When Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India took the stage before tens of thousands of cheering supporters in Australia on Thursday, it was a display of his global political outreach.
His presence also threw a spotlight on a major demographic shift: Indian-born residents have officially overtaken those born in Britain to become Australia’s largest diaspora group.
That diaspora was out in full force on Thursday, as Mr. Modi walked out onto the floor of a Melbourne arena to thunderous applause and chants of his name. The venue was three times the size of one he had appeared at on his last visit, in 2023. A special flight called the “Modi Express” was chartered to ferry attendees from Sydney.
It was a display of the power of Mr. Modi and his conservative Hindu-first Bharatiya Janata Party, which has actively nurtured ties with Indians overseas, drawing political and financial support from them.
The gathering unfolded against a complicated political backdrop, as Australia navigates a backlash over migration and Mr. Modi faces ongoing international criticism for his suppression of minorities at home.
Amit Sarwal, an academic and a founder of the Indian Australian online publication The Australia Today, said the welcome given to Mr. Modi was the proud roar of a community coming into its own.
“The Indian diaspora is not a wallflower anymore,” said Mr. Sarwal, who moved to Australia from Delhi in 2013 and attended the event with Mr. Modi on Thursday, as well as the one in 2023. “They are confident in their identity, confident that they are contributing.”
Mr. Albanese acknowledged that contribution when he welcomed Mr. Modi.
“Australians of all backgrounds have been enriched by your bringing your culture here and adding it to our multicultural character,” he said.
Mr. Modi illustrated the relationship with a culinary take, addressing the audience of nearly 30,000, many waving smartphones with the flashlights lit, as if at a concert: “The milk in your house is Australian, but the tea you make is Indian.”
‘Strategic Convergence’
Earlier in the day, Mr. Modi met with Mr. Albanese and pledged closer defense and security cooperation between the countries and increased partnership on critical technology and supply chains, saying the two democracies needed each other more than ever in an increasingly fraught world.
There was no mention by Mr. Albanese of any concerns over Mr. Modi’s Hindu nationalism or suppression of minorities and critics, despite calls from human rights groups for the Australian leader to raise them.
The unspoken context of the meeting was clear: China’s military expansionism and the global economic reverberations from the United States’ war in Iran.
Lisa Singh, chief executive of the Australia India Institute and a former senator in the Australian Parliament, said that since Mr. Modi’s last visit to Australia, the United States and China had been jeopardizing the economies and security of India and Australia.
“Both countries want to diversify away from that, and they’re looking at each other,” she said. “There is a strategic convergence for Australia and India on geoeconomics and geopolitics, in a large sense due to the rise of China’s militarization.”
Underpinning those closer ties are the 971,000 members of the Indian diaspora in Australia, most of whom live in Melbourne. After a steady increase over the last four years, the group overtook British-born Australians last year.
But beyond the festive mood of Thursday’s “Melbourne Meets Modi” rally, the issue of migration has been a touchy one for both countries.
In Australia, a post-pandemic surge in migration that coincided with a cost-of-living crisis and housing shortage has fanned anti-immigrant sentiment and boosted support for the far right.
A far-right influencer on Thursday staged a small protest outside the stadium, holding signs reading “Stop Indian Invasion” and “Modi Go Home.”
The question of migration is also a major one for the Indian prime minister, as more Indians leave in search of better jobs. Rapid economic growth in India has failed to filter down to the masses, even though it is the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Countries including Australia and the United States, responding to souring domestic sentiments on migration, have made it more difficult and expensive for Indians who emigrate.
Australia has increased student visa fees, while the Trump administration has tried to curtail access to visas for high-paying tech jobs. Mr. Modi will next head to New Zealand, where officials are reportedly considering tightening requirements for Indian migrants.
Nadeem Ahmed, 48, who moved to Australia from Chandigarh in northern India two decades ago, said his time in the country had been a “great journey” as he went from working odd jobs to become head of information technology at a company.
He started a group, “Indians in Sydney,” through which he and fellow members of the diaspora give serve meals for the homeless.
Mr. Ahmed, who attended Mr. Modi’s event in Sydney, said it was a moment of emotion that melded his identities.
“People carry both flags, Australian and Indian,” he said. “They don’t see them as competing — we are Australians, but we are Indians through cultural roots.”
Jeremy W. Peters and Pragati K.B. contributed reporting from New Delhi.
