Violence against Indians in Australia controversy

Rallies were organised in Melbourne and Sydney, and intense media coverage of the perceived hate crimes commenced in India, which were mostly critical of Australian and Victorian Police.

[8] In 2007–2008, international education contributed A$13.7 billion to the Australian economy, measured through all categories of export earnings, including tuition fees, living expenses and tourism associated with visits from relatives.

[9][10] Revanth Reddy and Nama Nageswara Rao were the first major Indian politicians to visit Melbourne, Australia to meet with International students from India during that time period.

Sriprakash Jaiswal, S. M. Krishna, and various other Indian politicians also later visited Melbourne, Australia to meet with International students from India during the same time period.

Revanth Reddy and Nama Nageswara Rao had visited hospitals, and travelled in trains and public transport in Melbourne to meet victims, and interact with Indian students in Australia, to get a better understanding of the situation.

[13] In July 2009, then Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu along with Ministerial Adviser Mr. Nitin Gupta had visited India, and had met with various politicians/prominent personalities in India like Sriprakash Jaiswal, Rajeev Shukla, Naveen Jindal, Nama Nageswara Rao, Sudhanshu Mittal, Prem Chand Gupta, and various others, during the time when there were stories in Indian media about attacks on Indian students in Australia.

[15] In September 2009, Victorian Premier John Brumby visited India and tried to "repair Australia's reputation" as fewer Indian students are applying for Australian visas.

On suggestion of Victorian politician Ted Baillieu, Ministerial Adviser Mr. Nitin Gupta had a phone call with Mr. Thackeray, and requested to withdraw the proposal to ban Australian players from the IPL.

Nitin is understood to have suggested in the phone call that move to ban Australian players might cause some harm to the efforts of resolving situation.

[17] In Oct 2006, the Victorian Opposition leader Ted Baillieu had released a Bollywood Policy that was drafted by Ministerial Adviser Mr. Nitin Gupta.

[18] Bollywood's largest labour union declared that its members would refuse to work in Australia until attacks on Indian students there are stopped.

[29] On 31 May 2009, In Melbourne India's High Commissioner, Sujatha Singh, met with Victorian State Premier John Brumby to express her government's concerns over the violence.

[32] On the same day Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed regret for the attacks and declared that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad political party, said it would consider an Australian boycott over the bashings if authorities did not do more to protect Hindus in Australia.

[48] On 5 January 2010, a cartoon depicting the Victoria Police as a Ku Klux Klan member was published in the New Delhi Mail Today[49] This was condemned by Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard who described it as "deeply offensive".

However, Simon Crean, the acting Foreign Minister, urged Indian leaders to "avoid fuelling hysteria" and stated that Melbourne was a safe place to visit.

[50] On 9 January, Indian national Jaspreet Singh made false reports to Victorian Police alleging he was doused in fuel and set on fire in a racially motivated attack in Melbourne.

Singh pleaded guilty in May 2010 to criminal damage with intent to gain through arson, attempting to obtain property by deception and making a false report to police.

[51] On 26 January 2010, the Australian Prime Minister's nephew Van Thanh Rudd and Sam King,[52] both of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, dressed up as members of the Ku Klux Klan, protesting against the allegedly racist violence against Indians during the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, with the signs "Racism – Made in Australia" on the front of their dresses.

"[59] The Herald Sun's conservative right wing columnist, Andrew Bolt, described the events as a "circus",[60] whilst another said that Indian TV networks ignored the higher murder rate in India.

During the course topic "dissecting the Australian psych", employees were told that Australia was known as "the dumbest continent on Earth" where college was "literally" unknown.

[73] Sitaram Yechury, a member of parliament representing the Communist Party of India (Marxist), wrote that both sides of the debate have points.

[74] Chief Executive of Primus Telecommunications Australia, Ravi Bhatia, said the Australian government has shown "excellent sensitivity" towards the issue by announcing a slew of measures like Harmony march, reforms in the state sentencing law and setting up of Task Force to deal with attacks on Indian students.

A member of the NSW upper house, Gordon Moyes, cited changing victim demographics for the suburb, "What has happened over the last few years is that a number of Indian students, attracted by fairly cheap accommodation, have come into the area, the target – always the soft targets – moved from elderly people walking on the street to Indian students with laptops.

However, according to the Police Commissioner, Simon Overland, people belonging to a broad statistical category of "South Asian appearance" (which includes Indians) are over represented in robberies.

[24] Newspaper columnist Greg Sheridan said that Victorian Premier John Brumby was in "indolent denialism" regarding these incidents by saying that "Assaults on Indian students are under-represented as a population share.

[91] An editorial in the Geelong Advertiser suggested that education institutions should take more consideration of safeguarding student safety, and other factors including inadequate policing numbers and liquor licensing should be addressed.

[101] A study (completed before the deaths of Nitin Garg and Ranjodh Singh) forecast a 20% drop in Indian students expected to study in Australia in 2010, compared to 2009, partly due to a reduction in the number of visas allowed to be granted, stiffening of the regulations associated with them,[102] the strength of the Australian dollar,[103] and a clampdown on unscrupulous migration agents and colleges.

[106] The former head of its elite Special Air Service (SAS) regiment and current National Security Adviser, Duncan Lewis, was charged with leading a taskforce to examine the attacks on Indian students.

Factors included; a steep rise in the value of the Australian dollar, decreasing the country's attractiveness relative to its main competitors in Britain and the United States; a tightening of government regulation of the education and of visa requirements contributed to this decline; and reported concerns over safety.