India must urgently lodge a strong protest with Australia
June 12 2009
The attacks continue unabated despite the Australian government's assurances. One more Indian has been attacked in Australia in which the victim's turban was torn down today.
Moreover, Sri Lankan students have now also begun complaining that they are being targeted in violent attacks which point to spreading intolerance among Australians toward people of other races.
In the past month alone nearly a dozen students have been brutally attacked, with one of them, Shravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, remaining critical after being stabbed with a screwdriver by a group of teenagers.
While the Australian authorities were quick to dismiss the attacks as not being racially motivated at the outset, they have now begun to acknowledge that some of them may have been racist attacks. In any case, the footage of some of the attacks captured by close circuit video surveillance cameras has reinforced racial motives because of the sheer brutality of the beatings.
The videos spread virally on digital media at such a pace that it raised immediate concern in India and the Indian diaspora across the world.
The outrage in India has been so great that Australians seriously risk being branded racists – a shameful tag that they have tried hard to shake off in the international arena since the days of the White Australia policy, when it was institutionalised. This is something that has never really been forgotten especially by Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific region and South East Asia including India.
On hearing of the attacks, Amitabh Bachchan rejected an honorary doctorate from the Brisbane-based Queensland University of Technology University saying, "My conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen.”
Soon after Amitabh’s public announcement, Bollywood’s biggest labour union, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, said last week that its members would refuse to work in Australia until the attacks on ceased. One Yash Raj film and another by a different production house that were to be shot in Australia this month have indefinitely put off their schedules.
As well as its revenue from the huge Indian student segment coming under threat (Over 90,000 Indian students are enrolled in Australian tertiary institutions – a segment that brings in billions of dollars to the 12-15 billion dollar Australian tertiary education sector), Australia risks losing millions of dollars from Bollywood as well since an increasing number of films are being shot in Australia.
Last month, when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rang his newly re-elected Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh to congratulate him on his reappointment as India’s prime minister, Dr Singh took the opportunity to express India’s concern on the attacks on the students. But the nature of the attacks being what they have been and because of the sheer numbers, India should have come on much more strongly on the Australian leadership.
The premiers of both Queensland and Victoria states have been hard put to control the damage to the country’s reputation and have been trying hard to deflect any references to racial overtones. Long time Indian settlers Indian Weekender spoke to in both cities said that it was hard to say definitely whether race was the primary factor. But after the latest attack, they are not so uncertain.
Meanwhile Australian universities have assured that they would do everything to ensure safety of their students by issuing advisories, putting in place whatever security measures possible and working with the law enforcement machinery.
But the violence doesn’t seem to have abated. As well as the latest reports that have poured in today, just last week there were reports of 20-year-old Amrit Pal Singh from Haryana, who is pursuing a course in community welfare in Melbourne, was assaulted near a McDonald's outlet when he was walking to the place where he worked part-time.
Australia’s reputation has taken a severe beating. News of the violence made top headlines in the mainstream media in several countries across the world including China, which also has thousands of students in Australia – and therefore harbours similar concerns.
The Chinese embassy counselor in Australia, Liu Jin, said his government was actively intervening to ensure the safety of their nationals, although he declined to list the number of attacks and where they had taken place. "There are over 130,000 Chinese students in Australia. They have on the whole had good study and living environment in Australia, but attacks on Chinese students also occurred in recent years," Mr Liu said.
While the Indian government has set the ball rolling in drafting out a long term policy for dealing with the racial abuse of its citizens in Australia and other countries, it must put strong pressure on the Australian government to come clean on its investigations as to how big the race factor has been in the attacks and force it to take immediate action and demonstrate what steps it has taken to assure potential students that Australia is indeed a safe place for higher studies.
Whatever the motives for the violence might have been, the Indian government must make it clear that Australia risks losing a major chunk of its tertiary education revenue coming from India if it does not show seriousness in tackling the issue. If the Indian government were to officially declare Australia as a risk for Indian students to pursue higher education in, it would cost Australia billions of dollars not just in fees but also in business and tourism.
