Stabbings followed by anti-migrant violence: Why Indians in Britain are worried
Anti-migrant riots in Belfast after the stabbing of Stephen Ogilvie have left many Indians staying indoors. The unrest, coming days after the Henry Nowak case, has deepened fears of wider backlash against migrant communities.
The Indian community in Northern Ireland’s capital, Belfast, largely stayed indoors for the second consecutive night to protect themselves from anti-migrant violence. Homes, shops, and vehicles were set on fire during riots following the brutal stabbing of a man by a Sudanese migrant, Hadi Alodid, on June 8. Alodid has been charged with attempted murder, and his victim is fighting for his life in hospital.
There are no reports of Indians being harmed. Yet, the incident has stoked fear among residents of foreign origin, as angry protesters raised slogans of “foreigners out” after a video of the gruesome killing was shared on social media by far-right activists.
Biji Jose from the Northern Ireland Indian Nurses Forum, who has lived in the province for 23 years, told the BBC that her colleagues are deeply concerned about their safety. Dr Satyavir Singhal, chairman of the Indian Community Centre in Belfast, said he has been advising Indians to stay at home if they can. “The people who are doing this violence don’t differentiate between the communities, so people are definitely worried and hope for the best.”
The Indian High Commission in London told India Today on June 10 that the Indian consulate in Belfast “continues to remain engaged” with members of the community. There are about 10,000 Indians in Northern Ireland, mostly in Belfast, making them the third-largest ethnic group after mixed-race and black communities, according to the 2021 census.
HENRY NOWAK AND SIKHS
For the Indian community, this is the second incident in 10 days that has heightened racial tensions and fears of violence. On June 1, a British-born Sikh man, Vickrum Digwar, was given a life sentence for murdering an 18-year-old white youth, Henry Nowak, with his kirpan.
Sikh leaders have reported numerous incidents of physical and verbal violence against their community. Racial tension and attacks on Sikhs followed the release of police bodycam footage, which showed the man repeatedly telling police officers, “I can't breathe,” as he lay dying in handcuffs after being stabbed by Digwar, who accused the victim of hurling racial abuse at him.
Britain’s Sikhs have distanced themselves from Digwar and his family, condemning the murder and emphasising that this was a one-off case and that he didn’t represent the community. Sikh leaders have called for a public inquiry into the “failures” surrounding Nowak’s death. They also disputed that the weapon used in the murder was a kirpan – the judge called it a “large Sikh dagger” – which was in addition to another small kirpan he was wearing.
Nowak’s murder sparked outrage and racial tension, stemming from the police arresting and handcuffing him after Digwa complained that he had been racially abused, while ignoring Nowak’s pleas that he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe. The leader of the far-right Reform UK, Nigel Farage, said the case showed evidence of “two-tier policing” and called on the public to respond with “pure, cold rage”.
Comparisons were drawn with the US black man, George Floyd, who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck in 2020. His last words were “I can’t breathe”. Violent protests erupted in the English city of Southampton, where Nowak’s murder took place. Five protesters were jailed for violent disorder on Wednesday.
ELON MUSK AND FAR-RIGHT GROUPS
In both cases, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has been accused of inflaming racial tensions. He tweeted about Nowak about 100 times, using his position as head of X, with 240 million followers, to first demand the release of police body camera footage of the murder and then to attack Britain and its police.
“Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer,” Musk wrote. Britain’s prime minister accused Musk of interfering in British politics.
Again, Musk, himself a migrant in the US from South Africa, played a key role in the protests in Belfast. The far-right activist, Tommy Robinson — whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — shared the video on X. Musk then messaged his followers, “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!” He also reposted details of the planned protest in Belfast on X, where masked men were involved in attacks on migrants’ properties.
Farage and another far-right British politician, Rupert Lowe (leader of Restore Britain and Musk’s favourite), first demanded that the accused’s identity and immigration status be disclosed. When the police acceded to their demand, they exploited the disclosure to attack the wider migrant population. Farage’s party is now calling for a total visa ban on people from Sudan, a country riven by civil war since 2023. The Belfast stabbing suspect came to Northern Ireland via Dublin in the same year and was granted asylum.
CRIME AND MIGRATION
Far-right leaders, backed by Musk, the Trump administration and other activists in Europe, have been trying to portray such crimes as the result of mass migration in recent years. The US Vice-President JD Vance blamed Nowak's death on the “mass invasion of migrants”, saying the “only response” was “righteous anger."
