Higgins calls out 'ignorance and malice' behind recent attacks on Indian community

President Higgins says racist attacks on the Indian community contradict Irish values and undermine centuries-old ties between Ireland and India

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina at Aras an Uachtarain, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney/PA Wire

President Michael D. Higgins condemned recent attacks on members of the Indian community in Ireland, saying they directly contradict the values of the Irish people.

Attacks against members of the Indian community have come under the spotlight in recent weeks after an Indian man suffered an unprovoked attack in Tallaght, Dublin, last month. 

Friends of India held a silent vigil outside the Department of Justice in response. Organisers cancelled an India Day celebration scheduled for this weekend over safety fears. 

In a statement, Mr Higgins said he wanted "to express the deep sense of gratitude we all in Ireland owe to the Indian community here," adding that Indians have made "an immense contribution" to many aspects of Irish life — in medicine, nursing, the caring professions, cultural life, business, and enterprise.

Mr Higgins added that Ireland’s connections with India "are neither recent nor superficial."

"Earlier this year, I met with the Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and we discussed how much our histories share the experience of paths towards independence, the role of Irish woman Margaret Cousins in establishing the All India Women’s Conference, the exchange of expertise as both countries drafted and agreed our Constitutions, and the fostering of diplomatic and political relationships over the decades, relationships which remain vibrant today.

"The recent despicable attacks on members of the Indian community stand in stark contradiction to the values that we as a people hold dear. That any person in Ireland, particularly any young person, should be drawn into such behaviour through manipulation or provocation is to be unequivocally condemned. Whether such provocation stems from ignorance or from malice, it is essential to acknowledge the harm that it is causing. Such acts diminish all of us and obscure the immeasurable benefits the people of India have brought to the life of this country."

Mr Higgins said Ireland "has long been shaped by migration, both outward and inward," and that those who left our shores "carried our culture and values into faraway lands, often depending on the generosity of strangers."

"That shared human experience should remain at the heart of how we treat those who have come to make their lives here. To forget that is to lose a part of ourselves.

"Our shared spaces — including social media platforms — should never be poisoned from messages of hate or incitement to violence. Such messages not only target individuals, but also damage and corrode the most fundamental and enduring instincts of Irishness: those of hospitality, friendship, and care for others.

"These principles must apply to all who form part of Irish society today, without exception. An Ireland that honours these values is one in which all communities can live in safety, dignity, and mutual respect.”