Moreover, Sri Lankan students have now also begun complaining that they are being targeted in violent attacks which point to spreading intolerance among Australians toward people of other races.
In the past month alone nearly a dozen students have been brutally attacked, with one of them, Shravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, remaining critical after being stabbed with a screwdriver by a group of teenagers.
While the Australian authorities were quick to dismiss the attacks as not being racially motivated at the outset, they have now begun to acknowledge that some of them may have been racist attacks. In any case, the footage of some of the attacks captured by close circuit video surveillance cameras has reinforced racial motives because of the sheer brutality of the beatings.
The videos spread virally on digital media at such a pace that it raised immediate concern in India and the Indian diaspora across the world.
The outrage in India has been so great that Australians seriously risk being branded racists – a shameful tag that they have tried hard to shake off in the international arena since the days of the White Australia policy, when it was institutionalised. This is something that has never really been forgotten especially by Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific region and South East Asia including India.
On hearing of the attacks, Amitabh Bachchan rejected an honorary doctorate from the Brisbane-based Queensland University of Technology University saying, "My conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen.”
Soon after Amitabh’s public announcement, Bollywood’s biggest labour union, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, said last week that its members would refuse to work in Australia until the attacks on ceased. One Yash Raj film and another by a different production house that were to be shot in Australia this month have indefinitely put off their schedules.
As well as its revenue from the huge Indian student segment coming under threat (Over 90,000 Indian students are enrolled in Australian tertiary institutions – a segment that brings in billions of dollars to the 12-15 billion dollar Australian tertiary education sector), Australia risks losing millions of dollars from Bollywood as well since an increasing number of films are being shot in Australia.
Last month, when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rang his newly re-elected Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh to congratulate him on his reappointment as India’s prime minister, Dr Singh took the opportunity to express India’s concern on the attacks on the students. But the nature of the attacks being what they have been and because of the sheer numbers, India should have come on much more strongly on the Australian leadership.
The premiers of both Queensland and Victoria states have been hard put to control the damage to the country’s reputation and have been trying hard to deflect any references to racial overtones. Long time Indian settlers Indian Weekender spoke to in both cities said that it was hard to say definitely whether race was the primary factor. But after the latest attack, they are not so uncertain.
Meanwhile Australian universities have assured that they would do everything to ensure safety of their students by issuing advisories, putting in place whatever security measures possible and working with the law enforcement machinery.
But the violence doesn’t seem to have abated. As well as the latest reports that have poured in today, just last week there were reports of 20-year-old Amrit Pal Singh from Haryana, who is pursuing a course in community welfare in Melbourne, was assaulted near a McDonald's outlet when he was walking to the place where he worked part-time.
Australia’s reputation has taken a severe beating. News of the violence made top headlines in the mainstream media in several countries across the world including China, which also has thousands of students in Australia – and therefore harbours similar concerns.
The Chinese embassy counselor in Australia, Liu Jin, said his government was actively intervening to ensure the safety of their nationals, although he declined to list the number of attacks and where they had taken place. "There are over 130,000 Chinese students in Australia. They have on the whole had good study and living environment in Australia, but attacks on Chinese students also occurred in recent years," Mr Liu said.
While the Indian government has set the ball rolling in drafting out a long term policy for dealing with the racial abuse of its citizens in Australia and other countries, it must put strong pressure on the Australian government to come clean on its investigations as to how big the race factor has been in the attacks and force it to take immediate action and demonstrate what steps it has taken to assure potential students that Australia is indeed a safe place for higher studies.
Whatever the motives for the violence might have been, the Indian government must make it clear that Australia risks losing a major chunk of its tertiary education revenue coming from India if it does not show seriousness in tackling the issue. If the Indian government were to officially declare Australia as a risk for Indian students to pursue higher education in, it would cost Australia billions of dollars not just in fees but also in business and tourism.
