Enraged Indian students rally in Melbourne demanding justice

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, May 31 (PTI) Shaken by a wave of racial
assaults, thousands of Indian students chanting 'Bharat Mata
Ki Jai' Sunday rallied here demanding justice for victims of
recent attacks as Australia scrambled to contain the rising
anger and frustration within the community.

The 'peace rally' organised by bodies like Federation of
Indian Students in Australia (FISA) and National Union of
Students kicked off from outside the Royal Melbourne Hospital,
where 25-year-old Shravan Kumar is in a critical condition
after being stabbed with a screwdriver by a group of teens on
Sunday last.

Kumar, who had slipped into coma after being stabbed,
was "out of danger", but still critical, said a leading
community member who visited him at the hospital.

"He (Kumar) has come out of coma and moved his hands,"
said T J Rao, also a former Consul General of India in
Melbourne who too participated in the rally. "Kumar is out of
life support, but doctors are still not very sure about his
full recovery," he told PTI.

The marchers numbering over 5,000 walked down to the
Victorian Parliament House on Spring street, holding placards
with slogans like 'We want Justice', 'We are the Economy
Builders' and 'End Racist Attacks'. They also chanted 'Bharat
Mata Ki Jai'.

FISA founder Gautam Gupta, who led the rally, said "we
believe in 'Gandhigiri'" and peaceful ways to present the
demands of the student community.

The students had hoped to hand over their demands' list
to the lawmakers, but it could not be materialised.

Their demands included a multicultural police force for
Victoria, which houses 47,000 of the 95,000 Indian student
community in Australia. They also demanded that crime
statistics be made public and sought racial tolerance and
awareness, and advertising campaign to welcome international
students, highlighting their contribution to the Australian
economy.

Facing flak over the spate of racial assaults, Australia
government said it was doing everything it can to prevent
further attacks on the community.

"We're doing everything that we can, both with the Indian
community in Australia and India itself ... but also working
very closely with the relevant state authorities," Australian
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith was quoted as saying by AAP.

He assured the community that the Australian authorities
are trying to bring the attackers to justice and ensure a safe
environment for all international students.

Apart from Shravan Kumar, the Indian students attacked
recently included Baljinder Singh, who has been discharged
from hospital after being stabbed by two attackers, and Rajesh
Kumar, who suffered 30 per cent burns after a petrol bomb was
hurled at him in his home in Sydney.

In a bid to assuage the feelings of the Indian community
here, Australia's first Asia-born Cabinet minister said that
racism in this country was confined to "a minority of people"
with extreme views.

"On the whole I think Australians are tolerant,"
Malaysia-born Penny Wong, Federal Climate Change Minister, was
quoted as saying by AAP. "It is a minority of people in
Australia who hold those sort of extreme and intolerant
views."

FISA leader Gupta said the massive rally of the students
proved that they were not "soft targets" and the situation may
get out of hands if the community was attacked again.

Gupta expressed confidence that the Australian government
would take some action now and punish the perpetrators of the
attacks.

Some leading community members, including Australian
Telco company Iprimus CEO Ravi Bhatia, also participated in
the rally, apart from the state opposition leader Ted
Baillieu.

State police personnel in large number were deputed to
maintain law and order during the event, which went off
peacefully. Traffic was diverted from Spring street, which was
blocked for vehicles, during the rally which ended with a
candle light vigil.

According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), there
were three arrests during the event. However it did not
elaborate.

India's Consul General in Melbourne Anita Nayar said she
had "no official confirmation" on the arrests.

"There were apparently two rallies, one was a 'peace
rally' that took off from Royal Melbourne Hospital to
Parliament that was later dispersed and other was at
Federation Square that remained there," she said.

FISA Saturday said the peace rally was being organised
in response to the growing anger in the Indian community
against increasing hate crimes.

"The purpose is to create awareness about an increasing
number of hate crimes within the state (of Victoria) and to
promote racial harmony and peace," FISA had said in a
statement. PTI NC
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