Today our newspaper stated that Australian minister has accepted that some attacks on Indians were racial and guilty will be punished...but we Indians always put the blinkers on in all this type of situations...many said and wrote in blogs....
That they they are living in Australia for so many years and have never felt it....I can say that I am living in India forever and never faced communal rights, but that doesnt mean that I can say that communal rights dont happen here, or I ridicule the people who faced them, that they must have done something to warrant that, its like in never had a burglary in the house then it is alright to say that thefts dont happen here.
Then some people said that doesnt India has law and order problem...yes we have, but does it mean we have no right to ask for it anywhere else...
I feel sad at so little pride in our nationality, that we jump to the conclusions very fast, though we are just like any other country with many good thing and few problems also
Then some people said that its all happening because Indian students are rowdy or showing off, but Even yesterday's paper said that indians shouldshow off themseleves as poor to ward off attacks.whenever any crime happens to tourist in India we are ready to condemn ourselves and our police..we never think that these tourists may also have something to blame...In the drive against eve teasing, we say that nothing can justify the crime,nothing means,..the way women dress or behave, so why think differently here.
some say..why are people going if they are not getting good treatment and all that.......but thats not the type of statements we expect from a civilised society of a global world..I have seen that most of the people want to pass derogatory comments for the people who go abroad to earn money..why?..its a free world and individuals choice..first these countries come here, keep seminars and attract students to come there for education,give incentives.. why? because they get money, so its their moral duty to protect the people who go to their country with visa provided by them only..if there is any internal resent, its their govt. duty to attend to it,and if you dont want them, dont grant visas, its all upto them, none can go on its own will, but its not right to leave the students to the peril..its like having your cake and eat it too..you have made your money and now leave the rest to speculation.
Whatever may be the reason for attack, these attacks must be stopped and people be protected.Instead of starting a blame game, govts must be proactive there,look for the reasons and tackle them.
Another example of our blinkers is SRK issue..whatever he said was wrong.....we have great neighbours.......do we really have great neighbours,then what about 26/11 and so many other attacks and Kargil...No we have a troublesome neighbour and sooner we we accept it better it would be.And since Thackeray's are always needling unnecessarily and reacting in a bad way, he got the benefit...Raj Thackeray is always after north Indians..but has he ever bothered that so many Pakistani artists are living here in Mumbai, working and earning pots of money, may be at the cost of Marathi manoos:)...and our artists are denied visas time and again.sometimes they ban our movies, magazines and.he has never bothered to see even that they have proper work permits..so should we think that he has more tolerance towards Pakistanis than his own fellow countrymen....Once in the history we had given a strong signal and all of this got diluted because of blinkers..why do we need to be extra sympathetic to Pakistanis...are they indispensable? how can we isolate sports from other things..ask this thing from the people whose family members died in those attacks?....We must be united at all fronts..anyone making trouble in India will not be tolerated and shouldnt be sympathised..no matter what..and some people have no loyalty for anyone except money.
What do you think?
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Ajanta Ellora
Last week we made a trip to Aurangabad. We had a direct flight from here.we stayed in Lemon tree hotel and liked it. It’s totally value for...
21 comments:
Thanks a lot for your sweet and encouraging comment.
As I am staying in Australia I can very well tell about the exact situation over there. Students mainly Gujaratis, Punjabis do not study at all and disturb the whole class, tease the girls, form their own group, never mix with other people, stay in a very stingy way, walk on the road in midnight hearing ipod and speaking loudly in their mother tongue and so many other issues. Recently 2 Indian students were killed by Indian couple itself. So I do not feel that there is any racism may be a little % is there but the media is exaggerating it.
Some are no doubt racist, most I imagine are not. In any given year, 11% of men in Australia will be assaulted. The highest proportion of assaults are on those aged 18-24. So, any man here aged 18-24 has a very high percentage chance of being attacked. More if they do not have a car and use public transport at night (which the vast majority - something like 80% of Australians do not feel safe doing), or if they are walking at night (which is often necessary from public transport).
