Vyalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian affairs, spoke to rediff.com on the attacks against Indian students in Australia.
"There is nothing new in these incidents. They had been small incidents noted before. More than a thousand police complaints have been reported in Australia by Indians, but they were small attacks, not serious ones as have recently occured. These attacks began in Sydney. Some Lebanese elements attacked Indians in Sydney. The attacks were increasing gradually but police took the matter very lightly. The Lebanese community took action and segregated the disgruntled elements and tried to control them. The main genesis of the problem lies in the sudden increase in the number of students and the lack of police action when they complain," the minister said.
"There is a vast increase in the number of students going to Australia. In 2004 around 10,000 students left to study in Australia's 39 universities. Next year it became 23,000 and it went up to 56,000 by 2007. In 2008, more than 65,000 students migrated to Australia and in this year the figure has reached to 97,000 students," Ravi said.
"The Australian universities employ agents to attract these students. In turn they employ India-based agents mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi. Now, how do they attract students? They say that you can get admission in colleges or Vocational Training Courses. Then, you can work and earn back all the money that you spend. The minimum wage is around $13 to $15 per hour. A student can work for a total of 20 hours in a week. Apart from the universities where our students study engineering and medicine etc--almost 60- 65% of all Indian students migrating to Australia to join vocational courses. Vocational educational training courses are run by registered institutions but not full-fledged colleges. There are more than 4.3 lakh foreign students in Australia, amongst them Indians, Chinese and Nigerians dominate the scene. More than 45,000 Indians students live in Victoria. Sydney and Perth have large concentartions of Indian students as well. Most of Indian students live in houses and not hostels. They live in certain areas. After the work, they return home late. These students share an apartment in areas where it is affordable," Ravi said.
"They are frequently robbed. I am sure they must be facing racist abuses and taunts. Bad elements do these things and that's condemnable. Some Lebanese and some Africans who attacked students, were arrested, but, they were anti-social elements. It pains me to see that Shravan Kumar was injured very badly. Its good that he has come out of danger and he is slowly regaining his memory. His uncle went to see him. I wrote a letter to Andhra Pradesh CM Y S R Reddy. Reddy gave Rs 10 lakh to Shravan Kumar to pay his medical bills," The minister claimed.0
"We should understand that robbery is a law and order problem. Australian society is not racial or discriminating society. More than 2.3 lakhs Indians have permanently migrated there and living happily. Large numbers of Anglo-Indians moved there after independence. They are quite successful. There are well-running associations of Indian communities. I think, these type of attacks by goonda elements were happening but the Victorian police didn't take it seriously. They didn't act to prevent it. It was not racial issue, then. Also, our boys and girls never complained. Even when they reported the matter, police action was missing. The students were angry, so they came to streets. But, now, I am told that police is active and taking serious steps. Our boys would SMS their relatives in India, but not go to the Embassy to seek help." The minister said.
"Its reported that Australia earns some $16 billion from education sector. Out of these some 20-25% is contributed by Indian students. I was told that agents askfor Rs 10 to 15 lakhs for the entire course. Australian education is cheaper than European or American education so our students go there. The problem with our students is that their medical insurance is only valid for six months. That creates a serious problem when they fall ill. I have now asked the government to evolve a system so that we know when students get admission in Australia. We will ask them to fill just one form so we can keep track of them. We will have all the names of students and the institutions they are attending," Ravi told rediff.com.
"In July, Australian education officers will visit India. The team of 17 Australians will visit Chandigadh, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Banglore and Chennai. They will interact with state governments, agents and will speak to parents. The issue is these attacks are not racial. I have interacted extensively with Indians in Australia, our High Commissioner and other community leaders. They claim that Australian society is not racial. Australian Prime Minister Rudd has said that there will be zero-tolerance for any racial attacks. Dr Singh has also told the Australian PM to take a stern action," Ravi said.
"I am not trying to underplay the issue or the problem. But, I am interested in India's interest. Our boys and girls are studying there. We care for them. Australia is a friendly country. We can not hype any issue out of proportion and create diplomatic tension. I believe that Australian society is not a discriminating society so we should not overplay or hype the issue. Worse things are happening in many other parts of world and we do speak out. We have requested the Australian government to take action. The attacks on students can only be controlled if police takes action. We want the police to ensure the safety of our students," the minister said.
