New Delhi condemns attacks on Indian students in Australia

By IANS
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

NEW DELHI - Condemning allegedly racist attacks on Indian students in Melbourne, the government Wednesday said it will impress upon the Australian authorities that such attacks should not be permitted and the culprits should be brought to justice.

“I have been appalled by the attack on our students in Melbourne. Our consulate general in Melbourne has been in touch with the students affected and with the state police, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters.

“We will also impress upon the Australian authorities that such attacks should not be permitted and that it is their responsibility to ensure the well-being and security of our students in Australia, he said.

India’s High Commissioner to Australia Sujatha Singh has rushed to Melbourne to ensure that Sravan Kumar Theerthala, an Indian student who is now battling for his life in the intensive care unit after a racially motivated assault, receives the best possible treatment. The Indian envoy is expected to send a report on the incident to New Delhi in a couple of days.

India will ensure that that the culprits are brought to book, Krishna said, while conveying his concern over the latest bout of violence directed against Indians in Australia.

The 25-year-old Theerthala, who went to Melbourne to study two years ago, was among the four students from India assaulted by a group of Australian teenagers this week. The attackers allegedly hurled racist abuses at them and hit them with a screwdriver.

The assault was the latest in a spate of violent attacks on Indian students.

The Australian authorities plan to launch a telephone helpline Friday for Indian students facing discrimination and violence.

Incidents like these can affect the popularity of Australia as an education destination for Indian students.

According to Australian Education International, the enrolment of Indian students in Australian universities showed an increase of 38.9 percent from last year as on March 2009. Australian universities, as of March 2009, had 75,000 Indian students enrolled in various courses.
Filed under: Accidents and Disasters, Crime, Diaspora, Diplomacy, Politics

Tags: ,
Discuss Bellow
Discussion

Krutarth
May 30, 2009: 3:09 pm

INDIANS “APARICHIT” NATIONALS SHOWING STRENGTH AT FEDRATION SQUARE
ON
31ST MAY, 2009 at 12:00 Noon
Wake Up Indian Government….How dare an Australia Government Can Ignore us?

The suppressed fire in Indian nationals has summoned all in Melbourne to be present at Federation Square which has by now so many events till date; now its time for Indian Embassy at Melbourne/Australia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs & External Affairs to get in to action; especially while India and Indian Nationals are playing such vital role in providing maximum revenue to Australian government through the students fees, taxes, Visa Fees & Immigrants.
Does Indian government does not have value for its nationals’ lives? Recall the situation how US has reverted when ever their citizens’ lives are in danger at any corner of the world. The post of super power does not earned by gaining majorities in election but it could be gained by earning respect from the nations citizens by providing them a safe & secure environment anywhere they go.
The ongoing attacks on Indian nationals have been increased since the cricketers Symonds – Harbhajan conspiracy in Australia. The Australian Localities majorly the youth are known as good for nothing; they are jobless since they do not possess any professional skills or proper education – their parents have brought them on earth to gain the government grant provided by Australian Government to parents on the birth of baby. The local youth is always pretend to be involved all the times in drugs & sex while the Indian nationals in Australia are doing all hardship to earn their bread butter doing jobs of house cleaning, Dishwashing or any kind of job which may help them to survive….while the local Australian organizations or any businesses such as restaurants or shops are not inclined to employ any Australian since they do not prefer to work hard.
It is not out of place to mention that in Australia the Indian Nationals are facing danger to life for every day; and once again the Indian Government is sitting idle and watching the entire scenario; its high time now – and this time the Indian Nationals have decided to take care of themselves by thyself without asking for help from government and have called upon a protest at Federation Square to wake up the Australian Government to protect the Lives of Indian Nationals from the “JUNKIES” – That’s what the Australian youth is called as in Australia; which means the JUNK of Australia which is of no use to the Australia.
The Indian nationals have run the SMS campaign among the KNOWN – UNKNOWN “APARICHIT” Indians and have given calls to get together at Federation Square at 12:00 noon to protest the Increment in the Attacks on the Indians in Australia; which has already made Australian Government a major shock because since years Indians are staying very peacefully without being obstacle to anyone’s lives and though they are the ONLY sufferers of such JUNKIE’s attacks; it is expected that a huge crowd is expected at Federation Square tomorrow of Indian Nationals at Federation Square and it is suppose to be a biggest protest even done anywhere in the world by Indians ever.
If Australian Government is not ready to stop this RACISM against the Indians; the days are not far away that Indian Students will stop coming to Australia.

James
May 28, 2009: 5:22 pm

I went to school with Thais and Chinese from Singapore and Malaya as well as Jews at a basically Christian school in Australia over 50 years ago and it baffles and distresses me to discover that, along with all the good changes in Australia over the last 50 years we are now experiencing the kind of attacks on people of other races that would certainly not have happened in the supposedly bad old days of the White Australia Policy. I live near the centre of a large city where tens of thousands of people walk past my house to get to the Melbourne Cricket Ground and, at night, when the park outside my house is lit up by only a few street lamps, I can go for a walk with no fear that a gang of hooligans will mug an aging man, though my wife doesn’t quite share my sense of security. But in our western suburbs where young “ferals” live as well as a lot of students because it is inexpensive we seem to have a different country. It reminds me a little of a taxi driver refusing to drive me directly from Manali to Delhi at night, but insisting on a long way round, because “I am not a Sikh”. He was afraid. That doesn’t make me feel any better about our police’s shameful failure to do enough to protect foreign students and to put their attackers in gaol. I hope they will be shamed into better performance.
YOUR VIEW POINT
NAME : (REQUIRED)
MAIL : (REQUIRED)
will not be displayed
WEBSITE : (OPTIONAL)
YOUR
COMMENT :
 
Submit