Over the weekend, a Melbourne landmark became the centre of an ugly clash between two Indian ethnic groups in scenes rarely seen in Australia.
Footage posted to social media captured the moment about 100 people broke out into a fight, using flags as weapons outside Federation Square on Sunday afternoon.
The brawl, which broke out at about 4.30pm, occurred during a referendum event organised by US-based group Sikhs for Justice, who are campaigning to create a separate Sikh-majority state called Khalistan in India’s Punjab region.
The state of Punjab was established in 1947 when the partition of India split the former Raj province of Punjab – which was previously under British rule – between India and Pakistan when the two countries gained their independence.
But because Khalistan will take away land from parts of Punjab less than a century on from its emergence, pro-India activists are against the movement creating a rivalry between the two groups.