In what is now being hailed as a “landmark victory for Hindu Canadians,” Mississauga has become the first city in Ontario to formally condemn Hinduphobia. The motion titled “Recognising Anti-Hindu Hate in Mississauga” was unanimously passed recently.

“Mississauga City Council formally denounces anti-Hindu hate in all its forms, including verbal, physical, digital, or institutional acts of hate and discrimination directed at Hindu individuals, organisations, or places of worship,” read an official statement.

An Indian-origin Canadian politician introduced the resolution to condemn Hinduphobia

India-born Canadian City Councillor Dipika Damerla, who introduced the motion, shared a celebratory tweet on X: “City of Mississauga becomes the first city in Ontario to formally recognize Anti Hindu Hate. Thank you to Mississauga council for unanimous support and to all those who delegated.”

And yet, anti-India hate became the focus of Damerla’s new post’s comments section. While she was sharing the good news for Hindus in Canada amid rising cases of anti-Hindu vandalism and harassment, people targeted her with statements like “Go back to India.” Ultimately, she countered the heated debate, saying that the motion had noting to do with Indians, and was all about Hindu Canadians.

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A curious user raised a genuine question: “Why do we need special recognition for anti-Hindu hate?” To this, she replied, “It’s not about special laws… It’s simply about naming and recognising the hate as evidenced in some of the comments in this post. If we don’t name it and call it out it is normalised and unfortunately that normalisation is already happening.”

Councillor Joe Horneck stood in solidarity with Hindu Canadians by seconding the motion, according to the Hindu Canadian Foundation (HCF).

And so, committing itself to “protecting freedom of religion and belief of all resident,” the city council has directed officials to work in collaboration with Peel Regional Police to combat religion-fuelled hate. Mississauga’s positive upliftment in the arena comes hot on the heels of Alberta’s Wainwright becoming the first municipality in Canada to official recognise Hinduphobia as a troubling issue.

Reactions to Mississauga’s formal decision to condemn Hinduphobia

“Grassroots-level advocacy organisation” CoHNA Canada welcomed the motion being passed in Canada. “This is a major milestone since Mississauga is the second Canadian city to take this stand and offer public reassurance to its Hindu minority,” it wrote on X. “It is a huge relief coming after years of rising violence against temples and Hindu individuals.”

The group particularly applauded the move (and Councillor Damerla) as it made news a little over a year after what it called “medieval style invasions of Hindu temples and violence against devotees” on November 3, 2024.

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Meanwhile the Hindu Canadian Foundation tweeted, “A Landmark Victory for Hindu Canadians – Recognition of Anti-Hindu Hate in Mississauga : Motion Passed.” The not-for-profit organisation lauded how the resolution was symbolic of a “significant step forward in acknowledging the lived experiences of Hindu Canadians and affirming our right to safety, dignity, and cultural respect.

Wholeheartedly welcoming the motion, the group noted it was more of a “it is a moral stance, a public affirmation that hate against Hindus will not be ignored or minimised,” instead of just being a policy decision.

Instances Anti-India or anti-Hindu hate in Canada

One of the most recent incidents made heartbreaking headlines in September when a hateful “Indian rats” graffiti was discovered near a children’s park in Mississauga. Earlier this year, protests led by Hindu students at University of Toronto Mississauga swift turned anti-Indian, with threats and harassment taking centre stage, according to the HCF.

The organisation further listed an August 2024 instance, when Hindu god Ganesha’s idols were vandalised, and anti-Hindu slurs were spray-painted on a Mississauga community hall. Several other cases of Hindu temples being vandalised have also increased over the years.

Celebrating Hindu Heritage Month, Minister Kamal Khera noted last year that nearly 830,000 Hindus called Canada their home, as per a statement on the official Government of Canada website. “In 2021, close to 830,000 people, or 2.3% of the total population, reported an affiliation to Hinduism,” the Canadian census stated at the time, adding the Hindu population had more than doubled in 20 years.