Dominik Tarczyski, a far-right Polish politician who was banned earlier this year by the British government from entering the UK, sought to link the attack in Belfast to Nowak's death. He posted an image of the knife attack alongside one of Nowak in handcuffs. “Europe 2026 in two pictures,” he wrote.
These leaders claim that migrants from Asian and African countries commit most crimes in the UK. However, in the list of nationalities of those convicted of violence in Britain between 2021 and 2024, the first six were European. Polish nationals topped that list with 1697 convictions. It’s true that, proportionally, foreign nationals have had more convictions than British nationals for sexual crimes during this period. Last year, nationwide protests followed an Ethiopian asylum seeker’s sexual assault of two 14-year-old girls and a woman in Essex, near London.
Because of campaigns by far-right groups, many people in Britain believe migration to the country is rising, even though it has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, according to a study by British Future, a think tank, published last month.
British government data released last month showed that net migration in the year to December 2025 was 171,000 — its lowest level since 2012, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic. Even small-boat crossings by migrants from France, which have fuelled so much political debate and racial tension in the past few years, have come down.
DANGEROUS POLITICS
Most political leaders in Britain have condemned violence in Belfast and called for calm. The family of Stephen Ogilvie, the victim of the Belfast stabbing, has called for a peaceful protest. Earlier, Nowak’s family urged that his death not be used to stoke divisions. But that hasn’t stopped right-wing politicians and activists from doing so.
A crucial by-election in Greater Manchester is taking place on Thursday, with Farage’s party hoping to win the parliamentary seat from the governing Labour Party. Labour fears that the migration issue, coming to the fore after Nowak’s murder and the stabbing of Ogilvie in Belfast, could help Reform UK in the poll.
Ogilvie has lost one eye in the stabbing and has also sustained an injury to the other. His family has thanked the public and emergency services for their efforts to save his life on Monday night. Ogilvie’s family hopes he will survive. The racial tension created by the violent reactions to his stabbing and to Nowak's murder is unlikely to ease anytime soon. This is a matter of great concern to Indians and other people of foreign origin in Britain. There are fears that violence against migrants could increase after these two horrific incidents.
(Naresh Kaushik is a former editor at the BBC and Associated Press. He is based in London.)
The Indian community in Northern Ireland’s capital, Belfast, largely stayed indoors for the second consecutive night to protect themselves from anti-migrant violence. Homes, shops, and vehicles were set on fire during riots following the brutal stabbing of a man by a Sudanese migrant, Hadi Alodid, on June 8. Alodid has been charged with attempted murder, and his victim is fighting for his life in hospital.
There are no reports of Indians being harmed. Yet, the incident has stoked fear among residents of foreign origin, as angry protesters raised slogans of “foreigners out” after a video of the gruesome killing was shared on social media by far-right activists.
Biji Jose from the Northern Ireland Indian Nurses Forum, who has lived in the province for 23 years, told the BBC that her colleagues are deeply concerned about their safety. Dr Satyavir Singhal, chairman of the Indian Community Centre in Belfast, said he has been advising Indians to stay at home if they can. “The people who are doing this violence don’t differentiate between the communities, so people are definitely worried and hope for the best.”
The Indian High Commission in London told India Today on June 10 that the Indian consulate in Belfast “continues to remain engaged” with members of the community. There are about 10,000 Indians in Northern Ireland, mostly in Belfast, making them the third-largest ethnic group after mixed-race and black communities, according to the 2021 census.
HENRY NOWAK AND SIKHS
For the Indian community, this is the second incident in 10 days that has heightened racial tensions and fears of violence. On June 1, a British-born Sikh man, Vickrum Digwar, was given a life sentence for murdering an 18-year-old white youth, Henry Nowak, with his kirpan.
Sikh leaders have reported numerous incidents of physical and verbal violence against their community. Racial tension and attacks on Sikhs followed the release of police bodycam footage, which showed the man repeatedly telling police officers, “I can't breathe,” as he lay dying in handcuffs after being stabbed by Digwar, who accused the victim of hurling racial abuse at him.
Britain’s Sikhs have distanced themselves from Digwar and his family, condemning the murder and emphasising that this was a one-off case and that he didn’t represent the community. Sikh leaders have called for a public inquiry into the “failures” surrounding Nowak’s death. They also disputed that the weapon used in the murder was a kirpan – the judge called it a “large Sikh dagger” – which was in addition to another small kirpan he was wearing.
