‘Aren’t they Canadian citizens now, why blame India’: Viral video of couple in ‘salwar kameez’ dumping garbage in Canada sparks outrage
A video showing a couple dumping garbage on the roadside in Canada has gone viral, sparking widespread backlash and a heated debate on social media.
The footage, seemingly shot from a distance, shows a man and a woman repeatedly unloading plastic bags full of trash from their car and leaving them on the roadside.
Notably, the woman is seen wearing a salwar-kameez, while the man is dressed in a shirt and jeans.
After dumping several bags, the man returns to the vehicle to bring more, empties their contents, and takes the bags back.
The video has amassed millions of views and drawn strong reactions online.
While many users condemned the act as irresponsible and disrespectful, others expressed concern over the racial and national profiling that followed.
Several comments criticised India specifically, prompting an argument that the individuals’ actions should not reflect an entire nation or community.
One Indian user responded, “I’m from India and I condemn this behaviour in the strongest terms. It’s infuriating. No excuses.”
Another wrote, “I walked my dogs in a Toronto park this morning, garbage everywhere, even food scraps. But I didn’t see any Indian or South Asian people.”
Others questioned the racial undertone in the backlash: “Aren’t they Canadian residents? Why blame India?”
Another suggested cultural context, commenting, “If they were discarding flowers after a religious offering, that’s biodegradable. But the plastic isn’t.”
“Simple logic. If it’s a bag of trash, they could have just get rid of it. This is pooja items, mainly organic matter. You are mistaken here," wrote one.
Diaspora