Khalidoscope explains the real reasons behind the attacks on Indian students Down Under
Khalidoscope explains the real reasons behind the attacks on Indian students Down UnderFor some time now, readers of this column have been asking why I have not written about the unfortunate and heinous attacks on our students in Australia, which have, understandably, caused great concern and consternation here at home.
The answer plain and simple is that, having been away from Australia at the time they took place, I do not have first-hand information about the true nature of the attacks, widely perceived in India as being racially motivated, but generally attributed alike by politicians and the Australian federal police, who seem to be in a state of continual denial, to a variety of factors other than racism.
The causes advanced in Australia range from recession-induced unemployment to loutish behaviour by drunks and druggies; from isolated theft-motivated assaults of hapless, less educated students (termed 'soft' targets) with poor English language skills who live in lonely low-rental suburbs and walk long distances to save cost of public transport, to wanton behaviour by non-white u00e9migru00e9 individuals or gangs.
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In protest: Cops watch Indian students rally against racism in Sydney in June after a series of attacks on them in Australia. On Sunday, there were two more cases of "curry" attacks in Sydney and Adelaide. |
Just when the brief lull in the incidents were beginning to give cause for hope that the Australian authorities had been able, finally, to bring the situation under control, came the news on Sunday of two fresh cases of "curry" attacks in Sydney and Adelaide.
The latest incidents have taken place even as the Australian minister for immigration is preparing to come to India to "reassure" that his country is "not racist" and a safe destination for students.
Chris Evans, the Australian minister, said yesterday that Australia remains a "safe" destination for Indian
students and welcomed Indians to work and study in the country.
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He is reported as saying, "There's been a lot of concern inside India and there's been, I think, some fairly hysterical reporting of what's occurred," adding his government wanted to "counter negative publicity on the
sub-continent."
"Part of what I intend to do on this visit is to try and reassure Indians that we're a safe place to study."
Even after one accepts the point of view that a section of the Indian (electronic) media has been shrill, if not downright "hysterical", Evans's statement does little to assuage the grief and outrage of those affected and their kin back home.
Patently political, the blasu00e9 pronouncement betrays the cancer of denial that has seriously come in the way of "reassuring" present and prospective Indian students (and, indeed, tourists as well) that Australia is, indeed, a safe place.
That said, as one who spends a fair deal of time in Australia, I must stoutly refute any suggestion that, by and large, people of that country are racist. If anything, they are no more racist than my fellow Indians.
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Moreover, statistics over a period of time plainly attest to the fact that Indians do not have a monopoly in being victims of violence in that country.
My good friend Neville Roach (he is a recipient of the prestigious Order of Australia), who emigrated from Bombay way back in 1961 when Australia still practised a White Australia policy, and now lives in Sydney with his gracious wife Gladys, has been actively engaged in fostering good relations between the
country of his birth and his adopted country.
A graduate of St Xavier's College, Mumbai (around the time I studied there, if I may add), Neville made an erudite and perspicacious speech to the IIT Association of Australia (IITAA) last month entitled The Australia India Relationship: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead, which went to the heart of the problem, which Chris Evans would do well to read before he embarks on his important mission.
It would be well worth the worthy minister's time, considering the importance of Indian students in the matrix of his country's economy and their potential contribution by way of becoming skilled workers in Australia's work force after their studies in that country.
In his wide-ranging address (excerpts of which bear reproducing), in which he meticulously analysed the underlying malaise in its multifarious aspects, Roach expostulated that the safety of Indian students, studying in Australia, irrespective of what the causes of the violence against them might be, "is so complex that it calls for numerous corrective actions".
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Roach said, "It is important, therefore, to prioritise the problems in terms of impact and urgency and to address them systematically in order of priority."
He added that the earlier reaction of the police in the states of Victoria and New South Wales seemed to "downplay the seriousness of the attacks and had a very negative impact on the students as well as the wider Indian community in Australia, leading to large demonstrations."
Roach said it was "encouraging" to see the reaction now change. He hoped that the increased responsiveness and the allocation of more resources in the main trouble spots are sure to make a huge positive difference.
He also welcomed the "overt initiatives of the police to develop more friendly and trusting relations with students."
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In his wide-ranging talk, which covered the gamut of racism ("We Australians should have the honesty, courage and common sense to accept that some of the attacks probably included a racial element"), the "unhealthy nexus" between education of overseas and immigration ("over the past five years or so the immigration tap was opened to record levels resulting in India becoming the biggest source of overseas students more interested in migration than education").
Roach says this led to a proliferation of Indian students whose primary objective was migration through a "piece of paper" in the form of a certificate from private colleges, which attested that they were qualified in one of the trades in the immigration list.
In Roach's mix of culprits responsible for the state of affairs are unscrupulous agents in India, money-grabbing colleges in Australia, exploitative employers and greedy employers who charge exorbitant rentals and provide crowded accommodation.
Roach concluded that Indians are equally to blame in the results of the "nexus" between education of overseas students and immigration".
Calling for urgent reform and strict monitoring of private education providers, Roach said, "We should be very careful not to assume that Indians are purely victims in this sorry saga. Some are perpetrators too. So, we should avoid a 'holier than thou' attitude."
Roach was equally blunt about what he termed the "highly emotive and disproportionate reaction in India, especially by the media.
He said, "While the student issue is serious and many corrective actions are required, the reaction in India has been well over the top.
"Fed by a raucous media, who sensationalised the issue to an almost hysterical level, many people in India formed the impression that there had been widespread violence against the Indian community at large, and that everyone of Indian origin was at risk... Australia was painted as an extremely racist country far worse in this regard than the USA, UK, Canada and New Zealand."
Roach debunks this assessment of Australia as "totally absurd", pointing to the English language, a shared history, membership of the Commonwealth, a similar political and legal system and a common love of cricket!
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He says Indians, in particular, find it very easy to integrate into and be accepted at work and socially in Australia with its "quintessential qualities of egalitarianism, the fair go and mateship, together with the underlying relaxed and friendly culture that marks Australian society".
Roach stressed that the Australian and Indian governments and Australian educational institutions should also seek advice from and involve Australians of Indian origin to find constructive solutions to the complex issues leading up to the problems experienced by Indian students.
Immigration minister Chris Evans would do well to include the likes of Neville Roach in his delegation to India.
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A much deeper understanding of the complex problem is called for rather than mere overbearing expressions of intent, a perfunctory, inhuman, supercilious approach as displayed by the minister and, sad to say, as exemplified, for the average Indian by bumptious cricketers from Down Under.
