Embassy Chalo: our Oct 23 protest outside the Indian Embassy in Dublin

On Friday, Oct 23, 2026, the Indian diaspora in Ireland protested for the third week in a row, this time outside the Indian Embassy in Dublin, in conjunction with protests in Brussels, Barcelona, Toronto and Vancouver as part of an “Embassy Chalo” (Let’s go to the embassy) campaign. While it is harder to get people to join us on a workday, we felt it was important to take our agitation to the doorstep of the state institution, so that the silence of the state representative is heard loud and clear against our slogans and statements of solidarity.

Over the course of the hour, speakers took the mic to read their collective statement, unite with slogans of resistance, and unfurl the Tiranga in solidarity with Indian protesters who were or are under detention. They opened the floor to poetry, songs, speeches, stand-up comedy, and calls of “Aazadi”, from vote theft to dictatorship. There was repeated resonance that living in an open democracy affords them both the safety and the moral responsibility to dissent without fear of institutional retaliation.

How the day went

• We set up our posters and artwork outside the embassy, visible but not disruptive.
• Organiser Shreya read the welcome statement, setting the context of the “Embassy Chalo” campaign and the solidarity with protests in Barcelona, Brussels, Toronto and Vancouver.
• Co-organiser Suriya gave safety instructions, so everyone knew this is an inclusive space where we record and stand up for each other.
• Protester Josh read the statement written collectively on our WhatsApp group.
• Slogans were chanted and a makeshift drum made from a celebration box was played.
• We unfurled our tricolour and spoke about the detention of Neha Bora, Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and thousands of youth across the country.
• Guest speaker Amit Wasnik, founder of Ambedkarite Meitheal, spoke about institutional casteism and the ongoing hunger strike of the grieving parents of Sahil Wakode.
• The floor was opened to all for art, poetry, music and a stand-up comedy set. Organiser Shreya closed with a poem in support of Umar Khalid and political prisoners in India.

Slogans on the day

• “Vote chor, gaddi chhor”
• “Har haath mein Tiranga, har embassy Jantar Mantar”
• “Jantar Mantar everywhere”
• “Save the Constitution, save democracy”
• “Aazadi”: from vote chori, Delhi Police, barricades and Modi-Shah, to Aazadi

We got mixed reactions from Indian citizens going in and out of the embassy. Some stopped to support us and others kept their distance. Several passers-by admired our posters, nodded in solidarity, and cars honked in support.

How we got here

The group first responded to the nationwide call for protests at Jantar Mantar on Oct 10 with a solidarity gathering at the GPO, where about 20 people showed up. Over the following week our reach on WhatsApp and Instagram grew quickly, and we needed a much more intentional structure to organise the community and build cross-border solidarity. South Asia Collective Ireland was born as a community of progressive diaspora members and allies in Ireland, standing against fascism, casteism and human rights violations.

On Oct 17 we joined the Indian diaspora from Australia to Canada and the US for a Global Day of Solidarity and Action. In Europe we worked with cities in the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Spain and Czechia under the banner “Jantar Mantar is Everywhere”.