Recent attacks on members of the Indian community in Ireland are "despicable" and "diminish all of us", President Michael D Higgins has said.
Yesterday, the Ireland India Council announced that it will not go ahead with the India Day festival at Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park this Sunday because of fears over safety, following recent attacks on Indians in Ireland.
President Higgins condemned the attacks, saying they "stand in stark contradiction to the values that we as people hold dear".
In a statement, he said: "That any person in Ireland, particularly any young person, should be drawn into such behaviour through manipulation or provocation is to be unequivocally condemned.
"Whether such provocation stems from ignorance or from malice, it is essential to acknowledge the harm that it is causing. Such acts diminish all of us and obscure the immeasurable benefits the people of India have brought to the life of this country."
President Higgins added that Ireland has "long been shaped by migration, both outward and inward".
"That shared human experience should remain at the heart of how we treat those who have come to make their lives here. To forget that is to lose a part of ourselves," he added.
Earlier, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin described the recent attacks as "completely and utterly despicable".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Archbishop Dermot Farrell said it is time to call out those who peddle racial hatred following a number of unprovoked attacks in Dublin.
He said a small of people are making life exceedingly difficult for members of the Indian community when they go out in public.
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Archbishop Farrell said the Indian community is very much integrated into society, and many have been invited here to work in essential services.
He said the community should support gardaí as they deal with these matters.
Archbishop Farrell said he will be writing to all parishes and parish councils and asking them to support the community, and will also be writing to schools when they reopen to bring about good integration within communities.
He said that there are people who know the people carrying out the attacks and they need to come forward to gardaí.
He added that there is no place for this behaviour in our society where people are attacked on public streets simply because of their skin colour.
He said that he regularly meets members of the Indian community looking after loved ones, sick relatives.
They are recognised as being exceptionally good in the roles they do, he said.
"We need these people to run our society so we have to respect them," said Archbishop Farrell.
"We need to support them."
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Speaking outside Government buildings after a meeting with Tánaiste Simon Harris, Ireland India Council chair Prashant Shuki said: "We feel that the situation at the moment for holding India Day is not conducive, and we will review the situation, and we will announce new dates for India Day this year."
He said the council had considered the situation and consulted widely including with gardaí before making what he described as a very difficult decision.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Harris condemned the spate of attacks on the Indian community as "despicable", adding that they need to be "called out and condemned by all".
"The Indian community have made and continue to make a very positive contribution to Irish society.
"There's around 80,000 people from India living in Ireland, and I want to acknowledge the very positive contribution that they make," Mr Harris said.
He added that the Indian community in Ireland "very much felt that more needs to be done with younger people at school levels to tackle racism".
