The students agreed Australia is not a racist country, but a multi-cultural and peace-loving country which welcomes and respects people from all parts of the world.
In the wake of attacks on Indian students in Australia, a group of students from Down Under attempted to clear the air by narrating their experiences in New Delhi today but acknowledged there is a problem of policing especially in Victoria.
The 10-member delegation comprising of six students of Indian origin are on a visit to India to attend a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event under the auspices of the Australia-India Business Council (AIBC).
The students agreed Australia is not a racist country and is a multi-cultural and peace-loving country which welcomes and respects people from all parts of the world.
"I'm a citizen of Australia and I'm from India. I've lived here for a long time and never faced any kind of racism. Everybody can dream in Australia. You can dream to be a politician, a doctor or whatever you want to be.
"Everybody co-exists here, Greeks, Italians, Latins, Chinese...that's Australia for me. I love my country and I love my community," said Archie Ravishankar, a 23-year-old Law student.
David Barrow, an Australian student of media and president of National Union of Students, said "international students get good education in Australia. Their numbers have expanded so quickly that there were some problems."
"There are infrastructure problems. There are some problems of policing, especially in Victoria. Students from India land into dangerous situations when they work late nights and use public transport at odd hours", he said.
The Australian government has realised that it needs to fill up the loopholes that exist in the system, said Barow. Ruchir Punjabi, a young Australian businessman of Indian origin, said "I was attacked once but it wasn't racist. I was asked for money. Thankfully, I escaped."
"Students new to the country are not aware of the culture there and take time to integrate with local people. Sometimes, there are language barriers. They are vulnerable because they don't understand what situations could be dangerous for them. They end up at the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
Harpinder Singh Chipra, an Australian citizen of Sikh faith, said even though he could be an easy target because of his turban and beard, he has never faced any kind of racism.
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