Indian-Origin Woman Racially Abused On UK Train By Drunk Passenger

A disturbing incident of racial abuse occurred on a train travelling from London to Manchester, where a 26-year-old Indian-origin woman was subjected to a vicious racist tirade by a reportedly intoxicated man. The ordeal began on Sunday when Gabrielle Forsyth was heading home and engaged in a friendly conversation with a fellow passenger, mentioning her work with a charity that supports immigrants. However, the conversation took a dark turn when a fellow passenger, who was drinking from a can, overheard her comment and became threatening and abusive, Metro reported. 

A video of the incident, which has now been deleted captured the man's racist and xenophobic rant, as he shouted at Ms Forsyth and boasted about England's historical conquests. He also launched a vile tirade at fellow train passengers calling them "immigrants".

"You're in England, you are claiming something. You would not be in England if you weren't claiming something. English people conquered the world and gave it back to you. We conquered India, we didn't want it, we gave it back to you," he said in the video.  

"A lot of countries like that. Sorry about your f***ing sovereignty or whatever it is you are. Record me cause I'm recording you," he further said. Towards the end of the video, the man told her, "I am not gonna hit you, I have a girl there that lives to get hit. She ain't getting hit right now."

Here's the video that has surfaced on other social media websites:

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In response, Ms Forsyth said, "He heard the word immigrant and his bodily response was that of anger and aggression. It was very jarring. I feel very strongly what he said was wrong. It was an insane situation. I videoed myself for protection. We were all visibly non-white."

After sharing the video online, Ms Forsyth claimed that she was inundated with an "insane" amount of online abuse.

"The amount of abuse I have received from this one video is insane. I have been called slurs I did not even know existed. Now it is much easier to be a troll on X. Violent rhetoric and hate speech can proliferate on this app. This is a part of my identity I am proud to have. I care very much about the proliferation of rights for people of colour in this country and I do think we are backsliding," she said. 

Ms Forsyth has reported the incident to the British Transport Police (BTP).

"Being Indian, being the daughter of an immigrant, being in touch with my history and heritage is a blessing and a gift and I am grateful every day to have the ability to stand up for myself and people of colour. I back myself and us all to the hilt," she remarked in another tweet. 

Being Indian, being the daughter of an immigrant, being in touch with my history and heritage is a blessing and a gift and I am grateful every day to have the ability to stand up for myself and for people of colour. I back myself and us all to the hilt — gabrielle ☭ (@forsyth_gabby) February 10, 2025

The incident comes days after a heated row broke out on an Avanti West Coast train after a female passenger told an NHS dentist to "go back to your own country".