So, racism aside (no denying this is a factor in some attacks - and student behaviour is no excuse - students do tend to move in large groups and be noisy...I know I was :D), there is a very high percentage chance that a young male will be attacked here. The recorded assault rate is 35 times higher here than in India. People who have been raised here do not feel safe in our deserted streets at night and avoid them (and 'at night' means even from around 6 in winter). A fight or beating was pretty much a normal (one out of four perhaps) part of a night out for my male friends when younger - never reported of course, which would suggest that our actual assault rate is even higher. In one suburb of my city there are 3 assaults on average a day.
In India there is not only people everywhere which keeps people safer, but seemed to be a less aggressive male culture...and also people are much more willing to help a stranger it seems.
If someone arrives here unprepared and not knowing what the dangers are (certain suburbs - inner city, public transport, out at night, jobs at night involving the public) then they are certainly going to be at higher risk. Rather than react emotively and generalise about the reasons for a range of attacks (of which the majority would actually simply be the Indian's 'proportional allocation' of Australia's violence problem, it would be more useful if all, from the Indian and Australian governments to the educational institutions who are chasing the money of students, to take a practical approach. Advise potential students (and then again on arrival) of the dangers of being out at night here, and of areas to avoid. The students, too, need to research, just as I do when going to any new place, as more specifics are needed about certain suburbs and universities (at mine I would never stay at night, some have safer setups). This information and avoiding the high risk jobs/times (as well as ensuring access to a car) will be of more practical use.
Given the low density of our cities it is simply not possible to effectively deploy police to cover all. I know I cannot feel safe out at night whether in the 'city' or the suburbs...it is just a fact of life living here. All people can do is take effective steps to avoid dangerous situations. The fact is...in most areas of Australia, you are simply not as safe as you are in India. I would choose to wander alone at night in Mumbai any time over a walk through my city at night.
OH! thanks for that insight Babli...I can understand that...even in national colleges of India like IIT people form regional groups depending on mother-tongue...and it really is irritating at times...
The post did give a different view about the whole SRK-issue... you have a point!
The question of pakistani artists perfectly exemplify our elitist and Commoner philosophy ...
As the driver or Chaiwalas from UP/Bihar don't have power they suffer
:(
Babli:I know that media is exaggerating..but there has to be some smoke in this fire..whatever the problem is..isnt it better to acknowledge and solve it rather then pushing it under the carpet and having an ostrich attitude?
WWoW...Thank you dear for giving us this insight..and pleeeeeeeeeease..none is happy with beating of anybody..I always think that everyone should get justice....I dont like jumping to conclusions easily, thats why I say that action must be taken, so that speculation be put to rest.
Ashish:..groups will be always there, whether due to alnguage, region whatever..
and I dont like this herd mentality where if one person does one thing wrong then asll his actions are wrong..like whatever BJP does it is communal, and whatever congress does its secular...everything should be seen in an independent perspective.
I dont think w ehave even any philosophy..yahan sab chalta ha jo chal jaaye!!!
Actions are taken in investigation...but of course almost always takes some time - in the meantime, unfortunately the media who benefit from sensation, the unintelligent, and those who wish to complain jump to conclusions. A simple look at overall assault statistics (and understanding of the sparse population) would give a good understanding that it is just statistical probability. And of course, most understand that in any society there are those who have unreasonable prejudices and commit violence - whether it be the MNS, individuals who are desperate for a target on any pretext, or those who have a genuine redneck racism (which is often perpetrated by other immigrants or second generation immigrants, oddly enough...understandable in some cases due to traumatic backgrounds).
