Since the beginning of the 21st century, the media of India, and Australia, mostly in Melbourne, and Sydney, publicised reports of crimes and robberies against Indians in Australia that were described as racially motivated.
Rallies were organised in Melbourne and Sydney, and intense media coverage of the perceived hate crimes commenced in India, which were mostly critical of Australian and Victorian Police. The Australian government initially called for calm as it began an investigation into the crimes. In June 2009, the Victoria Police Chief Commissioner, Simon Overland, stated that some of the crimes were racist in nature, and others were opportunistic. A subsequent Indian Government investigation concluded that, of 152 reported assaults against Indian students in Australia that year, 23 involved racial overtones.
Background Indian students were at the time the second largest group of international students studying at a tertiary level in Australia. From 2004 to 2009, the number of Indians studying in Australia rose from 30,000 to 97,000 with 45,000 of these living in Melbourne, 32,000 in Adelaide and the remainder shared between Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.According to a 2009 government survey, 70% of foreign students want permanent Australian residency. To qualify for residency, International graduates must be offered a job that uses their degree. In 2009 the percentage of International students granted residency was, NSW:41%, Victoria:37% and SA:5% (South Australia has a larger number of domestic graduates seeking work compared to other states). South Australia is the only state that has a program to help students find employment.—Source:The Advertiser 19 September 2009 Page 5. Eapen Verghese stated in an opinion piece that the cost of living in Australian cities has made it necessary for many of these students to live in cheaper and more distant suburbs, where there is an increased risk of encountering violent crime. Others have indicated that Indian students face discrimination and exploitation in housing and jobs.Johnston C City's new underclass forced to suffer in silence The Age, Melbourne, 19 May 2007 . Retrieved 6 August 2009. Archived 8 September 2009.
In 2007–2008, international education contributed billion to the Australian economy, measured through all categories of export earnings, including tuition fees, living expenses and tourism associated with visits from relatives.Australian Bureau of Statistics, cited at Education Export Statistics: The value of international education to Australia by IDP Education Pty Ltd. Retrieved 6 August 2009. Archived 8 September 2009.Dutta S Australia attacks may push education profit line Down Under Indian Express, 5 June 2009
Australian Visits by Indian Politicians
Revanth Reddy and Nama Nageswara Rao were the first major Indian politicians to visit Melbourne, Australia to meet with International students from India during that time period.
Sriprakash Jaiswal, S. M. Krishna, and various other Indian politicians also later visited Melbourne, Australia to meet with International students from India during the same time period.
Visit by Revanth Reddy and Nama Nageswara Rao In June 2009, when Indian students were being attacked in Australia, then Telugu Desam leaders Revanth Reddy and Nama Nageswara Rao had visited Melbourne, Australia to meet with International students from India. Revanth Reddy and Nama Nageswara Rao had visited hospitals, and travelled in trains and public transport in Melbourne to meet victims, and interact with Indian students in Australia, to get a better understanding of the situation.
Revanth Reddy and Nama Nageswara Rao also visited the Victorian Parliament and had meetings with then Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu to raise concerns about Indian students being attacked in Melbourne, Australia.
Nama Nageswara Rao held a press conference on his return to India. He stated that he had interviewed many of the victims, and the attacks did not appear to be motivated by racism. He also noted that many of the perpetrators were immigrants from ethnic minorities, such as "Afghans, Lebanese and other nationals who settled in Australia".
Indian visits by Australian Politicians
Visit by Ted Baillieu In July 2009, then Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu visited India and met with various politicians and prominent personalities such as Sriprakash Jaiswal, Rajeev Shukla, Revanth Reddy, Nama Nageswara Rao, and others, during a time when there were stories in Indian media about attacks on Indian students in Australia.
Visit by Michael Danby In July 2009 Michael Danby heading a six-member Australian parliamentarian delegation to India said, "We are joining the Premier of Victoria in a march to express the views of the overwhelming majority of Australians condemning these attacks." The Harmony Day March Occurred on 12 July 2009.
Visit by John Brumby In September 2009, Victorian Premier John Brumby visited India and tried to "repair Australia's reputation" as fewer Indian students are applying for Australian visas.Indian student visa requests decline, Dan Harrison. Retrieved 20 September 2009. Archived 26 September 2009.
IPL Indian politician Bal Thackeray in response to attacks on Indian students in Australia had threatened to stop Australian cricketers from being a part of Indian Premier League.
On the suggestion of Victorian politician Ted Baillieu, a phone call was made to Mr. Thackeray, during which it was requested to withdraw the proposal to ban Australian players from the IPL. It was suggested that such a move might cause harm to efforts aimed at resolving the situation. Surprisingly, Mr. Thackeray accepted the request and withdrew his decision to stop Australians from participating in the IPL.
