Modi’s Melbourne rally draws crowds as migration tensions simmer

More than 20,000 people filled Melbourne’s Docklands stadium for Narendra Modi’s rally, while anti-immigration activists planned a protest outside the same event. The split scene captured Australia’s embrace of its Indian diaspora and the sharper argument now unfolding over migration, housing pressure and social cohesion.

Modi’s appearance in Melbourne was part of his July 8 to 10 visit to Australia for the Australia-India Annual Leaders’ Summit, and it was booked out before the prime minister’s arrival. He was due to appear with Anthony Albanese at Melbourne Meets Modi, and the crowd far exceeded the 20,000 mark that turned out for the rally, even as organizers had expected around 30,000. It was Modi’s third official visit to Australia, making him the most frequent visiting Indian prime minister in the history of the bilateral relationship.

The summit itself was built around delegation-level talks on trade, clean energy, technology, defence, investment and broader people-to-people ties. Penny Wong and Ajit Doval were among the officials present, underscoring the diplomatic weight attached to the visit. Modi also addressed the Indian community in Melbourne and described the diaspora as a “living bridge” between India and Australia, while Albanese publicly praised Australia’s Indian diaspora from the same stage.

The political backdrop to that welcome is the scale of Australia’s overseas-born population. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says 8.8 million people in Australia were born overseas as of June 30, 2025, equal to 32.0 percent of the population. India is now among the countries of birth with the largest populations in Australia, and the Indian-born population has recorded the largest increase since 2015. DFAT says the number of Indian-born residents rose from 455,389 in 2016 to 673,352 in the 2021 census, a 48 percent jump in five years.

That demographic rise has made the Indian community more visible in national politics, and Melbourne’s celebrations were matched by a hard-edged response. Anti-immigration organizers timed a “peaceful but loud” demonstration to the Modi event at Marvel Stadium, targeting Australia’s growing relationship with India as part of a wider dispute over migration policy, social cohesion and the strain on housing.