The Dawn

The Aussies have been taken aback by the ferocity of the Indian offensive. Egged on by a media which has sensationalized the random act of violence, the Indian population seems to be in a frenzy. Not to be left out the Indian icon Amitabh Bachan has refused to accept an honorary degree. As if the Australians are “passing bricks”!

The Indians call it “Curry bashing”. The “Dot Busting” Aussies tell the “Smelly Indians”–”Love it or leave it”. In a dramatic escalation in the war of words, the Indian diplomats have gone on a full scale offensive against Australia.  Massive backlash against India: Why do Australians hate Indians? Australians are voicing anger at the Indians. Sydney is claiming that many of the students are not students at all and promises a through investigation of the credentials of the “students”. In the end, India and Indians will be the loser. Australia will find rich Chinese students to fill the slots and Indian immigration to Australia will slow down.

But the students and Indian officials have demanded action, including more police at train stations and other problem areas. The students’ union, which organised the march, has also called on the Indian government to declare Australia an unsafe destination for Indian students if the attacks continue. There are thought to be about 90,000 Indian students studying at Australian universities. BBC

Socialologists are asking the pertinent questions. Why is is that Indians are hated around the world. There is seething hatred against them in New Zealand, and the UK. OF course Indian students are not allowed in China. There is seething resentment against them in the US, as evidenced by the recent laws being passed in Congress which dramatically reduce the number of work visas issued to them. Australia used to a favorite destination for Indian students in the aftermath of 911. However the events of the past few years will dramatically change that. Australians are sick and tired of torublemakers who come to Australia, work at night, sleep during the day and save money to send home back to India. Most of the students are dirt poor and live like sardines in overcrowded dilapidated housing. Even though the Australian embassy has strict instructions to screen out the destitute, the Indian mafia provides them with fake documents showing huge bank balances and foreign currency reserves. Scams rnage from outright fraud to dishonesty. The amount of money in the bank account either does not exist, or is in a “pool” which only gets rented to the “potential” student

It like the pot calling the kettle black. Australians say that it is disingenous for the Indian leaders to lecture Australia about race relations. Sydney point to 450 million Dalit Untouchables and the 150 million marginalized Muslims in India as a manifesation of caste infestation in India.

Police argue that Indian students often fall victim to assault in Melbourne because they travel alone late at night to work long hours at part-time jobs and are known to carry valuable items such as laptop computers. They urged students to take precautions. The Scotsman

The spat has a long term impact on Indo-Aussie relations. No other country in the world has a problem with the Australian educational system. There is a huge backlash against the cribbing and many Australians are calling for a thorough restructuring of the way student arrive, and live in Australia. Much of the discussion centers on disallowing the students to work off-campus. The Australians think that stopping the students to work off-campus will screen out many of the undesirable students. The US for the longest period of time did not allow full time students to work in the US. The Australians have been very open minided in allowing students to enroll is all sorts of “educational” institutes. Many Aussies feel that Indians don’t have to come to Australia to enroll in basket weaving courses. The Indian “students” can learn basket weaving at home.

Australia has about 400,000 foreign students. The Malaysians, Lankans, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis either live in the dorms, or live in well to do apartments. Unlike the Indians, most of them also enjoy Australian foods. They do not face similar complaints. In a recent poll, most Australians had a negative view of the students from India whom they found obnoxious and very aggressive.

THE perception in India that Australia is a racist country is gaining currency, with a Bollywood screen legend refusing an honorary doctorate from a Queensland university because of recent violence against Indian students.

The stabbing with a screwdriver of Indian student Sravan Kumar Theerthala in Melbourne last week has led to a furious reaction in India, where the media has branded Australia’s attitudes as “curry bashing”.

Photos of Mr Theerthala, lying in his hospital bed in a coma, were plastered across the front pages of Indian newspapers at the weekend. The Australian

Not knowing the Australian culture, sometimes they end up in the wrong part of town and end up in trouble. The Indians do not own cars, so they walk on streets in the wee hours of the morning, something totally alien to Australian culture. They are sometimes mistaken for drug dealers or thieves. Many Australians are armed. There have been cases when the Indians tried to steal property and were caught up in vigilante justice. 

Amitabh Bachchan posted a notice on his website in which he said he would be rejecting an honorary doctorate he was due to be awarded next month from the Queensland University of Technology.

