The high commissioner, an ethnic Indian, faces a tough challenge convincing people here that the attacks against students are not racially motivated.
Australian envoy Peter Varghese on Wednesday tried to defend his government and people from charges of racism and said Canberra remained committed to ensure that those responsible for the death of Indian student Nitin Garg would be brought to justice.
The high commissioner, an ethnic Indian, faces a tough challenge convincing people here that the attacks against students are not racially motivated. Varghese, an example of equal opportunity in his adopted country, strongly defended his government against the slur of racism. The envoy, while admitting that there were a few cases where racial hatred motivated attacks on Indians, said most were criminal assaults.
His message was that Australia was doing its best to protect Indian students. Varghese said he spoke to Garg’s family on Monday and offered them his sincerest condolences. He said that losing a son was never easy for any family, especially when the death was brutal and far away from home. The envoy said all arrangements were being made to get Garg’s body repatriated to India as quickly as possible.
“The focus for now is on police investigations,’’ Varghese said, adding that he was confident that the courts would give the culprit the punishment he deserved for the heinous crime.
The envoy denied Indian media reports that Australia’s acting foreign minister, Simon Crean, had said New Delhi’s reaction to the incident was ‘hysterical’.
He urged the media to look up the comments posted on the ministry’s website.
Crean, when asked about continuing attacks on Indian students and Garg’s killing, had said: “Well, look, crime happens in cities all round the world. It is an unfortunate fact of life. And if you look at the circumstances here in Melbourne where even over the Christmas period there has been a spate of stabbings, this unfortunately is a violent threat and a violent tendency that has emerged. It happens that one of the victims is Indian. There have been other victims.’’
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