Click to play videoMelbourne: Thousands of Indian students marched in protest from the Royal Melbourne Hospital to the Victorian Parliament House. A warning that inadequate action against racial victimisation could acquire violent overtones.
"We will never start any conflict. But if you come and attack us thinking we are soft targets, we will not tolerate," said an Indian student.
"My parents are calling me every half an hour please come back, they are paranoid, they are scared that if something has happened in Melbourne it can happen in other suburbs as well," said another Indian student.
In one week, four cases of racial violence were noted in Australia.
- On May 9 Shaurabh Sharma was targeted on a subway train in Melbourne.
- May 22, Balijinder Singh was robbed and stabbed by two attackers.
- Then the most brutal incident took place on May 25, when Shravan Kumar and his three friends were attacked by a group of drunken teenagers with screwdrivers. Shravan's brain was damaged.
- But the incident was followed by yet another on May 26 when 25-year-old Rajesh Kumar suffered 30 per cent burns after a petrol bomb was hurled at him
A total of five arrests have been made so far. Reports say the Victoria police was slow to act against such cases. Initially they believed the attacks were more opportunistic than racial.
The attacks have embarrassed the Austalian government no end.
"I've spoken to Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Friday and assured him that perpetrators will be brought to justice and secondly to ensure that Indian students were coming to safe environment," said Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith.
Australia has nearly 95,000 Indian students. With most of them now out on the streets, the Australian government needs to walk the talk to avoid a loss of face world wide.
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