Nowak’s murder sparked outrage and racial tension, stemming from the police arresting and handcuffing him after Digwa complained that he had been racially abused, while ignoring Nowak’s pleas that he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe. The leader of the far-right Reform UK, Nigel Farage, said the case showed evidence of “two-tier policing” and called on the public to respond with “pure, cold rage”.
Comparisons were drawn with the US black man, George Floyd, who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck in 2020. His last words were “I can’t breathe”. Violent protests erupted in the English city of Southampton, where Nowak’s murder took place. Five protesters were jailed for violent disorder on Wednesday.
ELON MUSK AND FAR-RIGHT GROUPS
In both cases, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has been accused of inflaming racial tensions. He tweeted about Nowak about 100 times, using his position as head of X, with 240 million followers, to first demand the release of police body camera footage of the murder and then to attack Britain and its police.
“Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer,” Musk wrote. Britain’s prime minister accused Musk of interfering in British politics.
Again, Musk, himself a migrant in the US from South Africa, played a key role in the protests in Belfast. The far-right activist, Tommy Robinson — whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — shared the video on X. Musk then messaged his followers, “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!” He also reposted details of the planned protest in Belfast on X, where masked men were involved in attacks on migrants’ properties.
Farage and another far-right British politician, Rupert Lowe (leader of Restore Britain and Musk’s favourite), first demanded that the accused’s identity and immigration status be disclosed. When the police acceded to their demand, they exploited the disclosure to attack the wider migrant population. Farage’s party is now calling for a total visa ban on people from Sudan, a country riven by civil war since 2023. The Belfast stabbing suspect came to Northern Ireland via Dublin in the same year and was granted asylum.
CRIME AND MIGRATION
Far-right leaders, backed by Musk, the Trump administration and other activists in Europe, have been trying to portray such crimes as the result of mass migration in recent years. The US Vice-President JD Vance blamed Nowak's death on the “mass invasion of migrants”, saying the “only response” was “righteous anger."
Dominik Tarczyski, a far-right Polish politician who was banned earlier this year by the British government from entering the UK, sought to link the attack in Belfast to Nowak's death. He posted an image of the knife attack alongside one of Nowak in handcuffs. “Europe 2026 in two pictures,” he wrote.
These leaders claim that migrants from Asian and African countries commit most crimes in the UK. However, in the list of nationalities of those convicted of violence in Britain between 2021 and 2024, the first six were European. Polish nationals topped that list with 1697 convictions. It’s true that, proportionally, foreign nationals have had more convictions than British nationals for sexual crimes during this period. Last year, nationwide protests followed an Ethiopian asylum seeker’s sexual assault of two 14-year-old girls and a woman in Essex, near London.
Because of campaigns by far-right groups, many people in Britain believe migration to the country is rising, even though it has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, according to a study by British Future, a think tank, published last month.
British government data released last month showed that net migration in the year to December 2025 was 171,000 — its lowest level since 2012, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic. Even small-boat crossings by migrants from France, which have fuelled so much political debate and racial tension in the past few years, have come down.
DANGEROUS POLITICS
Most political leaders in Britain have condemned violence in Belfast and called for calm. The family of Stephen Ogilvie, the victim of the Belfast stabbing, has called for a peaceful protest. Earlier, Nowak’s family urged that his death not be used to stoke divisions. But that hasn’t stopped right-wing politicians and activists from doing so.
A crucial by-election in Greater Manchester is taking place on Thursday, with Farage’s party hoping to win the parliamentary seat from the governing Labour Party. Labour fears that the migration issue, coming to the fore after Nowak’s murder and the stabbing of Ogilvie in Belfast, could help Reform UK in the poll.
Ogilvie has lost one eye in the stabbing and has also sustained an injury to the other. His family has thanked the public and emergency services for their efforts to save his life on Monday night. Ogilvie’s family hopes he will survive. The racial tension created by the violent reactions to his stabbing and to Nowak's murder is unlikely to ease anytime soon. This is a matter of great concern to Indians and other people of foreign origin in Britain. There are fears that violence against migrants could increase after these two horrific incidents.
(Naresh Kaushik is a former editor at the BBC and Associated Press. He is based in London.)
