BJYM lead India's protest

Thousands of ABVP activists staged demonstrations across the country condemning attacks on Indian students in Australia recently. There are reports of organising massive demonstrations from Bengaluru, Delhi, Ahmedabad and many other parts of the country.

The ABVP demanded adequate protection to the Indian students studying in Australia by the government of that country. The students organised ghantanad at Halol in Gujarat in order to awaken the sleeping Government of India. They alleged that the UPA government failed to take any effective step forcing the Government of Australia to take a strict action against the culprits.
Staging a massive demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 1, the ABVP workers strongly condemned the repeated attacks on Indian students studying in Australia. They said such attacks raised serious doubts about the security of the thousands Indian students studying abroad.

“In this globalised world, when the multicultural policies are obligatory and the world is heading towards a knowledge society, such attacks seems to be very inhuman and unprogressive. ABVP demands from the Government of India to take all necessary steps as soon as possible to restore peace, security and confidence among the Indian students who are studying abroad particularly in Australia. We also demand the central government to stop all its bilateral relation with Australia and mobilise the international community against Australia for these dastardly acts of racial discrimination. At this anguished juncture, ABVP extends its solidarity to Indian students and their families who are suffering from the racial abuse and discrimination in Australia,” said Shri Ashutosh Srivastava, state secretary of ABVP in a statement.

There are similar reports of organising protests by ABVP at Shimoga university, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and other parts of the country on June 1.
Meanwhile, BJP youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) organised a peaceful protest march outside the Australian High Commission in New Delhi on June 1. Nearly 1000 youth led by BJYM national president Amit Thakkar, Delhi president Anuj Sharma and BJP overseas cell joint convener Vijay Jolly demonstrated outside the Australian High Commission against assaults on Indian students.

Later, a six-member delegation of the BJYM leaders met the Australian High Commissioner John McCarthy who assured them of his government’s support for the security and safety of Indian students in Australia. He further stated that his government deplored attacks on Indian students. Increased policing would be provided at troubled spots around Australian universities and suburbs in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, he said. The Australian High Commissioner also said the Indian students should be fearless in approaching the Australian police in time of distress. He informed that a suitable legislation shall be enacted in Australian Parliament for the safety and security of international students.

Shri Thakkar and Shri Jolly expressed deep anguish and dismay over the repeated attacks. Shri Jolly pointed out that these incidents were bound to affect Indo-Australian business relations adversely. Every year Australia earns revenue worth Rs 4,800 crore from educational services to nearly 80,000 Indian students. A total of Rs 10 to 12 lakh per annum is spent on tuition fee, boarding, lodging and food expenses by each Indian student.

The Hindu Council of Australia also condemned the recent attacks on students of Indian origin. In a statement issued on June 2, the Council called upon the government and the police to punish the culprits and ensure that such misdeeds are not repeated. The statement said that such attacks and robberies were predominantly directed towards Indian students during the last five years.

“We note with regret that more and more Indian students are becoming the target of robberies. The problem is not limited to Melbourne only but is prevalent in all major cities. We call upon state government of Victoria to release students who have been arrested just because they were protesting. We also call upon Indian students to keep their dignity and protest using peaceful and non-violent means only. We call upon all Indian students who have been victimised to report every case to the police. We call upon the police to take their complaints seriously and act on them. We call upon the police ministers and police commissioners of states to form special task forces, similar to those formed for controlling bike gangs, to eradicate criminal elements with racist tendencies,” the statement added.

The statement pointed out that Australia is not a racist country. Hindus have been living here for many decades and enjoy full religious freedom. Most Australian are very friendly people. Indians living in Australia enjoy full freedom. Like most societies, Australia has a very small minority of people with racist attitudes. It is unfortunate to see a nexus of criminals with racist attitude targetting Indian students.

“Travelling late at night in trains has become unsafe. We call upon the state governments to make railways safe at night. It is time to have more protection officers out at night time rather than bunching them together during day and off-peak hours. We call upon all educational institutes in Australia that have overseas students, to establish an induction programme for new students and to provide support and counselling services to affected students. Such induction programme should include representatives from immigrants and police and should assure newly arrived students that reporting of a robbery will be seen as a sign of being a good citizen and is no reason for their deportation. We also ask educational institutes to invest in providing hostel accommodation to overseas students so that they do not have to travel late at night and become targets of lawless elements,” the statement added.
The Council further called upon the police forces of all the states in Australia to embrace pro-active multi-culturalism and make a special recruitment drive among people of Indian ethnicity, as this will help new arrivals in developing trust and make them more forthcoming in reporting atrocities being committed on them. Hindu Council is willing to work with state police force recruitment agencies with this aim.

“Attacks on Indian students when they are returning late night at home highlights how unsafe Australian cities have become. We want our Prime Minister and government to address these issues and not just focus on the potential loss of revenue and adverse relationships with India. Australian government should embark on an advertising campaign to make people aware of the importance of the revenue being generated from the education sector and encourage them to welcome overseas students.
“We also call upon all Australians to demonstrate their support for keeping our cities safe by writing to their politicians asking for an end to targeted and otherwise criminal activities,” the statement said. (FOC)
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