Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in Sydney as he begins an official visit where he will be feted by Australian supporters, business chiefs and politicians alike.
Key points:
- A chartered Qantas flight carrying fans to Sydney has been rebranded as "Modi Airways"
- Hindu temples have been vandalised and provocative posters have called for Mr Modi's arrest
- The prime ministers are expected to discuss trade and security during Mr Modi's visit
On Tuesday, India's leader will address a rally which is expected to draw a crowd of up to 20,000 people who are hoping to catch a glimpse of the prime minister and listen as Mr Modi — a powerful orator — extols the virtues of the Australia-India relationship.
Attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Olympic Park arena event, scheduled to open its gates around midday, will attract Modi supporters from across the nation.
A chartered Qantas flight rebranded as "Modi Airways" will bring in fans from Melbourne and "Modi Express" buses are being chartered from Queensland.
Amith Karanth, an IT consultant from Melbourne, said he had taken two days of annual leave to fly on "Modi Airways" and watch Mr Modi speak.
"He is a once-in-a-lifetime leader," Mr Karanth said.
"I know it's going to be an hour or two-hour speech and it's always inspiring for us," he added.
Mr Karanth said he believes the flight will depart and arrive with music and dance performances at both airports and guests will be served a breakfast traditional to Mr Modi's hometown.
"The excitement is so high," he told the ABC.
The arena event will be staged by the Indian Australian Diaspora Foundation, and in the weeks leading up to it, the foundation has been encouraging attendees on Twitter to create videos about their "favourite policy of the Modi government" to win "special seats".
It says the winning video team will be given the chance to "see your favourite leader" up close.
Modi a divisive figure
Mr Modi was also given a raucous and enthusiastic welcome both on arrival at Sydney Airport and at his hotel, where fans crowded for selfies and handshakes.
But while the prime minister remains overwhelmingly popular within large swathes of the Indian diaspora, the hoopla will not appeal to everyone in the community.
Mr Modi remains a polarising figure both at home and abroad, and his visit will inevitably expose deep-seated divisions in parts of the Indian Australian community as well.
Indian Muslim community groups have already declared they do not welcome Mr Modi's visit, and are pushing for Mr Albanese to press Mr Modi on human rights violations against minority groups in India under his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A Sikh group advocating for the creation of "Khalistan" — which they envision as a breakaway independent state in India's north — has even put up provocative posters calling for Mr Modi to be arrested while in Australia.
The posters have since been taken down.
Graffiti reading "Declare Modi Terrorist" had also been daubed on temples in western Sydney.
The Indian Australian Diaspora Foundation has condemned the vandalisation of Hindu temples ahead of Mr Modi's visit.
Foundation spokesman Pranav Aggarwal said the prime minister was a very popular leader.
"I condemn acts of vandalism to any places of worship. That's not Australian values, and that's not the Australia that we want to build as a multicultural place," he said.
"In a democracy, you can have difference of opinion, but I think the key is to understand that Modi has always won elections emphatically."
Tensions may also rise when the BBC documentary that explores the role of Mr Modi during the 2002 Gujarat riots and the escalating persecution of India's Muslims is screened at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.
The screening has been organised by a group called We the Diaspora and will be attended by Greens senators Jordan Steele-John and David Shoebridge.
The documentary, which was banned in India, focuses on Mr Modi's leadership as chief minister of Gujarat during riots in which at least 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslims.
Human rights concerns
Meanwhile, the Australian Centre for International Justice is using the prime minister's visit to file a submission to Foreign Minister Penny Wong, calling for Australia to sanction three Indians — including close Modi ally and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath — to be sanctioned for human rights abuses in the state.
Human rights groups are also vocal. On Monday, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch Elaine Pearson said Australian officials and Mr Albanese should use Mr Modi's official visit to ramp up pressure over creeping illiberalness in India.
"Scores of rights activists are in jail across India at present while others are battling politically motivated investigations. Modi's BJP-led government has been tightening its grip on civil society, using draconian laws to arrest and intimidate activists, journalists, opposition leaders, academics, peaceful protesters, and critics of government policies," she wrote.
"This is shrinking the space for free speech, with independent journalists forced to self-censor."
It is not just Australia weighing up how to deal with fraught and sensitive topics. Earlier this year, Mr Modi took the opportunity during Mr Albanese's visit to India to publicly raise his concerns about the way Hindu temples have been vandalised in Australia.
Still, while it is likely that human rights abuses and other contentious issues will get a mention when Mr Albanese and Mr Modi sit down for formal talks on Wednesday, they will not be anywhere near the top of the agenda.
Australia and India have rapidly deepened security and political ties over the last decade, while the rapidly growing Indian diaspora in Australia — now some 780,000 strong — has given the relationship even more ballast and weight.
Both countries share deep concerns about China's regional ambitions and increasingly aggressive posture.
And both New Delhi and Canberra now seem intent on broadening and widening economic ties, which remain relatively anaemic, despite a sharp uptick in trade in the last few years.
Last year, the two nations signed a historic interim trade deal, and are expected to press on with formal negotiations on a full pact shortly.
In his release welcoming Mr Modi to Australia, Mr Albanese repeatedly emphasised the importance of growing trade ties, and India's prime minister will likely make a familiar pitch for investment when he meets a host of senior business leaders this week in Sydney.
There might be gnawing doubts in parts of Canberra about India's trajectory under Mr Modi, but the prime minister is still the leader of an emerging great power who remains popular at home, and who can draw on substantial reservoirs of support abroad as well.
So it is no surprise Mr Albanese will be sitting right next to Mr Modi in Sydney later this evening, waiting for the cheers to erupt.