The attacks continue unabated despite the Australian government's assurances. One more Indian has been attacked in Australia in which the victim's turban was torn down today. Moreover, Sri Lankan students have now also begun complaining that they are being targeted in violent attacks which point to...
The attacks continue unabated despite the Australian government's assurances. One more Indian has been attacked in Australia in which the victim's turban was torn down today.
Moreover, Sri Lankan students have now also begun complaining that they are being targeted in violent attacks which point to spreading intolerance among Australians toward people of other races.
In the past month alone nearly a dozen students have been brutally attacked, with one of them, Shravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, remaining critical after being stabbed with a screwdriver by a group of teenagers.
While the Australian authorities were quick to dismiss the attacks as not being racially motivated at the outset, they have now begun to acknowledge that some of them may have been racist attacks. In any case, the footage of some of the attacks captured by close circuit video surveillance cameras has reinforced racial motives because of the sheer brutality of the beatings.
The videos spread virally on digital media at such a pace that it raised immediate concern in India and the Indian diaspora across the world.
The outrage in India has been so great that Australians seriously risk being branded racists – a shameful tag that they have tried hard to shake off in the international arena since the days of the White Australia policy, when it was institutionalised. This is something that has never really been forgotten especially by Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific region and South East Asia including India.
On hearing of the attacks, Amitabh Bachchan rejected an honorary doctorate from the Brisbane-based Queensland University of Technology University saying, "My conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen.”
Soon after Amitabh’s public announcement, Bollywood’s biggest labour union, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, said last week that its members would refuse to work in Australia until the attacks on ceased. One Yash Raj film and another by a different production house that were to be shot in Australia this month have indefinitely put off their schedules.
As well as its revenue from the huge Indian student segment coming under threat (Over 90,000 Indian students are enrolled in Australian tertiary institutions – a segment that brings in billions of dollars to the 12-15 billion dollar Australian tertiary education sector), Australia risks losing millions of dollars from Bollywood as well since an increasing number of films are being shot in Australia.
Last month, when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rang his newly re-elected Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh to congratulate him on his reappointment as India’s prime minister, Dr Singh took the opportunity to express India’s concern on the attacks on the students. But the nature of the attacks being what they have been and because of the sheer numbers, India should have come on much more strongly on the Australian leadership.
The premiers of both Queensland and Victoria states have been hard put to control the damage to the country’s reputation and have been trying hard to deflect any references to racial overtones. Long time Indian settlers Indian Weekender spoke to in both cities said that it was hard to say definitely whether race was the primary factor. But after the latest attack, they are not so uncertain.
Meanwhile Australian universities have assured that they would do everything to ensure safety of their students by issuing advisories, putting in place whatever security measures possible and working with the law enforcement machinery.
But the violence doesn’t seem to have abated. As well as the latest reports that have poured in today, just last week there were reports of 20-year-old Amrit Pal Singh from Haryana, who is pursuing a course in community welfare in Melbourne, was assaulted near a McDonald's outlet when he was walking to the place where he worked part-time.
Australia’s reputation has taken a severe beating. News of the violence made top headlines in the mainstream media in several countries across the world including China, which also has thousands of students in Australia – and therefore harbours similar concerns.
The Chinese embassy counselor in Australia, Liu Jin, said his government was actively intervening to ensure the safety of their nationals, although he declined to list the number of attacks and where they had taken place. "There are over 130,000 Chinese students in Australia. They have on the whole had good study and living environment in Australia, but attacks on Chinese students also occurred in recent years," Mr Liu said.
While the Indian government has set the ball rolling in drafting out a long term policy for dealing with the racial abuse of its citizens in Australia and other countries, it must put strong pressure on the Australian government to come clean on its investigations as to how big the race factor has been in the attacks and force it to take immediate action and demonstrate what steps it has taken to assure potential students that Australia is indeed a safe place for higher studies.
Whatever the motives for the violence might have been, the Indian government must make it clear that Australia risks losing a major chunk of its tertiary education revenue coming from India if it does not show seriousness in tackling the issue. If the Indian government were to officially declare Australia as a risk for Indian students to pursue higher education in, it would cost Australia billions of dollars not just in fees but also in business and tourism.
