The Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) demand recognition of Hinduphobia as a “specific form of hate that needs urgent attention, alongside other forms of racism” in Canada. – Anwesha Mitra
Racist graffiti near a children’s park in Canada sparked social media outrage on [Sept. 27th]—with advocacy groups calling for an investigation. The hateful message was first spotted by an Indian immigrant in Mississauga and sparked heated debate about bias.
CoHNA seeks probe into ‘hate crime’
“We are deeply disturbed by the hateful graffiti discovered next to a children’s Park in Mississauga with the words ‘Indian Rats’. This is not an isolated incident; it is part of a growing pattern of racism, intimidation, and Hinduphobia faced by Indo Canadians and Hindus across the country. The hate is growing more visible but the actions from law enforcement and lawmakers have not kept pace,” the Coalition of Hindus of North America wrote on X.
The group also urged the Peel Police (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area) to take immediate action and investigate the graffiti as a “hate-motivated incident”. It also reiterated the need for “stronger anti-hate mechanisms” all all levels of government to address the issue. CoHNA (which calls itself a grassroots advocacy group) also demanded recognition of ‘Hinduphobia’ as a “specific form of hate that needs urgent attention, alongside other forms of racism”.
“The Canada I chose to immigrate to had a reputation of being a country of the nicest people on God’s green earth. But in my three years of being here, I have had so many incidents of racism that I have lost count. … At first I ignored all these incidents as innocent mistakes, or justified it to myself as profiling since so many brown folks work these jobs, but over time I’m starting to realize that it’s racism. It was subtle, but now this? This is right next to a children’s park. What did I even do to not deserve a respectful life here?” the Reddit user asked.
The post also outlined many overt displays of bias faced by the user—from being stopped for “random checks” at the grocery store to being profiled as a delivery worker when entering restaurants. The Reddit user noted that they had paid thousands of dollars in taxes and various expenses during their time in Canada and continued to contribute to society—wondering why “basic social decency” now seemed like an impossible ask
“If I’m shopping at a superstore, Canadians (always white) ‘mistakenly’ assume I work at the store (the store uniform is blue and I’m wearing baby pink). On three separate occasions, restaurants have ‘mistakenly’ assumed I’m there to collect an Uber Eats delivery. Basic stores like Walmart have on multiple occasions stopped me for a ‘random’ check on my shopping cart,” the post outlined. – Finacial Express, 28 September 2025
› Anwesha Mitra is a writer, editor and journalist in Mumbai.
Filed under: canada, india | Tagged: canadian government, hinduphobia, hindus in canada, india-canada relations, racist graffiti | Comments Off on Racist graffiti in Canada sparks Hindu outrage – Anwesha Mitra
