of targeted abuse. He wrote: "However, after combing through the data, they determined there had been no significant increase in Indians living in Ireland being so targeted."
According to Mr Ramaswamy: "There has been a clear increase in racist attacks against Indians in Ireland in 2024-2025, with several high-profile incidents reported.
"As of August 2025, 60 hate crime cases remain open, and Gardaí are investigating these incidents."