Moreover, Sri Lankan students have now also begun complaining that they are being targeted in violent attacks which point to spreading intolerance among Australians toward people of other races.
In the past month alone nearly a dozen students have been brutally attacked, with one of them, Shravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, remaining critical after being stabbed with a screwdriver by a group of teenagers.
While the Australian authorities were quick to dismiss the attacks as not being racially motivated at the outset, they have now begun to acknowledge that some of them may have been racist attacks. In any case, the footage of some of the attacks captured by close circuit video surveillance cameras has reinforced racial motives because of the sheer brutality of the beatings.
The videos spread virally on digital media at such a pace that it raised immediate concern in India and the Indian diaspora across the world.
The outrage in India has been so great that Australians seriously risk being branded racists – a shameful tag that they have tried hard to shake off in the international arena since the days of the White Australia policy, when it was institutionalised. This is something that has never really been forgotten especially by Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific region and South East Asia including India.
On hearing of the attacks, Amitabh Bachchan rejected an honorary doctorate from the Brisbane-based Queensland University of Technology University saying, "My conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen.”
Soon after Amitabh’s public announcement, Bollywood’s biggest labour union, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, said last week that its members would refuse to work in Australia until the attacks on ceased. One Yash Raj film and another by a different production house that were to be shot in Australia this month have indefinitely put off their schedules.
As well as its revenue from the huge Indian student segment coming under threat (Over 90,000 Indian students are enrolled in Australian tertiary institutions – a segment that brings in billions of dollars to the 12-15 billion dollar Australian tertiary education sector), Australia risks losing millions of dollars from Bollywood as well since an increasing number of films are being shot in Australia.
Last month, when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rang his newly re-elected Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh to congratulate him on his reappointment as India’s prime minister, Dr Singh took the opportunity to express India’s concern on the attacks on the students. But the nature of the attacks being what they have been and because of the sheer numbers, India should have come on much more strongly on the Australian leadership.
The premiers of both Queensland and Victoria states have been hard put to control the damage to the country’s reputation and have been trying hard to deflect any references to racial overtones. Long time Indian settlers Indian Weekender spoke to in both cities said that it was hard to say definitely whether race was the primary factor. But after the latest attack, they are not so uncertain.
Meanwhile Australian universities have assured that they would do everything to ensure safety of their students by issuing advisories, putting in place whatever security measures possible and working with the law enforcement machinery.
But the violence doesn’t seem to have abated. As well as the latest reports that have poured in today, just last week there were reports of 20-year-old Amrit Pal Singh from Haryana, who is pursuing a course in community welfare in Melbourne, was assaulted near a McDonald's outlet when he was walking to the place where he worked part-time.
Australia’s reputation has taken a severe beating. News of the violence made top headlines in the mainstream media in several countries across the world including China, which also has thousands of students in Australia – and therefore harbours similar concerns.
The Chinese embassy counselor in Australia, Liu Jin, said his government was actively intervening to ensure the safety of their nationals, although he declined to list the number of attacks and where they had taken place. "There are over 130,000 Chinese students in Australia. They have on the whole had good study and living environment in Australia, but attacks on Chinese students also occurred in recent years," Mr Liu said.
While the Indian government has set the ball rolling in drafting out a long term policy for dealing with the racial abuse of its citizens in Australia and other countries, it must put strong pressure on the Australian government to come clean on its investigations as to how big the race factor has been in the attacks and force it to take immediate action and demonstrate what steps it has taken to assure potential students that Australia is indeed a safe place for higher studies.
Whatever the motives for the violence might have been, the Indian government must make it clear that Australia risks losing a major chunk of its tertiary education revenue coming from India if it does not show seriousness in tackling the issue. If the Indian government were to officially declare Australia as a risk for Indian students to pursue higher education in, it would cost Australia billions of dollars not just in fees but also in business and tourism.
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