Attacks not racism, just media hype, say Bangalore’s youth

Much has been said about the racist attacks in Australia against Indians. But there is a reason why students continue to flock to Australia to study.

For those who are apprehensive about studying there, "it isn't difficult to stay out of trouble", says Ravneet Pawha, country director, Deakin University. "Students who have returned after their studies say they haven't faced discrimination at any level. They refrained from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some of the students try to make more money by exerting themselves and going overboard on the work hours they are allotted. These students are more prone to attacks," she adds.

Indian students admit that most of the attacks can't even be termed 'racist'. "It is only when you invite trouble that they attack you," says Puneeth Suresh, a student at the University of Technology, Sydney. "When you go to another country, you should respect the culture and people who live there. They talk loudly and disturb everyone around. Many Indians tend to be authoritative and put people down. Indians tend to get racist there. We can't dominate in another country. This makes Australians insecure and they react," he explains.

Samuel Amulraj has lived there for a year and can't agree more. "Australians are very hospitable and I have interacted with many locals. They tend to treat us foreigners with more respect. They might make jokes about some of the cultural differences, but it can't be called 'racism'. Even we tend to make jokes about different communities in India and we take it lightly. The racism issue there has been hyped," says Samuel.

There are exceptional cases where Indians are attacked. "It doesn't matter if you're an Indian or not, when you're out at night with expensive gadgets, you are bound to be a target," says Anup C Lazar, a student of Royal Melbourne Institute of technology.
Indians who study abroad are geared with the best laptops and phones. "Anybody with expensive gadgets can get mugged, even Australians," he adds. Does the recent fatal attack on Nitin Garg stop them from going back? "No", they all chorus.