in briefTens of thousands of Indian community members are expected to gather to watch the Indian leader on Thursday evening.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a popular but controversial figure.Not many world leaders can sell out an arena during an international diplomatic visit.But tens of thousands of members of the Indian diaspora throughout Australia are expected to make their way to Melbourne's Docklands Stadium on Thursday night for a glimpse of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Modi arrived in Australia on Wednesday for a three-day trip as part of the Australia-India Annual Leaders' Summit, where he will meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. A group of supporters of the Khalistan movement gathered to protest Modi's visit, outside an event at Government House on Thursday.The Khalistan movement broadly advocates for a separate homeland for Sikhs, and has faced suppression by the Indian government.News that makes senseYour trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.During previous visits, Modi made public appearances in Sydney, drawing crowds of thousands of people. This time, accompanied by Albanese, he will speak at a booked-out event in Melbourne, which is home to the largest Indian population in Australia. Canberra India Council chair Deepak-Raj Gupta is travelling to Melbourne with his wife and friends to attend as many Modi-related events as possible.Modi is one of three types of people who are "very popular" in his homeland, Gupta said."Politicians, Bollywood stars and cricket players,'' he said."It doesn't really matter who you are if you fall into one of those."In ⁠Melbourne, Modi is also expected ‌to meet leaders from top Australian companies as well as visit the Melbourne Cricket Ground.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) was given the 'rock-star' treatment by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the city of Ahmedabad before the start of the fourth Test cricket match between India and Australia in 2023. Source: Twitter / @narendramodiA 'significant' visitPradeep Taneja, a senior lecturer in Asian politics at the University of Melbourne, said Modi's visit will be "significant" and "unprecedented"."No other Indian prime minister has been to Australia three times during his term in office," he told SBS News. "The security relationship between Australia and India has grown much faster than I think other dimensions of the relationship. Australia now regards India as a top-tier — and I quote here, top-tier is the Australian government's language — a top-tier security partner."India, which has been led by Modi since 2014, established a landmark comprehensive strategic partnership with Australia in 2020, which aimed to strengthen education and defence co-operation, along with protecting neighbouring maritime space.Australia India Institute chief executive Lisa Singh said Modi's visit would be an important time for deepening the partnership, which builds on a smaller 2009 deal."We could see more establishing of [deals] in defence ties," she said."We want to combine our complementary strengths as two maritime democracies."One of the ways we want to do that is to boost defence literacy and industrial ties, particularly in areas of education."Members of the Indian diaspora are gathering in Melbourne on Thursday as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a live event. Source: SBS NewsConversations about increased tertiary study arrangements, information sharing and naval exercises are also expected to feature.The visit comes following a long-range missile test by China in the South Pacific this week after limited notice from Beijing — a move that could prompt India and Australia to strengthen their trading ties, given the reliance of both economies on China for trade.The trading relationship between Australia and India is worth more than $50 billion.The 'cultural' dimensionAccording to Taneja, security and trade relationships will be focal points during the visit, but cultural ties will also play a significant role. "The third dimension, I think, is the diaspora, because Australia now is home to about a million people of Indian origin, and they are a very important part of Australian community, particularly in cities like Sydney and Melbourne," he said. "So I think that cultural, people-to-people dimension of the relationship is also very important."Last year, people born in India became the largest overseas-born group in Australia, narrowly overtaking those born in England, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.Of the 8.83 million Australian residents born overseas, 971,020 were born in India as of 30 June 2025.The Mosaic Confluence of Classical Indian Dance group will be among the performers at Modi's event. Credit: SBS News"Indian migrants to Australia ... they tend to get multiculturalism better than migrants from many other parts of the world because India itself is a multicultural country, multiple languages, multiple ethnicities, great diversity in terms of culture from different parts of India," Taneja said."And I think some of this would be on display when prime minister Modi attends this big diaspora gathering at the stadium. "You're going to see cultural performances from different parts of India. So I think the diaspora relationship is providing that extra ballast to the bilateral relationship."Rajan Katkam, who is planning to attend the event, told SBS News he feels "proud" of India's development under Modi, and "we are going to witness our prime minister Modi", adding that "he is inspiring the whole world". "We are proud to be here," he said. "We missed the event in Sydney, so that motivated us to come to Melbourne."A popular but controversial leaderDuring Modi's last visit in 2023, he received a rockstar reception at Sydney's SuperDome at Olympic Park.Albanese faced backlash from parts of the Indian diaspora and human rights advocates after introducing his Indian counterpart as "the boss" and remarking that Bruce Springsteen was the last person he'd seen on stage at the stadium, adding that the rock icon "didn't get the welcome that Prime Minister Modi got".Human rights groups such as Amnesty International have condemned Modi what they describe as declines in India's living standards and the targeting of journalists and academics through anti-terror legislation.Amnesty International says religious minorities in India, including Muslims and Christians, have also been targeted under the rule of Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.Ahead of Modi's visit, Daniela Gavshon, Australia director at Human Rights Watch, told SBS Spice it would be "really important that the Australian government acknowledge that Prime Minister Modi has been leading a government that has been sliding into authoritarianism"."Whether they're able to do that overtly will obviously be a question for the government and the government will need to do that carefully."The reality is, we are seeing and have seen for many years now escalating human rights violations in India."She said Albanese had "ignored those" during Modi's last visit, which "felt to many that he was turning a blind eye to the realities of the human rights violations in India".A bid to bolster ties in the Asia-PacificModi arrived in Australia after starting his trip in Indonesia. He will go on to New Zealand, where he is expected to meet with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon."Prime Minister Modi's visit is historic, with ‌this being the first to New Zealand by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years," Luxon said last week.The visit to New Zealand comes amid rising anti-Indian sentiment in the country and tensions in New Zealand's ruling coalition caused by a free-trade agreement between the two.New Zealand and India signed a free-trade agreement in April that will eventually remove tariffs on 100 per cent of Indian goods and 95 per cent of New Zealand goods.— With additional reporting by AAPFor the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.