By Afroz Shah
The recent attacks on Indian students in two major cities of Australia (Melbourne and Sydney) have surprised everyone. This is because Australia is considered to be the safest place to live in, and more so a favorite educational destination for international students. The blame that India made against Australia by considering it a racist country is a serious concern and should be addressed properly.
The attacks on a couple of students from Indian origin were taken as an assault against the whole of the Indian nation. Is it really true; let us try to logically follow the whole process. The answers lie in facts, which are clear to all of us. About 12 Indian people have so far been targeted. If we look into the depth of each such ease, it becomes clear that in the majority of these attacks, there was no element of any racism. Most of these incidents occurred in the night time, when one cannot even distinguish about someone’s origin. Also there are people from other countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which look similar in their facial and physical appearances. One wonders how one can even understand in the darkness of nights about someone’s original place of birth. Another important thing to understand is the biased approach of the Indian media against Australia. During the same night when one Indian student was stabbed, an Australian was killed by some criminals. There was no mention of this incident in the bulk of the Indian Media. Also according to recent reports, there are about 20 Australian who have lost their lives in India but Australia never portrayed India as a racist country.The protest organized by Indian students against the whole of Australia needs an immediate and but a critical condemnation. It never was a racist attempt but just a crime. According to the data published in the Australian institute of criminology in 2008, there were 176,427 recorded assaults in Australia in year 2007, constituting 840 victims per 100,000 of the population. “The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines assault as the direct infliction of force, injury or violence upon a person, including attempts or threats. It excludes sexual assault”. There were 19781 cases of sexual assaults, 17988 robberies and 730 kidnapping in the same year. This data clearly suggests that crime rates are increasing in this country.Drawing on the previous crime statistics, it seems reasonable to argue that these recent unfortunate attacks on 11 Indian students were not racist assaults. Such criminal incidents are common in Australia and were not particularly aimed at certain communities. In fact crime rates in many countries are exponentially rising with United States on the top of the list. More than 10 Indian students were killed during this year in that country but unfortunately bulk of the Indian media as well as the government was virtually silent during that time. There was no mass-scale demonstration in any part of India or in the United States by the Indian people. Neither was there any apparent diplomatic pressure from India over the US about the safety and security concerns of their students in that country.One really wonders why bulk of the Indian media as well as the government has labeled the recent criminal activities against some of the very unfortunate Indian students as racist. The truth remains that there is no vivid evidence to prove it. The reality is that Indian authorities should sincerely apologize for any racist comment against the Australia people. It has seriously irritated the whole of the Australian nation and it puts a question mark on their secular and democratic nation, which is seriously disappointing.The argument that there are about 90,000 Indian students studying in Australia and adding to their economy is a fact but one must not forget to mention that there are millions of Indian people living in Australia (mainly permanent residents and dual citizens). These people are working in Australia but investing their money mainly for the economic development of the India. Also there are thousands of Indian students who are either sponsored directly by the Australian government or indirectly by different companies here. One wonders how utterly biased are such claims made by the bulk of the Indian media.Indian students who protested against the criminal incidents are welcome both in India as well as in Australia but those who demonstrated against the racist Australia need to sincerely apologize publicly. It is a crime in itself to deteriorate a secular and democratic image of a country, which is considered to be the world’s famous destination for students and tourists. It is very essential for Indian diplomacy to understand the depth of the situation without being completely misled by the Indian media.Both Indian and Australian authorities should make a comprehensive policy to understand the potential threats from the criminal elements and their impact on the diplomatic ties of the two nations. Both countries should safeguard their territories and international students and tourists. Acting hastily without the proper understanding of the situation will only deteriorate the active relationship with each other, which is alarming. It is essential for the Indian authorities to safeguard her students not only in Australian but also in other parts of the world and particularly in United States, where high crime rates have directly taken a big toll on her students.
