Oz Minister to visit India, says country not racist

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, July 19 (PTI) As he prepared to leave for
New Delhi to reassure Indians of their safety Down Under,
Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans on Sunday said his
country is "not racist" and remains a safe place to study.

Evans, who will meet Minister for Overseas Indian
Affairs Vayalar Ravi and other officials during his visit,
said the government wanted to counter negative publicity on
the sub-continent about the recent wave of attacks against
Indian students in Australian cities.

"There's been a lot of concern inside India and
there's been, I think, some fairly hysterical reporting of
what's occurred," he said.

"Part of what I intend to do on this visit is to try
and reassure Indians that we're a safe place to study, that
we're a multicultural society and we don't have racist
attitudes to people," he told Sky News.

Indian people are welcome to work and study in
Australia, Evans said.

He said so far there has been no evidence of a decline
in Indian student applications and recent figures have shown
that the demand from students in India has continued to be
strong and, in fact, grew a little bit in June.

Evans trip follows a visit by a delegation of police
and officials to Indian cities earlier this month delivering
similar safety assurances.

Some 95,000 Indians are studying in Australia after
and the series of attacks triggered street protests last
month.

Evans said police were working on the problem but
educating Indian students about safety in Australia could also
help. "It's about making sure they understand how Australia
works, what is good and safe practice and what's not," he
said.

Evans is also scheduled to visit Sri Lanka to discuss
migration and human trafficking issues. PTI NC
RAI
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