Indian government's credentials to upbraid Aussie authorities
The hyper-patriotic Indian Media has been equally irresponsible and arrogant in highlight the minister's warning. All the sound and fury culminated into an 'advisory', which the government apparently considers as the appropriate course of action.
AS MANY as 1447 persons of Indian descent have been victims of roadside ruffians in one year in Victoria, Australia. The knife attack in Melbourne on 21-year-old Nitin Garg, an eating joint employee hailing from Punjab in the New Year can’t be dismissed as only the first fatality in the spate of attacks on the Indian community members continuing from the past year. The issue deserves proactive action, lest Indians become a laughing stock.
The ‘action’ taken by the government, however, can only bring more shame to Indians instead of stemming the rot. The foreign affairs boss of the ‘emerging superpower’ has, of course, talked tough. "The stabbing of the Indian student is brutal and I hope the Australian government will take necessary action and not force India to look to other ways," minister of external affairs SM Krishna said. “If attacks of this nature continue, we will have to seriously think what course of action lies with Government of India,” he thundered, adding, "I am hoping that the Government of India will not be pushed to take such positions. . . India will not tolerate (it) anymore.”
The hyper-patriotic Indian Media has been equally irresponsible and arrogant in highlight the minister’s warning. All the sound and fury culminated into an ‘advisory’, which the government apparently considers as the appropriate ‘course of action’. It said, “The government advises Indian students studying in Australia, as well as those planning to study there, that they should take certain basic precautions in being alert to their own security while moving around." The eight-point advisory also asked Indian citizens to report complaints to Indian diplomatic missions in Australia.
Two royal babus of MEA in Australia – Indian High Commissioner in Canberra and the Indian Consul General in Melbourne – were asked to extend all assistance to the victim's family as well as members of the Indian community for the purpose. Going by previous experience on what happens to such ‘complaints’ in the bloated Indian officialdom, the missions will compile their own statistics to verify Australian police records taking their own time!
No wonder, Simon Crean, acting Australian foreign minister, trashed the ‘advisory’ and urged Indian leaders to avoid fuelling hysteria: “What we have to do is to let the investigations take their course, but certainly on the basis of what we are being told so far, by the Victorian authorities, there is no basis for a racial motivation behind this,” he said.
None of the more than one lakh Indian ‘students’ queuing up to get out every year by hook or crook will take the MEA advisory any more seriously. After all, what are the credentials of India, as a country, to find the criminal assault on an individual highly condemnable, term it a vicious crime on humanity and demand immediate punishment to the perpetrators who are yet at large?
The search for the attackers still ongoing, it is obviously presumptuous to assume the background of the killers or their motives. Far more serious crimes are taken in the stride by the government of India as well as the hyper-patriots after several years of fake investigation. Top cops bumping off people in fake encounters to claim medals; MPs’ brats playing mayhem in night clubs; honourable judges sending a teenage witness of the burning of her entire family behind bars for her flip-flops in depositions; self-appointed ‘tigers’ instigating mass vandalism against examinees from other states. These are some of India’s ‘credentials’ to demand justice!
Why are Indians, particularly persons slogging out in tedious jobs during odd hours, targeted for mugging by drunken hoodlums in Australia? Only an honest answer to this question can improve matters. Unfortunately, the ‘honourable’ minister doesn’t want to look into the mirror to find out.
Krishna, who used to be sitting on a pile of mining and liquor contracts – the essence Karnataka politics- may be a shining example of the ‘arrived’ Indian. He was kicked upstairs by his party for being too overambitious. But, there are hardly a few thousands out of a billion unfortunate souls whom media tycoons of India can project as a proof of the country’s prosperity. An overwhelming majority of Indians who go to Australia do so not exactly for advanced studies. They only flee utter poverty and lack of career avenues in the greedy and corrupt Indian system.
Unlike in United States, where thousands of Indians work illegally after entering as tourists in body-shopping rackets, middle class Indians are able to legally enter Australian labour market thanks to the thriving international education industry there. The ‘students’ don’t have to find Rs 25 to 30 lakh to bribe corrupt MPs and officials and their agents. Middle class Indians can hope to land into a well-paying job to fund their studies - a boon compared to the prospect of having to loaf around as unemployed graduates if successful in getting admission in India.
