Storm brews in Oz, vigilante sentiment surges in Indians

Show restraint. That is the message coming from Indian leaders as racial tension in Australia escalates to disturbing levels. On Tuesday, prime minister Manmohan Singh asked the media to show ‘maturity’ in its reportage of the incidents as external affairs minister SM Krishna urged Indian students to exercise restraint and “focus on their studies”.

The comments came in the backdrop of the growing desire for retaliation in the Indian community, angered by the spate of attacks on it — 11 over the past month. For instance, as a reaction to the latest attack on an Indian on Monday night, a 20-year-old Australian was reportedly attacked by a group of Indian students,
who stabbed him in the neck and arm.

Sensing the growing frustration, visible in street protests and angry chatter on the web, the Australian authorities, too, appear to be using a conciliatory tone. On Tuesday, for the first time, Victoria’s police chief formally admitted that the attacks were not just petty crimes, but were also “racially motivated”.

But it will take more than words to restore confidence in the police who seem to have become the object of intense hatred in some sections of the Indian community. Having lost faith in the police, Indian students have formed groups to patrol troubled areas to prevent racial attacks on community members. But they have been asked by the police to stop the practice and let them do their jobs. The angry mood has been splashed on the web too, with viral messages spreading through videos, blog entries, and discussion groups.

In a bid to introduce some calm, Krishna on Tuesday said: “I would like to urge the Indian students to be calm and show restraint.”