‘Go Back to Your Country!’

This chapter examines contemporary racism and exclusion towards Indians in Aotearoa New Zealand. Why is it that despite an inclusive immigration policy, legislative protections, more Kiwi-Indians in public and business positions and surveys indicating that Kiwis are more Asia-aware, that we still hear the refrain ‘go back to your country’ and see reports of physical and casual abuse and discrimination? Indeed, racism towards Indians has continued since the Christchurch mosque attacks of March 2019, despite national calls for more tolerance and empathy. This chapter focuses on the post-1990s period when the Indian population in Aotearoa dramatically increased. Indians as targets have tended to be subsumed under the umbrella of anti-Asian racism so this chapter addresses Indians – examining narratives of exclusion, violence and casual racism. The insult ‘Go back to your country’ is not unique to Indians and is common among minority-group migrants and their descendants locally and globally. This is often fuelled by the politics of immigration and inflamed by the media, so that exclusionary retorts become part of everyday and individual verbal and physical aggression. However, racially driven exclusionary discourse and actions have also been challenged, both by Kiwi-Indians and the wider public.