As long as economic conditions in India remain pathetic, local Australians are bound to perceive a threat to their earning capacity. This is an established phenomenon in any affluent community facing cut-price competition from cheap alien labour. Local Maharashtrians resent 'invasion' by cheap labour from North Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; Bangladeshis are despised in many states because unscrupulous employers tend to exploit them at the expense of local hands.
The sensible way to tackle the vexing social issue encountered everywhere is for the outsiders to shun excess publicity. Rather than encouraging the emigrants to be sensitive to this social problem, the government and the media have fueled a noisy propaganda. The ruling caucus would like citizens to believe that Australian economy is dependent on India and these ‘students’. This naturally encourages the gullible to wear an arrogant air, instead of keeping a low profile, which leads to further resentment.
Krishna’s foot-in-the-mouth junior Shashi Tharoor too had warned Australia that the number of Indian students in Australia will come down drastically if the widespread perception in India is that students are not safe there. He said, “I think apparently it is in Australia's own interest that students should be safe, as education is the major industry in that country,” after a similar burst of perverted patriotism in the wake of four rowdy attacks in a row in August 2009.
It is true that Indian students contribute 2.5 billion dollar to the international education industry there. However, the economy comprises not just of this industry. The Indians make far more money from Australian economy and are able to enjoy a far better life than in India. Even qualified chartered accountants of India can’t have the quality of life that an ‘accounting graduate’– not much different from the arts or commerce degree from an also-ran college in India – working in an eatery can enjoy in Australia.
It is also true that according to a survey, 4100 less Indian students arrived in Australia this year compared to last year. But, this is to be seen in the overall background. The drop is insignificant, coming on the heels of a 35 per cent jump in the previous year. According to an independent survey, international student visa applications have dropped by 26 per cent overall and the drop is not peculiar to India. Education experts attribute the drop to the strength of the Australian dollar vis-à-vis many other countries and the tightening of the visa applications process. Only China could maintain the last year’s level. Also, one-third of student visas from India were rejected to guard against fraudulent emigration.
Indians will continue to line up before embassies of whichever better-placed country admits them as long as India is plagued by corruption in polity and bloated officialdom and is exploited by powerful tycoons. To put an end to them, alas, is a tall order in an entity founded on deceit. India (and Pakistan) stand by the white lie that the British would never have left their colonies but for the so-called freedom struggle. The 'strugglers' were, in fact, financed by big business tycoons who eventually inherited the colony to plunder.
The pathetic situation will continue as long as fake heroes are worshipped. Youngsters desiring to lead a decent living through honest means, without turning into goons or cronies, will inevitably look for outside avenues. If the government, media tycoons and gullible hyper-patriots don’t intend to stem the rot, they should at least refrain from vitiating the atmosphere.
The hyper-patriotic Indian Media has been equally irresponsible and arrogant in highlight the minister’s warning. All the sound and fury culminated into an ‘advisory’, which the government apparently considers as the appropriate ‘course of action’. It said, “The government advises Indian students studying in Australia, as well as those planning to study there, that they should take certain basic precautions in being alert to their own security while moving around." The eight-point advisory also asked Indian citizens to report complaints to Indian diplomatic missions in Australia.
Two royal babus of MEA in Australia – Indian High Commissioner in Canberra and the Indian Consul General in Melbourne – were asked to extend all assistance to the victim's family as well as members of the Indian community for the purpose. Going by previous experience on what happens to such ‘complaints’ in the bloated Indian officialdom, the missions will compile their own statistics to verify Australian police records taking their own time!
No wonder, Simon Crean, acting Australian foreign minister, trashed the ‘advisory’ and urged Indian leaders to avoid fuelling hysteria: “What we have to do is to let the investigations take their course, but certainly on the basis of what we are being told so far, by the Victorian authorities, there is no basis for a racial motivation behind this,” he said.
None of the more than one lakh Indian ‘students’ queuing up to get out every year by hook or crook will take the MEA advisory any more seriously. After all, what are the credentials of India, as a country, to find the criminal assault on an individual highly condemnable, term it a vicious crime on humanity and demand immediate punishment to the perpetrators who are yet at large?
