The Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) is facing community outrage after publishing its Annual Report 2024-25 featuring a decapitated map of India.
The report, intended to highlight cultural diversity and community harmony, instead triggered frustration and hurt within the Indian diaspora.
The issue surfaced when Indian-Australian community members posted on social media an image from page 13 of the VMC’s Annual Report 2024–25, questioning why major Indian regions — including Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and parts of the north-east such as Sikkim, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh — were either missing or inaccurately depicted.
One user wrote:
“This is shocking. Is this how multicultural respect works in Victoria?”
Community members told The Australia Today that they don’t know if it was a mistake or purposeful mischief; either way, it’s “deeply disturbing and disappointing.”
One community member said that this showed a lack of cultural awareness from a government body tasked with promoting inclusion.
The error has ignited anger among Indian-Australians, with many viewing it not as a simple publishing slip but as a symbolic disregard for India’s recognised borders.
The controversy has raised questions about the VMC’s internal processes, including whether any cultural or geopolitical checks were performed before publication.
In a statement to The Australia Today VMC spokesperson said,
“The VMC confirms that it received correspondence recently from a member of the Indian-Australian community regarding an image in a VMC publication.”
“That publication is on the VMC website and has been updated to remove the image in question.”
“The VMC has written to the original correspondent, updating him on these developments.”
However Victorian Multicultural Commission has failed to apologise or issue a regret on the whole episode.
The Australia Today is given to understand that the Consulate General of India in Melbourne has taken up the issue with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s office.
CGI Melbourne told The Australia Today,
“We are strongly taking up the matter of misrepresentation of India’s map in the VMC’s annual report with the Victorian authorities for immediate correction and apology by the concerned authorities for addressing this grave mistake.”
The Australia Today has also contacted the Premier’s office. We shall update the article once we receive a response.
Key highlights include that Victorians come from over 300 ancestries, speak more than 290 languages, and follow over 200 faiths. Additionally, the report notes that 40.9% of Victorians identify as Christian, followed by Islam (4.2%), Hinduism (3.3%), and Buddhism (3.1%), with 39.3% identifying with no religion.
It appears that following the controversy, the VMC has removed the maps from the digital/online version of the publication.
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