Attacks on Indian students in Australia have once again brought into the focus the issue of safety and security of the Indians living abroad. The Indian Diasporas today is over 20 million strong forming important constituents of the country of their residence. They are growing and becoming influential in the societies they have embraced. The profile of the Diaspora ranges from descendants of the migrant labourers of the colonial era to the highly skilled professionals of current age. A sizeable number of students too are migrating to seek their future in foreign lands. In the current spate of violence against Indians, students are the target of the racial attacks. As soon the attack on Baljinder Singh came in, the news of attacks on other students also started pouring in. Those who see these attacks as sporadic should know that numerous cases of attacks have been registered over the year. It seems that attacks have been taken place; it was only after the media focus on the attacks on Indians in Australia that the real picture is for everyone to see. Everyday a new incident is getting identified. The stories of racial bias are coming out from personal experiences of the people making it all the more difficult to believe in the credential of Australia being a multicultural society.
Australia is a country of immigrants. With the arrival of the British way back in 18th century, its colonization started. The process of colonization saw the indigenous population pushed to the brink of the society from where they have not yet recovered. The Indigenous population-mainland Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders-was counted at 410,003 (2.2% of the total population) in 2001, suffer from higher rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education, and life expectancies for males and females that are 11-17 years lower than those of non-indigenous Australians. The aborigines comprise around 1% of the total population while Asian migrants form around 7% and 92% of the population is comprised of whites. While the aborigines were marginalized and culturally subdued leading to even physical extinction, the growing Asian population is the new irritant for the white racial mindset. In the recent years with the decline registered in Christian population owing to a section of whites switching over to atheism, agnosticism or "No Religion" (around 31% of the population), Hinduism and Buddhism are becoming most popular religions. It is probably posing a new kind of cultural threat aided by economic losses in terms of jobs and employment. Perhaps, the mindset which was intolerant to the indigenous population cannot now accept the presence of Indian migrants.
There may be several explanations for the current spate of attacks on Indians. People are also offering justifications and trying to rationalize the attacks by citing the caste and region based discriminations back home in India. Others are busy dismissing these attacks as sporadic and insignificant criminal acts. But can one dismiss the gravity of the situation which has compelled large number of students to take to the street protesting against racism which is experienced by them in Australia? It is not only a law and order question but the issue is related to the policy of multiculturalism so proudly showcased by Australia all over the world. The issue is whether the racial mindset of the whites steeped in the colonial sense of ‘superiority' can change to create a more equal world? And above all given the lack of highly skilled professionals, dwindling market and work force, can racism work? Answer is obvious - racism will not pay!
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Amit Singh
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