The search for the attackers still ongoing, it is obviously presumptuous to assume the background of the killers or their motives. Far more serious crimes are taken in the stride by the government of India as well as the hyper-patriots after several years of fake investigation. Top cops bumping off people in fake encounters to claim medals; MPs’ brats playing mayhem in night clubs; honourable judges sending a teenage witness of the burning of her entire family behind bars for her flip-flops in depositions; self-appointed ‘tigers’ instigating mass vandalism against examinees from other states. These are some of India’s ‘credentials’ to demand justice!
Why are Indians, particularly persons slogging out in tedious jobs during odd hours, targeted for mugging by drunken hoodlums in Australia? Only an honest answer to this question can improve matters. Unfortunately, the ‘honourable’ minister doesn’t want to look into the mirror to find out.
Krishna, who used to be sitting on a pile of mining and liquor contracts – the essence Karnataka politics- may be a shining example of the ‘arrived’ Indian. He was kicked upstairs by his party for being too overambitious. But, there are hardly a few thousands out of a billion unfortunate souls whom media tycoons of India can project as a proof of the country’s prosperity. An overwhelming majority of Indians who go to Australia do so not exactly for advanced studies. They only flee utter poverty and lack of career avenues in the greedy and corrupt Indian system.
Unlike in United States, where thousands of Indians work illegally after entering as tourists in body-shopping rackets, middle class Indians are able to legally enter Australian labour market thanks to the thriving international education industry there. The ‘students’ don’t have to find Rs 25 to 30 lakh to bribe corrupt MPs and officials and their agents. Middle class Indians can hope to land into a well-paying job to fund their studies - a boon compared to the prospect of having to loaf around as unemployed graduates if successful in getting admission in India.
As long as economic conditions in India remain pathetic, local Australians are bound to perceive a threat to their earning capacity. This is an established phenomenon in any affluent community facing cut-price competition from cheap alien labour. Local Maharashtrians resent 'invasion' by cheap labour from North Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; Bangladeshis are despised in many states because unscrupulous employers tend to exploit them at the expense of local hands.
The sensible way to tackle the vexing social issue encountered everywhere is for the outsiders to shun excess publicity. Rather than encouraging the emigrants to be sensitive to this social problem, the government and the media have fueled a noisy propaganda. The ruling caucus would like citizens to believe that Australian economy is dependent on India and these ‘students’. This naturally encourages the gullible to wear an arrogant air, instead of keeping a low profile, which leads to further resentment.
Krishna’s foot-in-the-mouth junior Shashi Tharoor too had warned Australia that the number of Indian students in Australia will come down drastically if the widespread perception in India is that students are not safe there. He said, “I think apparently it is in Australia's own interest that students should be safe, as education is the major industry in that country,” after a similar burst of perverted patriotism in the wake of four rowdy attacks in a row in August 2009.
It is true that Indian students contribute 2.5 billion dollar to the international education industry there. However, the economy comprises not just of this industry. The Indians make far more money from Australian economy and are able to enjoy a far better life than in India. Even qualified chartered accountants of India can’t have the quality of life that an ‘accounting graduate’– not much different from the arts or commerce degree from an also-ran college in India – working in an eatery can enjoy in Australia.
It is also true that according to a survey, 4100 less Indian students arrived in Australia this year compared to last year. But, this is to be seen in the overall background. The drop is insignificant, coming on the heels of a 35 per cent jump in the previous year. According to an independent survey, international student visa applications have dropped by 26 per cent overall and the drop is not peculiar to India. Education experts attribute the drop to the strength of the Australian dollar vis-à-vis many other countries and the tightening of the visa applications process. Only China could maintain the last year’s level. Also, one-third of student visas from India were rejected to guard against fraudulent emigration.
Indians will continue to line up before embassies of whichever better-placed country admits them as long as India is plagued by corruption in polity and bloated officialdom and is exploited by powerful tycoons. To put an end to them, alas, is a tall order in an entity founded on deceit. India (and Pakistan) stand by the white lie that the British would never have left their colonies but for the so-called freedom struggle. The 'strugglers' were, in fact, financed by big business tycoons who eventually inherited the colony to plunder.
The pathetic situation will continue as long as fake heroes are worshipped. Youngsters desiring to lead a decent living through honest means, without turning into goons or cronies, will inevitably look for outside avenues. If the government, media tycoons and gullible hyper-patriots don’t intend to stem the rot, they should at least refrain from vitiating the atmosphere.
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