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Indian Students Facing Attacks in Australia – BusinessWeek

May 20, 2009 13 comments

A senior diplomat at the High Commission told ET that in the last six months, there have been 500 cases of assault on Indian students, registered by the police authorities across Australia. There are fears that such incidents of muggings, theft, racial abuse, car jackings and even murder are on the increase because of the economic meltdown and loss of jobs.

In fact, the Australian government’s $3.5-million campaign to attract Indian students-in an effort to combat recession-could remain a non-starter if the issue of racial attacks is not addressed. An estimated 95,000 Indian students joined Australian institutions of higher education in the first 11 months of 2008. (via Indian Students Facing Attacks in Australia – BusinessWeek).

Do we need this?

Indians are the most important part of work force planning for the entire West. To keep the declining Western economy (and aging populations) ticking, they need Indians – especially the English speaking countries of US of A, UK, Australia and Canada.

This is possibly the one thing that Indians need to understand!

Do Indians have to put up with this kind of insecurity and aggression? After all, (nearly all) Indians are legally entitled to stay in these countries – and in fact, being pursued by some of these countries. What action is the Australian Government taking to solve this problem? Nothing, as far as I can see. Some Indians have got together and a helpline was launched to protect Indian students from violence – reports the Hindustan Times.

In the US of A …

For the last few years, there has been a spate of killings of Indians in the US of A. The important part is these incidents is the common factors: -

  1. Most of thee victims are from Andhra Pradesh (in India) – which sends the largest numbers of techies and students from India.
  2. All the seven victims were students or young tech workers.
  3. These have happened with regularity. Every 45-75 days.
  4. None of these students had any criminal record or involvement in any criminal activity or groups.

Seven murders in 15 months is too many to be a co-incidence.

What’s happening?

Foreign workers being blamed for job losses in USA? Is there some racist group behind this. Is is the Ku Klux Klan? Indian groups had requested FBI to check this out.

Anybody out there?

Importance of Indian immigrants to the US of A

Repeated attacks

Repeated attacks

Each year, India loses more than 1,00,000 doctors, engineers, other post graduates to the US alone and another 3,00,000 to other Western countries – commonly, referred to as ‘brain drain.’

To get a real handle on this number, project this number to the 25-65 age group in the USA. At 100,000 students and professionals every year from India, there are nearly 3.5-4.0 million highly qualified Indians between the ages of 25-65 – holding up the US industry. The IRS of the USA processed under 100.5 million individual tax returns – from a US population of 300.5 million. Thus approximately 4% of the total US working population. Put another way, Indians comprise an estimated 10%-15% of the highly qualified and (highly paid) workforce in the US.

Who pays for this

The Indian tax-payer supports India’s higher education (English based) system to the tune of Rs.2,50,000 crores (US$60 billion). The rest of the world picks up these Indian assets at no investment – and the poor Indian tax payer continues to subsidize English language education which benefits the entrenched Westernized Indian elite. These well-trained, qualified young people at the start of their productive lives are lost to the West (and others).

What is the cost for the 300,000 people that India loses to the West each year? Just the direct cost to the Indian tax payer is US$ 2 billion, or Rs.10,000 crores annually.

India needs to end this subsidy to the West

Another attack ...

Another attack ...

The usefulness and transferability of utility would be highly reduced, if India were to completely use Indian languages in higher education. Indian investment in higher education would then start benefiting India – and the poor Indian tax payers.

A recent report on ‘brain drain’ for India Government circulation did not even mention how the use of English language for higher education in India increases transferability of utility from India to richer English using academic systems – like the USA.

Actions … and reactions

The most ‘practical’ suggestion that the Australian leader could come up with was that Indians should try and look ‘less Indian.’

But … the Islamic Council of Victoria (said) it’s all an ill-conceived idea. The Council’s Nazeem Hussein says he is disappointed more is not being done to stop the attacks and protect the foreign visitors.

“I think it’s one thing to help the victims look less like victims, sorry to look less Indian, but I think it’s another thing to really attack the core issue here which is racism,” he said.

“And we’re seeing not as much from the police that we would have probably expected.

“It’s only a particular type of crime that is on the rise and that’s crimes against people that look Indian. So really that statistic means not very much given that this particular crime is on the increase.” (ellipsis mine; brackets mine).

The other thing that the Australians decided to do was to send an official, “Leading Senior Constable Victor Robb will travel to India to brief prospective students about ways to avoid trouble.”

To India to ‘counsel’ Indians students on avoiding such attacks.

And Amitabh Bachchan decided against a honorary doctoral degree by a Australian University.

Post script

Three days after this post, the dam broke.

Sadly …

Another Indian student was attacked – and battling for life, in a Melbourne hospital, after a vicious attack with a screw driver.

Internet forums – Discussions and comments

Interestingly, in a discussion group, some commented that,“Australia is walking on eggshells with India probably mainly due to tensions over Cricket.” Now this is interesting. This brings me back to sports as a propaganda tool in the Anglo Saxon Bloc!

And money! Indian cricket is the only Western sport in India, where India is a global power – in terms of financial muscle and performance.Is that what is hurting the average, ‘Joe’ Australian!

The other interesting aspects that came out of this discussion group was that similar behaviour in the past was finally controlled by ‘counter aggression’. The commentator shot back with, “Remember the melbourne gangs in the 80′s and 90′s formed basically to fight the skinheads.”

Yes … you can run and hide

But not at the same time.

An editorial in The Age, an Australian newspaper, further aggravated the issue. It pointed out how,

If Australia’s governments are worried that the truth has not been told, however, it is puzzling that Australian coroners have suppressed details of the deaths of more than 50 international students, and that the death toll appears to be higher than the number admitted by the Federal Government. Earlier this year, in response to a question in Parliament, the Government stated that 51 international students had died in the 12 months to November last year. Yet as an Age investigation has established, the correct figure is higher, most likely 54. And, an application by this newspaper for release of data on the students’ deaths under the National Coroners Information System was refused after an initial assurance that it would be made available. The reason for the refusal, according to a spokeswoman for Victorian Coroner Jennifer Coate, was that the data is not exhaustive: “The nationality and occupation of someone who has died is not required to be automatically recorded.” (from The greater the secrecy, the greater the anxiety, editorial in The Age, Australia).

This was picked by the media – and much coverage was given. The Australian Government had to come out with yet another statement and yet another halfhearted attempt to show that all was well in the Australian Copacabana.

Getmo’

Repeated attacks

Repeated attacks

Categories: Europe, Global Finance, History, India, Indian Economy, Indian education, Politics, Social Trends, USA, World Economy Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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