Attacks on Indians in Australia
January 08 2010 : The war of words intensified on Thursday between India and Australia over the continuing attacks on Indian students in Australia since May 2009. Two Indians have also been killed in recent attacks.
India on Thursday toughened its stand saying Australia must take urgent remedial action to ensure that no such attacks happen again. Australia has been saying that India and the Indian media are drumming up jingoistic hysteria over what are not racist crimes.
Racism versus urban crime
Sanjay Srivastava started off the discussion by saying that the students studying in Australia thought that the crimes were a mixture of urban crime and racism.
He said, “You can either have a war of words or try and do something concrete. The Indian Government can ask the Australian government to look at the sets of rules and regulations that put Indian students in dangerous job, working late nights, etc. So, I think we need to move beyond simply trading words.”
In order to look at concrete steps, the identification of the disease needs to be made a priority. There are 200,000 immigrant populations in Australia, none of the settlers are being attacked. It’s the new breed of Indian students who are being attacked.
KC Singh agreed and felt that there should be a recognition of the real problem.
It happens only is Australia
Padma Rao came on rather assertively at this point of the discussion and said that India had a long way to go before it could question other people’s educational and racial policies.
“I am not even beginning to go down the road and mention crimes committed in the name of caste and gender in this country,” added Rao.
Tarun Vijay expressed shock at Padma’s Rao’s argument and felt that her argument wasn’t an argument at all.
“I believe that the Aussies are the most atrocious and horrendous racists on this planet. These people should be taught a lesson and they should be banned. Indian students shouldn’t be allowed to go to Australia,” stressed Vijay.
PM for top security of Indians abroad
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said his government's top priority is to protect the Indian students and workers living abroad.
Addressing the 8th 'Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas' here, the Prime Minister said: "Security of overseas workers and students is top priority."
His assurance came amid violent attacks on Indians living in countries like Australia. He said the government is planning safety nets for the returning workers.
He also said that Indian will soon return to high growth path of 9 to 10 percent and infrastructure, agriculture, education and health are key priorities of the government.
No racist attack against Indians in Australia : Sreenivasan
Stating that the attacks against Indian students in Australia were not connected with racism, Federation of Indian Associations in Australia President Vasan Sreenivasan claimed that many attacks against Indians were for robbery.
Talking to reporters here, he alleged that the media was portraying such attacks as racist.
Recently, a car owned by an Indian in Australia met with an accident and caught fire. But, a national television channel reported that the car was set ablaze by racist attackers, he charged.
Mr Sreenivasan also said as a person living in Australia for more than two decades, he never felt any racial discrimination there.
Normally Indians living in Australia were wealthy people and this was one of the main reasons which makes them more prone to attacks from robbers, he said.
Unfortunately, incidents of attacks were portrayed in media as racist attacks, he said, adding, this would create more problems for Indians living in Australia.
Attacks on Indian students not racially motivated : Assn
Asserting that attacks on Indian students were not racially motivated, Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria (FIAV) today said the Australian and state governments were taking many steps for the safety and security of the Indians studying there.
The media is blowing up the issue, FIAV President Vasan Srinivasan told reporters here.
Srinivasan said he had been staying in the State of Victoria for the last over 15 years and had not faced any such problems. The attacks on Indian students were not racially motivated, he said.
The Federation had taken various initiatives like holding meetings with government, police and student representatives to ensure safety and security of the Indian students.
The Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria was formed in 1989 by a group of resident Indian migrants. The mission of FIAV was to protect, sustain and empower the community in Victoria, he said.
India on Thursday toughened its stand saying Australia must take urgent remedial action to ensure that no such attacks happen again. Australia has been saying that India and the Indian media are drumming up jingoistic hysteria over what are not racist crimes.
Racism versus urban crime
Sanjay Srivastava started off the discussion by saying that the students studying in Australia thought that the crimes were a mixture of urban crime and racism.
He said, “You can either have a war of words or try and do something concrete. The Indian Government can ask the Australian government to look at the sets of rules and regulations that put Indian students in dangerous job, working late nights, etc. So, I think we need to move beyond simply trading words.”
In order to look at concrete steps, the identification of the disease needs to be made a priority. There are 200,000 immigrant populations in Australia, none of the settlers are being attacked. It’s the new breed of Indian students who are being attacked.
KC Singh agreed and felt that there should be a recognition of the real problem.
It happens only is Australia
Should Australia have been much more introspective about its educational programmes holding out to students from India?
Padma Rao came on rather assertively at this point of the discussion and said that India had a long way to go before it could question other people’s educational and racial policies.
“I am not even beginning to go down the road and mention crimes committed in the name of caste and gender in this country,” added Rao.
Tarun Vijay expressed shock at Padma’s Rao’s argument and felt that her argument wasn’t an argument at all.
“I believe that the Aussies are the most atrocious and horrendous racists on this planet. These people should be taught a lesson and they should be banned. Indian students shouldn’t be allowed to go to Australia,” stressed Vijay.
PM for top security of Indians abroad
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said his government's top priority is to protect the Indian students and workers living abroad.
Addressing the 8th 'Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas' here, the Prime Minister said: "Security of overseas workers and students is top priority."
His assurance came amid violent attacks on Indians living in countries like Australia. He said the government is planning safety nets for the returning workers.
He also said that Indian will soon return to high growth path of 9 to 10 percent and infrastructure, agriculture, education and health are key priorities of the government.
No racist attack against Indians in Australia : Sreenivasan
Stating that the attacks against Indian students in Australia were not connected with racism, Federation of Indian Associations in Australia President Vasan Sreenivasan claimed that many attacks against Indians were for robbery.
Talking to reporters here, he alleged that the media was portraying such attacks as racist.
Recently, a car owned by an Indian in Australia met with an accident and caught fire. But, a national television channel reported that the car was set ablaze by racist attackers, he charged.
Mr Sreenivasan also said as a person living in Australia for more than two decades, he never felt any racial discrimination there.
Normally Indians living in Australia were wealthy people and this was one of the main reasons which makes them more prone to attacks from robbers, he said.
Unfortunately, incidents of attacks were portrayed in media as racist attacks, he said, adding, this would create more problems for Indians living in Australia.
Attacks on Indian students not racially motivated : Assn
Asserting that attacks on Indian students were not racially motivated, Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria (FIAV) today said the Australian and state governments were taking many steps for the safety and security of the Indians studying there.
The media is blowing up the issue, FIAV President Vasan Srinivasan told reporters here.
Srinivasan said he had been staying in the State of Victoria for the last over 15 years and had not faced any such problems. The attacks on Indian students were not racially motivated, he said.
The Federation had taken various initiatives like holding meetings with government, police and student representatives to ensure safety and security of the Indian students.
The Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria was formed in 1989 by a group of resident Indian migrants. The mission of FIAV was to protect, sustain and empower the community in Victoria, he said.
