‘Can’t take Indian photos’: Australia’s racist sign post outside Adelaide post office faces flak

An Australian Post Office in Adelaide’s Rundle Mall has been criticised for its “poorly written” sign that excludes one group of people from getting a passport photo taken. The Australia Post store sparked controversy and invited backlash from the Indian community after it posted a racist sign to inform customers that they couldn’t take “Indian” photos.

The sign, which has been shared on social media, reads, “Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we unfortunately CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!” The poorly worded notice was meant to communicate that it couldn’t take photos for Indian passports.

However, the Australia Post following widespread criticism issued an apology and said that they would soon take the sign down. As per reports, the sign was displayed at the Rundle Mall post office in Adelaide’s CBD on Wednesday afternoon and was removed on Thursday morning after the management became aware of the grave mistake.

The sign was met with a heavy backlash from social media users around the globe. “Racist signs are really not acceptable. Improve your facilities if this is really an issue,” tweeted one user.

Michelle Rowland, Federal Labor Member for Greenway, Minister for Communications & NSW Labor Party President, had also written to the Australian Post regarding the matter.

Rowland also asked Australia Post’s CEO Paul Graham about the steps that the company would take “to prevent similar incidents occurring”. “No one should be discriminated against because of the colour of their skin or where they are from,” she wrote.

The Australian Post, while issuing an apology, also issued a clarification and claimed that the Indian Consulate had previously rejected several customers’ photographs provided by the Post Office.

In a statement, Australia Post said it would fully investigate the issue and “will take appropriate action”.

Rajendra Pandey, a community leader, in an interview with an Australian news agency, said, “I thought they were actually talking about my colour, I took it personally and so did many others.”

As per the reports, the sign was created locally within the store without management approval and was meant to inform customers that it was unable to meet the requirements of Indian passport authorities.

(With input from agencies)