The wreckage of Air India Flight AI171 still smoulders in the collective memory of a nation in mourning. A Boeing 787 carrying 242 souls, families, crew, students, crashed in the building of an under graduate medical students hostel, shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad. There was only one survivor.
But as India prayed and families braced for the long wait to identify charred remains, burned beyond recognition, some unrecognisable without DNA, the internet burned with hate.
“Indian pilots and Air India, bad combination.” This single sentence, posted just hours after the tragedy, lit up the comment section of a popular Australian news outlet’s Facebook page.
Its author had no more than eight words to say but the internet heard them like an alarm bell. It didn’t take long for responses to pour in: “Zero common sense as a human being,” … “I guarantee they were more intelligent than you.”…“Racists and public comments, bad combination.”
And yet, the damage was done. At a time when the world was supposed to pause and mourn the loss of over 260 lives, racism made its entrance, as confidently and shamelessly as ever.
It didn’t stop at one comment. Another user, took things to a notch higher: “Slimy, stinky, scamming, arrogant dogs – that’s a good start right there.”
This was not a post about policy or airline safety. It was a racial slur dressed up as commentary. What followed was a flood of disgust “Low soul. Get some life.” “You described yourself perfectly.” “I want to be there when your family dies… so I can laugh in your face,” one replied, unable to hold back their fury.
Social media quickly devolved into a digital war zone grief pitted against hate, sorrow against sarcasm.
While many Australians condemned the racist comments, their very presence online is not surprising. This isn’t the first time that tragedy involving Indian lives has been met with mockery. The pattern is hard to ignore. Air India Crash Racism
One Indian-Australian user wrote in a Reddit thread: “We’re used to it. You grieve while someone throws a curry joke in your face.”
It’s a bitter pill for a diaspora that makes up over 2.8% of the population who are educated, contributing, law-abiding citizens. Yet, in moments of crisis, their place in society is sometimes reduced to a punchline for cheap thrills.
What’s particularly disturbing is the timing. The Air India crew, many of them hailed as heroes, were not even laid to rest. Families had not yet received bodies. And yet, a few keyboard warriors found time to mock the victims’ ethnicity, question their competence, and dehumanise them in a way that strips dignity from death.
As one comment replied bitterly: “The pilot died too, you absolute ghoul. Have some decency.”
Another commenter, attempted to bring back reason: “It was a Turkish-administrated Boeing and the engine failed… these assumptions have nothing to do with facts.”
But facts rarely matter when hate is being served.
There is a significant increase in online anti-Indian racism in the wake of the Ahmedabad #AirIndiaPlaneCrash and I call upon media outlets and @ConversationEDU to take note and respond with informed journalism and research.
— Sukhmani Khorana (@sukhmani_sees) June 13, 2025
Prominent Sikh-Australian community organisation Turbans 4 Australia, took to Instagram to call out the alarming wave of racism that surfaced online following the crash – condemning the “abhorrent and dehumanising comments” made by some Australians, noting that tragedy should never be a cue for prejudice.
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“These victims were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, not punchlines for racist trolls.” The message urged Australians to show empathy, stand in solidarity with the Indian community, and hold digital platforms accountable for letting such hate persist unchecked.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Instagram has taken down some of the most inflammatory comments. But others remain. No official statements have been issued yet by Australian authorities or media outlets where these discussions unfolded.
What is clear is that Australia, a multicultural nation, needs to reckon more honestly with its digital discourse. This isn’t about censorship, it’s about compassion.
In the end, tragedies like the Air India crash are not just about aviation failure. They’re about how humanity responds when confronted with loss.
Will we console? Or will we condescend?
As one user wrote: “We’re not just fighting grief anymore. We’re fighting the people who think we deserve it.”
And that’s the real tragedy. Air India Crash Racism
Read More: When the sky falls: Why Indian-Aussies feel the Air India crash deeply
