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05-30-2009, 02:40 AM
Anger is mounting among Indian students in Australia in the wake of the 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 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 the safety of Indian students, FISA President Gautam Gupta said in a statement.
"At this point of time, well-being and health of victims are most important," he said. Gupta said he received at least 300 calls on Friday night, out of which nearly 200 asked him to hold rallies against the attacks.
But he urged 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 ago.
Sravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, was fighting for life in a hospital in Melbourne after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a weekend attack that also left three of his friends injured.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/30kumar.jpg
Sravan Kumar remained in coma in the intensive care unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Friday night. A 17-year-old from Glenroy has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the attack on Kumar and his friends. Baljinder Singh, another student who was stabbed by two attackers earlier this week, has been discharged from the hospital.
In two of the assault cases, the victims or witnesses reportedly spoke of the specific racial abuse.
But deputy commissioner Kieran Walshe said on Friday that he had 'no specific data' on that. Concerned over the increasing attacks on Indians in Melbourne, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd on Friday 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.
Fresh from surviving a murderous attack, a 25-year-old Indian student on Saturday appealed to fellow countrymen aspiring to pursue higher education that they should not travel to Australia.
"My advice to every Indian student now who wants to come to Australia is -- please don't come and there's no life here," said Baljinder Singh, who was attacked by two youths in Melbourne recently.
Singh also expressed concern over the condition of another Indian student Shravan Kumar, who was attacked by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a separate incident. Kumar's condition remained "very, very serious," he said.
Kumar is in a state of coma in the intensive care unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he was visited by Indian High Commissioner Sujata Singh and Consul General in Melbourne Anita Nayar on Thursday.
Singh said one of his friends from Karnal has got a visa to Australia, but he is "very scared" now in the wake of the attacks on Indians.
Recalling the ordeal he faced, Singh said that he was at a train station on Monday night after finishing his work when two knife-wielding boys approached him.
"I was very scared to see the knives. They asked me if I had any money. I told them to hang on as I looked for my purse in my bag which was very messy... In the first five seconds, one of the guys stabbed me in my stomach. I just fell down on the floor," he said.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan has reacted to racial attacks on Indian students in Australia by rejecting an honourary doctorate offered to him by an Australian university.
The Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, had offered the 66-year-old veteran a doctorate for his contribution to the world of entertainment and Bachchan had earlier accepted the title.
The honour was to be conferred on the star in July as a part of celebrations to commemorate a retrospective of his films in the city.
"I have been witnessing, with great dismay and shock, the recent violent attacks on Indian students in Australia, on the electronic media the entire day," Bachchan wrote on his blog.
"I mean no disrespect to the institution that honours me, but under the present circumstances, where citizens of my own country are subjected to such acts of inhuman horror, my conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen," he added.
The Federation of Indian Student Association 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 the safety of Indian students, FISA President Gautam Gupta said in a statement.
"At this point of time, well-being and health of victims are most important," he said. Gupta said he received at least 300 calls on Friday night, out of which nearly 200 asked him to hold rallies against the attacks.
But he urged 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 ago.
Sravan Kumar, a student from Andhra Pradesh, was fighting for life in a hospital in Melbourne after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a weekend attack that also left three of his friends injured.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/30kumar.jpg
Sravan Kumar remained in coma in the intensive care unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Friday night. A 17-year-old from Glenroy has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the attack on Kumar and his friends. Baljinder Singh, another student who was stabbed by two attackers earlier this week, has been discharged from the hospital.
In two of the assault cases, the victims or witnesses reportedly spoke of the specific racial abuse.
But deputy commissioner Kieran Walshe said on Friday that he had 'no specific data' on that. Concerned over the increasing attacks on Indians in Melbourne, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd on Friday 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.
Fresh from surviving a murderous attack, a 25-year-old Indian student on Saturday appealed to fellow countrymen aspiring to pursue higher education that they should not travel to Australia.
"My advice to every Indian student now who wants to come to Australia is -- please don't come and there's no life here," said Baljinder Singh, who was attacked by two youths in Melbourne recently.
Singh also expressed concern over the condition of another Indian student Shravan Kumar, who was attacked by a screwdriver by a group of teens in a separate incident. Kumar's condition remained "very, very serious," he said.
Kumar is in a state of coma in the intensive care unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he was visited by Indian High Commissioner Sujata Singh and Consul General in Melbourne Anita Nayar on Thursday.
Singh said one of his friends from Karnal has got a visa to Australia, but he is "very scared" now in the wake of the attacks on Indians.
Recalling the ordeal he faced, Singh said that he was at a train station on Monday night after finishing his work when two knife-wielding boys approached him.
"I was very scared to see the knives. They asked me if I had any money. I told them to hang on as I looked for my purse in my bag which was very messy... In the first five seconds, one of the guys stabbed me in my stomach. I just fell down on the floor," he said.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan has reacted to racial attacks on Indian students in Australia by rejecting an honourary doctorate offered to him by an Australian university.
The Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, had offered the 66-year-old veteran a doctorate for his contribution to the world of entertainment and Bachchan had earlier accepted the title.
The honour was to be conferred on the star in July as a part of celebrations to commemorate a retrospective of his films in the city.
"I have been witnessing, with great dismay and shock, the recent violent attacks on Indian students in Australia, on the electronic media the entire day," Bachchan wrote on his blog.
"I mean no disrespect to the institution that honours me, but under the present circumstances, where citizens of my own country are subjected to such acts of inhuman horror, my conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen," he added.