Even as the Australian High Commission here on Monday expressed regret over the attack on an Indian national in the state of Tasmania, the issue found its resonance in the Lok Sabha. MPs, cutting across party lines, condemned the incidents of attacks and sought the Prime Minister's intervention in ensuring the safety of Indian population aboard. The victim, a taxi driver from Kerala, had linked increasing racial assaults and slurs in Australia to "the Donald Trump effect".
Responding to MPs' concerns, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the safety of overseas Indians was a matter of priority and the government will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring their safety. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress member KC Venugopal said such attacks were on the rise in Australia. He alleged that it was a racial attack as the assaulters had hurled abuses like "you bloody black Indians" at him. The incident came a week after an Indian-origin Catholic priest was stabbed in the neck at a church in Melbourne.
The Australian High Commission here expressed regret over the incident. "We regret the attack on a taxi driver of Indian origin in Hobart which occurred over the weekend," its spokesperson said in a statement. "We understand he suffered minor injuries and has been discharged from Royal Hobart Hospital," it said. The spokesperson said his country has launched a thorough investigation to find out whether the attack was racial in nature.
The victim Li Max Joy described the racial mood, ethnic slurs and assaults to "the Donald Trump effect".
"The racial mood is definitely changing. It is continuous now. Many other drivers have been abused but not everyone reports it to the police," he was quoted by agencies. Joy said he has been living in Hobart for eight years with his family and also narrated another such incident that happened with him a week ago. "Last week in Glenorchy, I was waiting for a fare when a primary school-aged boy put water in his mouth and then came over to the car window and spat it out on me," Joy said. Joy has also sent a detailed email to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj about the incident.
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