Dear Aarushi (the author),

Having been born to an Indian family, you should have learnt at home that identity is a disease, that mistakenly thinking of our infinite self (Atman) as this or that limited expression of God, rather than God/Brahman Himself, is the source of all pain.

This time around, your body happened to be born in Australia, but before that your bodies have been born and lived practically everywhere - you do not belong to any of these countries because you are far far greater than any country or even any planet or galaxy, it just so happened that being born this time in Australia serves your prarabdha karma best so you can learn and grow.

By all means, be fair to others, give them a fair go, treat them well, be their good friend - these are universal values, to see God in every being, great or small: for that there is no need to be "Australian".

By encouraging others to develop or preserve an identity, be it "female", "male", "lesbian", "gay", "straight", "young", "old", "short", "tall", "Indian" or "Australian", etc., you are not doing them a favour but rather entrench their false identification with the limited, thus prolong their pains. I wouldn't call that fair.

Steve,

No one here is denying the current migration intake is historically high - or that it’s putting pressure on infrastructure, housing, and services.

What’s being questioned is the leap from that legitimate concern to waving placards about "invasions," burning flags, and blaming multiculturalism for everything from rent prices to national decline.

You want staggered immigration? Great. That’s what Malhotra actually called for. What she didn’t do was use that as an excuse to peddle culture-war hysteria or reduce civic identity to skin colour and slogans.

//That’s why we marched. And Albanese hated it…//

Albanese’s reaction wasn’t about peaceful protest - it was about the optics and associations. When your movement fails to clearly disavow swastikas, Sieg Heil salutes, or banners with white-replacement rhetoric, you lose control of the message.

That’s not on the media. That’s on the organisers.

//Albanese wants to destroy Australia as we knew it.//

This is the kind of overreach that drives people away from your cause. You can make a strong case for reforming immigration without claiming the Prime Minister wants to obliterate the nation. Statements like that don’t inspire change; they inspire paranoia.

//MfA might be our least hopeless hope…//

If that’s true, then you should want MfA to mature - not double down on the Melbourne debacle. That means clear boundaries, clearer messaging, and a willingness to engage people who might agree with your concerns but are turned off by your company.

The way forward isn’t in louder outrage. It’s in smarter articulation. Otherwise, you'll keep attracting attention for all the wrong reasons and driving the very centrists you need further into disengagement.

P.S. The author isn't a "bloke."

The more things change the more they stay the same....
Just about sums it up.
https://theshovel.com.au/2023/01/26/migrants-failing-to-assimilate-200-year-study-finds/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=migrants_failing_to_assimilate_200_year_study_finds&utm_term=2025-09-02
Acknowledgements to The Shovel.

The Author, good essay.
JD and Rhian, good posts.
However Australia is a finite size, when is enough, enough? When the bucket is full it will overflow and cause problems.
We must save and respect the Environment because it is that which keeps us alive.
There is no answer.

Dear Rhian,

«accept and respect the core values of their host society while enjoying and sharing the riches of their original cultures. The author seems to be an excellent example of this»

Possibly, but I find no evidence to that in the article, not the latter part anyway. If at all she enjoys and shares the reaches of her original culture, then she must be doing so in private with the doors and windows closed.

What I see is an apologetic young lady who is desperate to assimilate and be more Australian than the Australians, going to great lengths to ensure that her emerging legal career will not be hindered by her ethnic background. To over-prove her loyalty, she even goes as far as taking on her innocent young shoulders the guilt for the mistreatment of Australian aboriginals, despite she or her family never wronged them.

As the poison of nationalism rose in Europe, European Jews tried that obsequious approach, starting with their twisting replies to Napoleon following the French revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_and_the_Jews). Needless to say, that has not saved them from the Auschwitz gas chambers.

Simply sad.

Fairly narrow minded for a law student.

"At its core, the idea of being 'anti-immigration' in Australia is contradictory."
- No it's not, you just 'identify' as an immigrant.
I'm at least 12th generation Australian with a small amount of indigenous ancestry, you want to call me a settler?
You can't even say 'Australian - Indian', you don't even put the country you were born in first.

"To position yourself as anti-immigration, while benefitting from the same events that took place in the past"
- Those peoples families likely built this country, and went to war for this country whilst your parents just showed up in my 12th generation lifetime.

">..wanting to talk about an Australian identity is not something that should be dismissed as xenophobic or politicised."
- Australia is a pile of dirt, it has no identity or feelings.
Individuals do and they have a broad range of opinions on different matters.

"Yet, too often, when people like me say we are 'Indian-Australian', it is met with ridicule – as though dual identities somehow make us less Australian. Where is the political narrative that educates this settler society and provides for second-generation immigrants, young people like me to stand firmly in both identities at once?"
Dual identities - dual loyalties.
- I'm Australian - Australian, are we the same?
You offend me saying I need to be educated.
I spent more years of my life being Australian than before you were even born.

"Nevertheless, in my own circles, I do see the challenges clearly."
- Your immigrant oriented circles.