Australia’s Indian diaspora wants more political representation, but is there a glass ceiling?

A recent survey revealed significant underrepresentation of Australia’s second-largest migrant group in the country’s politics and leadership roles

Some say the major political parties offer little more than token representation of minorities, and call for more diversity in decision-making bodies

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Indian-Australians listen to a speech in Sydney last year by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A recent survey revealed significant under-representation of the Indian diaspora in Australian politics and leadership roles. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 8 Apr 2024Updated: 6:20pm, 8 Apr 2024

In 2019, when Deepak Joshi visited New Delhi, protests had just started against the new citizenship law that critics said discriminated against India’s Muslims.

After he returned home to Melbourne, Australia, Joshi was drawn into Indian diaspora groups, who called for the law to be repealed, and later became involved in other migrant and refugee associations.

In 2020, the 64-year-old co-founded an advocacy group that worked with political leaders to resolve issues related to migrant rights, racism, multiculturalism, and religious extremism. Two years later, he contested the Warrandyte seat in the Victoria state election on a Greens party ticket, finishing third.

“I am deeply involved in issues that are relevant not only for the diaspora but also for non-Indian migrant communities,” Joshi, who has been living in Australia since 1997, told This Week In Asia.

Despite individual efforts like Joshi’s to bridge communities and advocate for immigrants’ rights, a recent Victoria State survey revealed significant underrepresentation of the Indian diaspora in Australian politics and leadership roles.

This gap, underscored by the survey’s findings that most of the state’s residents are unaware of Indian leaders in these spheres, points to systemic challenges and a pressing need for more inclusive representation in a country where Indians form the second-largest migrant group.

Indian-Australian Deepak Joshi contested the Warrandyte seat in the Victoria state election on a Greens party ticket in 2022. Photo: Handout

The survey results, published last month, show that 81 per cent of 2,532 Victorian respondents were not aware of the Indian diaspora in leadership roles in politics or business, and more than 80 per cent did not know or did not believe there was sufficient representation of Indian-Australians in leadership roles.