The 66-year-old Bachchan, known as “The Big B” in movie-mad India, had previously requested feedback on the site about whether he should accept the honour, but said he had been overwhelmed by the strong response of Indians who argued that he should not accept it.

“Under the prevailing circumstances I find it inappropriate at this juncture to accept this decoration,” Bachchan said in a letter to QUT posted on the site yesterday. The Australian

80,000 legal Inians students are changing the Australian culture and there there is a lot of resistance to cleberating what the Australian consider UnAustralian pagan festivals in Australia.

Most of the Indian students try to stay in Australia after the completion of the “Beauty Salon” and “Physical Therapy” type of courses. The Australians think that most of the “students” are in Australia seeking jobs and employment, not to study.

Australia also sees as a competitor in Asia, and is wary of Indian moves to claim itself as a node. So the spat has grown beyond a simple issue of siciology. The Chinese students are considered hard working and do not engage in anit-Australian activities.

Noticias de Rupia | Nouvelles de Roupie | Rupiennachrichten | новости рупии | 卢比新闻 | Roepienieuws | Rupi Nyheter | ルピーニュース | Notizie di Rupia | The Dawn | Military Strategy | Strategic Thinking and Policy Institute | Failed States | Pakistan Historian | Gandhi Unmasked | PAKISTAN LEDGER |  پاکستاني کھاتا |  RUPEE NEWS  | May 13th, 2009 | Moin Ansari | اخبار روپیہ |

The complaints against the Indian stem from the living habits of the students. Hard up for cash most of them cram up in small little apartment where subletting from one student to the other is the norm. Unlike most other Asian students the Indians live in off-campus dilapidated apartments. One major source of complaint is the cooking habits of the Indians. The use of “hing” is unique to the Indians. Not only does “hing” smell up the entire apartment complex, when mixed with various other spices, the smell permanently camps out in the furniture and clothing.

New Delhi/Melbourne: With more attacks being reported on Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday spoke to his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd and urged him to take all possible steps to ensure the security of Indians in Australia.Sify News

“My conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen.”

There are 80,000 Indian students in Australia and they are major contributors to the country’s international education sector, which earned $15.5 billion last year.

Kevin Rudd has spoken with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the issue, and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says Australia is doing everything it can to prevent further attacks on Indian students.

But in Melbourne yesterday, one man was charged as more than a thousand members of the city’s Indian population marched in protest against what they say is increased violence against them.

The Federation of Indian Students in Australia, which organised the march, said there had been more than 500 attacks on Indian students over the past four years.

In India, Australian high commissioner, John McCarthy, appeared on television to defend Australia.

“I would deny that we are a racist country. Australia is generally a safe country,” he told the NDTV news channel. The Australian

A section of Australia feels that they are being overwhelmed by India. Many Aussies accuse the Indians of forcing their Indian culture on campuses by celebrating their hundreds of festivals and cooking their foods in inappropriate places like hallways and TV lounges. Sydney beaches are full of the drunk Indian students ogling and harassing the women. The Australians also accuse the Indians of gender bias and mistreating female instructors. One of the “attacked” Indian males was soliciting sex for money. Being gay in India is frowned upon. Many gay Indian students visit the seedy parts of town seeking gay activity.

Many Australians say that it takes two to tango. The Aussies believe that the carping in the Indian media is exaggerated and counterproductive. Australians react to 80,000 (what they call) “smelly” Indians on campuses with “Dot Busting”.

Indian students are ubiquitous on Australian campuses, but they have not assimilated into the Australian way of life. On many occasions they have violated their visa status and have started to permeate the landscape around the campuses in search of menial jobs. 80,000 students on a few dozen campuses makes them highly visible. In a slowing economy, there is a growing tide of Anti-Indian feeling among the Aussies.  Many Australians feel that the Indian complaints are exaggerated and hide the real truth which usually stem from domestic disputes, lewd behaviour, drunkenness or theft of property. The Australian Police does not accept the Indian claim that racism is involved. Some of the female Indian “students” have been caught as prostitutes, and there is the general perception that many of the Indian students sell drugs in Australia. Some Australians have accused the Indians of using Black Magic for seduction purposes. Australian students also accuse the Indians on cheating in exams and whispering answers in Hindi and other languages not understood by Australians.