A $1.2 million proposal to create a permanent Little India precinct in Melbourne has divided the community, with critics warning Docklands could become a tourist-oriented “themed precinct” while supporters say the project should receive at least 10 times more funding.
The City of Melbourne has advanced plans for the precinct, allocating $1.2 million in its 2026-27 budget for consultation and trial activations.
Docklands was identified as the preferred location because of its public transport connections, community infrastructure, open spaces and potential opportunities for local businesses.
Following discussions with key stakeholders, the council opened the proposal to wider public feedback ahead of a planned trial launch in early 2027.
“Now, it’s time to listen, test ideas and build the vision for a future Little India precinct in partnership with Indian Australians across greater Melbourne and the Docklands community,” a recent council letter to residents said.
“Your feedback will help inform the precinct’s vision, trial activations and long-term direction.”
The announcement prompted concerns that the outcome had effectively been decided before residents were given an opportunity to comment.
“Let’s be honest here, the decision has well and truly been made. The contracts have been signed, the money put aside and the planning approvals completed. This is just theatre,” one X user wrote.
Thousands gathered at Marvel Stadium in July to see Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is pictured at the event with Anthony Albanese
The City of Melbourne hopes to trial the proposed Little India precinct in Docklands in early 2027. The waterfront district hosts the annual Holi festival
Another user said the consultation was “the formal process before they ignore the feedback and go ahead with their plans anyway.”
Ralph Babet, the United Australia Party’s sole senator, who describes himself as a “Christian nationalist”, also criticised the proposal, calling it “cooked”.
“There shouldn’t be little anything in Australia. If you want to maintain the culture of the nation you left then, just stay there,” he said.
“No Little India, no Little Italy, no Little Greece, no Little Mozambique, no Little Sweden, nothing. Australia first.”
The council received 129 submissions about the proposal during community consultation on its 2026-27 budget earlier this year.
Many objections came from Docklands residents who feared their suburb would be transformed into a “themed precinct”.
“[It] risks turning Docklands into somewhere people visit occasionally, rather than a place people belong,” one resident said.
Vasan Srinivasan, president of the Federation of Indian Associations in Victoria, has spent almost two decades campaigning for a permanent cultural space similar to Melbourne’s Chinatown and the Italian cultural hub around Lygon Street.
Federation of Indian Associations in Victoria president Vasan Srinivasan said a Little India precinct would benefit Melbourne and that funding should rise “at least tenfold”
He told the Daily Mail that a Little India precinct would benefit the city, arguing its funding should increase “at least tenfold” to give the project the best chance of succeeding over the long term.
“It’s not going to harm anyone and it will bring more people to the city,” he said.
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About 450,000 Indian visitors travel to Australia each year, and roughly half of them visit Melbourne, which Mr Srinivasan considers the multicultural capital of the world.
He said the precinct should be located in the CBD, pointing to the success of Indian cultural and commercial hubs in Southall in London, Little India in Singapore and Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur.
A council spokesman told the Daily Mail that the proposal would not progress until a report on feedback from the current consultation period is presented to the council in February.
“Melbourne is one of the most successful multicultural cities in the world and we’re proud to be home to Australia’s largest Indian community,” he said.
“We’ve already heard from more than 1,000 people about the proposed Little India precinct, and their feedback will help shape what comes next.”
Several submissions supported the proposal, saying it could “showcase the Indian community in all its vibrancy”.
The “Melbourne Meets Modi” rally, featuring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, drew a sell-out crowd in July this year
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“It will strengthen the Indian community and enable better integration into Australian society,” one submission said.
The council report acknowledged that support for the proposed precinct was not unanimous, with some residents calling for investment in other priorities.
“The feedback raises a desire for Docklands to be a residential neighbourhood with family and community amenity, not an events precinct, and improved investment in green spaces, cleanliness, harbour maintenance, schools, childcare and activities for young people,” the report said.
Melbourne is home to Australia’s largest Indian population, with about 258,000 residents identifying as Indian.
More than 30,000 people attended the “Melbourne Meets Modi” rally at Marvel Stadium in Docklands in July, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Organisers said tickets sold out “faster than Taylor Swift”.
“Melbourne has both the community capacity and international reputation to establish an equally successful, if not superior, precinct.”
Docklands already hosts Melbourne’s annual Holi Festival, which draws tens of thousands of attendees.
“Docklands feels like the natural home for something like Little India,” festival director Sunny Pathak said.
“It already has a strong Indian community, Indian businesses and major cultural events like Holi, so the foundations are already there.”
Australia’s first Little India precinct opened in Harris Park in western Sydney in 2023.
Melbourne is also home to Australia’s oldest Chinatown, which was established in 1851 during the Victorian gold rush.