Click to play videoMelbourne: Australia has evolved as the favoured destination for education amongst Indian students wishing to study abroad. Earlier it was the hallowed corridors of Oxford and Harvard, but more recently, the rush has headed down under.
The figures of students from India opting for Australian shores is proof of the destination's popularity.
From just 8,000 in year 2005 to nearly a one lakh in 2009, the number of Indian students in Australia has increased over 12 times in just five years.
The case of Gaurav Nigam and schoolmate Harmeet Singh is a pointer to the trend. The duo are in their 20s. Both left home in search of an education, both stayed on in Australia in search of a job and they say while they have been able to fit in to their new home, more and more Indians migrating don't even have the basic skills to do so.
Gaurav Nigam said, "I meet a lot of people these days who could be from Punjab or from any other place in India. I find that they have no English language skills and seem to have come here without any knowledge."
Hundreds of young men and women crowd into English classes to refurbish their language skills. KAPS institute in Melbourne that teaches those desperately seeking to make the grade.
India Australia Council's Board member Robin Jeffrey said, "Most of them come from small towns, something that they didn't do in the past. Earlier they were from IITs, IIMs, now they come from small towns. These are people who when they go from their native towns to cities like Mumbai, Kolkata or Delhi feel equally out of place and are vulnerable to the cheats in those places."
A growing number now more visible, and in many places more at risk to local resentment.
Amandeep, another Indian student said, "The young generation of Australians are jealous of us. They are scared that we will steal their jobs."
Like in any sprawling big city, rowdy elements abound the streets of Melbourne and Sydney. According to the Victoria police, there is a pattern to the attacks. Most happen around transport lines, perpetrated by juveniles of mixed ethnicity.
A police official from Victoria, Sven said, "You just saw there's a group of 20 young males that have consumed some alcohol that could make them nasty though they may be completely innocent otherwise.
Most Indians are estimated to be living in suburban areas making ghettos inevitable. They do not mingle and thus are prone to be treated with scorn. The brunt of that alienation is felt by the most defenceless.
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