Bollywood reaction
Victorian Bollywood Policy
In October 2006, Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu released a Bollywood Policy that included the original idea of creation of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
The policy was drafted in Sep 2006, amended in Feb 2010, and funded and re-amended in October 2010, to include concerns regarding attack on Indian students in Australia. After Ted Baillieu came into power, the tender process was started in 2011, the tender winner was announced in Feb 2012, and the first funded edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne was delivered in June 2012.
Bollywood reaction Bollywood's largest labour union declared that its members would refuse to work in Australia until attacks on Indian students there are stopped.Bollywood union boycotts Australia over attacks Dinesh Chaturvedi, the general secretary of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees Association, has declared that their associates have been instructed not to shoot films in Australia as "the situation is not normal over there".Bollywood says NO to Australia, Rediff.com
In response to the issue, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan turned down an honorary doctorate from the Queensland University of Technology."
Detailed Chronology 2007–2008 crime statistics There were 120,913 Indian students enrolled to undertake an Australian qualification in 2009. In the year 2007–2008, 1,447 Indians had been victims of crime including assaults and robberies in the state of Victoria in Australia. However, the statistics reportedly show that Indians were not over represented in assaults. In either case, the Victorian police refused to release the data for public scrutiny, the stated reason being that it was "problematic: as well as 'subjective and open to interpretation'".
April 2008 Indian taxi driver protest On 29 April 2008, in Melbourne an estimated five hundred Indian taxi drivers protested at Flinders Street station with a sit-in protest following the stabbing of a taxi driver. A similar protest was held on 19 May 2008 in Adelaide, where about fifty taxi drivers protested after an assault on an Indian taxi driver. The Victorian Government brought in mandatory safety shields later that year, but this was met with protests because of the costs.Govt stands firm on taxi safety shields 17 Dec 2008, ABC News
May 2009 Indian student protests After incidents in May 2009, over 4,000 Indian students staged a protest opposite Federation Square in Melbourne on 31 May 2009, saying attacks on Indian students were motivated by racism and were not being sufficiently addressed by the Australian Government.Thousands rally against racism in Melbourne – Times of India One report said "Along with more police protection, the students also want a multicultural police section, and on-site accommodation for Indian students at all universities and colleges". 18 protesters were detained.Brown, Rachel Indian students protest over race attacks ABC Radio "The World Today" 1 June 2009
On 31 May 2009, In Melbourne India's High Commissioner, Sujatha Singh, met with Victorian State Premier John Brumby to express her government's concerns over the violence.Australians protest over racial violence On 1 June 2009, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh phoned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to express his concerns.Australia: Indian university students protest racist attacks
On 1 June 2009, in New Delhi, roughly 100 people including members of the Indian political party Shiv Sena and student protesters held a demonstration outside the Australian High Commission in New Delhi, where effigies of Kevin Rudd were burnt. Shiv Sena MP Manohar Joshi warned that Australians living or travelling in India could face revenge attacks if Indians living in Australia continued to be attacked. On the same day Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed regret for the attacks and declared that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. He did not state whether he considers the attacks to be racially motivated.
The left-wing All India Students Federation conducted a candle march at the India Gate, and demanded "stringent action against those behind the brutal attacks on the innocent students".AISF takes out candle march to protest racial attacks in Oz, The Hindu. Retrieved 6 August 2009. Archived 8 September 2009.
In June 2009, Indian student organisations called on the Indian government to declare Australia an "unsafe destination for Indian students"., the National Students Union of India met the Minister of State of External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor and demanded that the centre should prevail upon the Australian government to ensure that such incidents do not occur again and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad political party, said it would consider an Australian boycott over the bashings if authorities did not do more to protect Hindus in Australia.
On 7 to 10 June 2009, rallies in the Sydney CBD and at Harris Park, were attended by hundreds of Indians and supporters. The rally started at Sydney Town Hall and marched to Hyde Park. Some attending the rally specifically mentioned Harris Park (a Sydney suburb where 20% of the population is Indian), as an area where Indians were frequently assaulted, and called on police to do more to make that suburb safe. The students said they were considered "soft targets". Some Indian protestors were reported to be carrying hockey sticks and baseball bats. According to police, the protest was sparked by an attack on Indians earlier in the evening allegedly by Lebanese men. In retaliation the protesters attacked three uninvolved Lebanese men, who sustained minor injuries. This was believed to be the first violent reaction by Indian students against attacks on them. A police dog squad was called in to control the crowd.
On 9 June 2009, Indian Prime Minister, addressing the Indian Parliament said that "he was 'appalled' by the senseless violence and crime, some of which are racist in nature,"PM 'appalled' at attacks on Indian students in Australia Hindustan Times, 9 June 2009.
January 2010 murders and protests