India’s external affairs minister to take on race issues in Australia
Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna to talk racist attacks
BY RAVI MATAH
NEW DELHI, (Aug 6) – Numerous racist attacks against Indian students in Australia will come under the direct scrutiny of India’s external affairs minister S. M. Krishna who starts a five day trip on Thursday.
Some 100,000 Indian students are studying in Australia and press reports indicate there has been a rash of racially motivated assaults that have left a number of students in serious condition.
The racial attacks will come up for discussion when Krishna meets with Foreign Minister Stephen Smith in Cairns and during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Krishna will also visit Sydney and Melbourne “to hear first-hand, about the problems being faced by Indian students and will discuss the matter of their safety and security with the State leadership,” said India’s external affairs ministry in New Delhi.
“The external affairs minister will also apprise himself of the measures put in place, in this regard, by the Australian law enforcement agencies. At both places he will also meet prominent members of the Indian community and Indian students,” said a statement.
This is the first high-level visit from India to Australia since a spate of attacks on Indian students studying in that country began over two months ago.
In May and June, racially motivated attacks against Indian students and the poor response by the police sparked protests in Australia by thousands of students. Rallies were held in Melbourne and Sydney.
Victoria’s Premier John Brumby and Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland confirmed that some of the attacks were racially motivated. Australian High Commissioner to India, John McCarthy, also said there was an element of racism involved in the attacks.
The violent assaults have caused a furore in India.
Here is a partial list of the assaults Indian students have blamed on racism.
May 2009 – David, 21, was beaten unconscious in Melbourne. Four men surrounded while another smashed a bottle on his head before continuing to kick and punch him.
May 2009 – Sourabh Sharma was assaulted and robbed by a gang on a train while travelling to his home in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Sharma said his attackers asked: “Why did you come here?”
May 2009 – Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver in while he was partying with three other Indian students.
May 2009 – Baljinder Singh, 25, was stabbed in the abdomen near Carnegie railway station in Melbourne. One of his two attackers laughed during the assault.
June 2009 – Nardeep Singh, 21, was slashed across the chest with a box-cutter knife in Frankston. The incident occurred a day after a Sikh temple in Shepparton was vandalised.
June 2009 – A 23-year-old student, Kamal Jit, was beaten unconscious while walking home from the St. Albans train station and in the suburb of Springvale, an Indian student’s car was torched.
More than 300 students rallied against the attacks on June 7 in Harris Park in Sydney where some of the attacks have occurred.
About 100,000 Indian students live in Australia. More than 30,000 students go every year to Australia to study.
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I do hope something comes out of this visit.Some steps should be taken to contain this unnecessary violence against Indians.We are contributing a sizable amount of money to run their economy and moreover a lots of student’s future is at stake. Most of the students parents want them back home, for the obvious reasons.