I guess the Oz discussion will keep going back and forth for a while without ever coming to an agreement. Did you catch the NDTV talk show with the Oz High Commissioner Peter Varghese? It would have given you insights from both angles. No one claims that such attacks did not happen at all - so your comparisons on communal riots or burglary do not relate. The point of contention is whether or not these attacks are racially motivated. Thanks to the hue and cry by Indians, Oz has taken a lot of high security measures that now benefit ALL Australians. But to use the term "racist" so loosely on teh entire population is highly unjustified and quite offensive. Having lived in SA during the Apartheid era as well as after - the word "racist" has meaning at a far higher level than the common Indian thinks. No one can expect protection from crime 24/7 any where in the world. But Indians must realise there is safety in numbers. They cannot walk on their own, after dark, when most shops are shut, and people are in their homes, like they do in India. Here - we have such a huge population on the streets even at 11pm to witness any crime and so people will not attempt anything. Renu-ji - one of the reasons I left SA is that I did not have the same freedom of movement there that I have here. Crime is super high. We never left home after dark in the 20 something years of our lives there into PUBLIC places. Of course we had a car and visited friends. But shops and malls close by 6pm. You'll get shot or stabbed for a cell phone. These kids do dumb stuff like staying out late and then want some one else to pay for their mistake. It's like putting your hand in the fire and crying cos you got burnt.
Also, I may or may not agree with SRK - but I defend his RIGHT to say it and I can never tolerate the likes of Shiv Sena taking steps to ban his movie simply because he spoke his mind. I also defend the decision of the IPL to choose who ever they want to play in their team - it's their money, it's their choice. At the end of the day - it is not SRK or the IPL teams that are a danger to our nation but the likes of Shiv Sena who want to take away our basic freedom - our right to free speech.
Shades of Grey:..even australian minister has accepted that somne attacks were a case of racism...so no doubt about that and racism may differ in degree but that doesnt stop it from being racism.
I dont ever support Shiv sena..because they are not democratic and destroying national property or forcing people anywhere for anything is not but my idea of democracy....but then with that I question those also who come out supporting Pakistani players..and its not very patriotic to me.
yes media is exaggerating it.... why these kind of assault is happening from only past two years? i think media hype is contributing towards motivation on such attacks..
@Babli: The situation that you described does not really count for assault. I dont know if people are racist or not, but if you have a problem with other people then the best thing to do is to report it to the police, right? It does not justify for taking law in their own hands and beating ppl up.
@Renu: The post is really insightful ...nice read. :)
Manjunath:media may exaggerate, but its not creating something....
G:...Thanks G for understanding my point:)...I dont find any justification for these attacks...isnt it sad that we as Indians nevr support our own people and start finding faults?
Very thoughtful post and I liked the discussion in your comment box. That makes a blog post by itself.
In the US, the Indian community learnt that unless we are assertive, people will walk all over us. We followed the example of the Jewish community who learnt it the hard way.
Some bloggers who cannot pass a day without denigrating India want us to ignore these and focus on crime on Indian soil. They are afraid that their cause of 'fighting Indian evil' may be diluted when people find out that evil exists even outside India. Good to read your views.
Indrani: Thank you ! and welcome here!!!
Uptake:..It makes me feel sad that we try to find fault in India even where it is none, and praise other countries, even when they are at fault.
@Renu: EXACTLY my point. What you replied to 'Uptake' is what I wanted to tell Babli too. I am sure there are different segments in each society, some peaceful some anti social. But this is ridiculous.
G: we need some coaching in national pride..I feel very bad when I see educated youth taking pride in denigrating India or saying proudly all the wrong things about our country or country men..good or bad..let the law decide that...we must not have a jungle raj, where every citizen takes it upto himself to get justice...then what are the law and order made for?
We have so many good things here, but I rarely see that beingpublicised.
u have been tagged... check ma blog
http://jainchandni.blogspot.com/2010/02/chinese-tag-and-honest-scrap.html
Agree with your thought and your line of reasoning in this post. Like you I too feel the same, "I feel very bad when I see educated youth taking pride in denigrating India or saying proudly all the wrong things about our country or country men.." Education should give us the capability to understand 'where we come from' and our history and geography better. Education is not meant only for earning a living, I believe.
Good point. There must be something in our education that breeds so much self contempt. Thousand years of foreign rule, you see.
chanz; Thank you for tagging me!..I will certainly do it, though it may take some time.
JP Joshi:Thank you sir!....And still today's youth think they are more aware and evolved persons, wheres we were taught...bina marthbhoomi ke samman ke ham insaan bhi nahi ha...
inferno: welcome here!...you are right, we cant think in a independent way, we still have those british glasses on.
It is sad that Indians are being attacked in other countries. Racial discrimination should be stopped.
Informative post!
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