Assault in Australia: Anger growing among Indian students

Anger is mounting among Indian students here in the wake of recent assaults that left a youth from the community battling for life after being stabbed and another badly burnt following a petrol bomb attack.     

The Federation of Indian Student Association (FISA) in Victoria said that they have been receiving non-stop calls to hold rallies and protest shows in Melbourne against the spate of attacks on Indian youths.     

However, it was too early to hold such rallies as both Indian and Australian authorities were discussing the issue of safety of Indian students, FISA President Gautam Gupta said in a statement.     

"At this point in time, well-being and health of victims are most important," he said.     

Gupta said he received at least 300 calls last night, out of which around 200 asked him to hold rallies against the attacks. But, he said he is asking the Indian community to maintain calm.     

His remarks came as an Indian student, 25-year-old Rajesh Kumar, suffered 30 per cent burns after a suspected petrol bomb was hurled at him in his home in Sydney two days back.     

Sravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, was fighting for life in a hospital here after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a weekend attack that also left three of his friends injured. Sravan Kumar remained in coma in the intensive care unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital last night.     

A 17-year-old from Glenroy has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the attack on Kumar and his friends.     

Another student Baljinder Singh, stabbed by two attackers early this week, has been discharged from hospital.     

In two of the assault cases, the victims or witnesses reportedly spoke of the specific racial abuse. But Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said yesterday that he had "no specific data" on that.     

Concerned over increasing attacks on Indians in Melbourne, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd last night.     

Singh, who received a call from Rudd to congratulate him on assumption of office for a second term, used the opportunity to convey India's concerns over the attacks on Indian students in Australia.     

Rudd was quoted as saying by the media here that he was "concerned about any act of violence in the streets and suburbs of Australia's cities and towns and particularly when we are obviously hosts to students from around the world."     

"It is appalling in every sense. Any act of violence, any decent human being just responds with horror at the sorts of attack which have occurred recently," he said.