The Standpoint

By

Shivani Yadav

The recent attacks on Indian students in Australia are creating unrest in the hearts and the minds of all Indians. We lost no time in branding the attacks racist and crying ourselves hoarse about the humiliation that we face in ‘white’ countries.

What happened in Australia is totally cruel and unjust, but only a handful of people were responsible for it. When we accuse 20 million Australians of being racist, aren’t we being racist, too? Do we also hold 1 billion Indians responsible for molesting Aussie women in Goa, then? And have we forgotten that not too long ago, we witnessed a stadium full of Indian people chanting at a cricketer of another race, who was also incidentally, an Australian?

Inspite of Australian officials calling these attacks ‘opportunistic’ and not racially motivated, Indian students studying there think differently. “The attacks on Indians are definitely racist. We are scared to even step out of home”, says Nitin Kalra, student of Hospitality Management and Nutrition, Melbourne.

Is it the first time that Indians are subject to prejudice of this sort? Rahul Nair, student of Community Welfare, Adelaide answers, “The attacks on Indians have taken a highly volatile state now. Otherwise, Indians are used to instances of subtle racism everywhere in this country.” He further explains what he means by ‘subtle racism’: “I mean, I’ve seen how Indians, especially women or elderly, being shown the door if they cant speak fluent English in a super mart.”

Sachin Katiyar, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in International Hospitality Management, Adelaide, further explains subtle racism. He says: “Its like, they have this who-cares-they’re-Indians attitude. Not just Aussies, but whites. The fact is that Indian males are treated differently even when they are flying with a foreign airline.” He further adds, “It is definitely very hard for Indians to find jobs at the managerial level. They’ll never promote us. It is only whites who are given those, no matter how qualified or experienced we are.”

A question that boggles the mind is that if Aussies are actually so prejudiced, and if they are then why weren’t people of other races subject to such molestations, too? Why not other Asian communities? If we care to look at the other side of the fence, another question comes to one's mind that is it that Indians too some extent make themselves vulnerable to such incidents due to their own attitude?

93,000 Indian students are studying in Australia today which indeed not a small number. But as a matter of fact, some Indians never bother to analyze the social and economic conditions prevailing there. The ones going there are either affluent or try to proclaim their lavish lifestyle in front of other students. Jaideep, a student of BA Design Technology, Melbourne, says, “The attacks are racist. But Indians too engage in unnecessary arguments. They have to understand it’s not their homeland and they are expected to behave in an appropriate manner here.” “Some Indians can’t speak in English. Some will play loud music at 2.30 am in the night. And quite many are corrupt and they try to do exactly the same that they do back in India. You are sure to spot Indians talking loudly on the phone or amongst each other while using public transport, like other Asians. I believe such things would flinch anybody”, says Sachin.

To look at the issue from the eyes of the Indian media or the parents of children who were attacked might give it an overemotional and sensational appeal but to analyse the real problem, we need to look at the situation with both the eyes wide open. As far as torching cars of Indian students and robberies were concerned, the high commission’s claim about them being ‘opportunistic’ could have been believable. However, in times of global economic crises, job scarcity and competition has also been reasoned by some as the basis of such a flashpoint.