It is distressing that Indians are yet to be protected or offered protection by the Australian Government and that the police are still failing to acknowledge the attacks as racist. Detective Sergeant Neil Smyth said "I believe there's no reason at this stage to consider this in any way racially motivated."

Due to the serious lack of support and protection of Indians in Australia, by the Australian Government and institutions, some Indians in Australia have paid the ultimate price, with their life. How many more lives have to be lost? How many more Indians need to be attacked before action is taken?

This is a result of months of attacks which have been focused on Indian students during the summer. It has also emerged that Amitabh Bachchan, a Bollywood icon, had turned down an honorary degree from Queensland University of Technology, saying “my conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen.”

It is vital that the Australian government treats these attacks as racially motivated. The government must provide protection to Indian Students who are contributing not only in terms of much needed fees, but also by serving the Australian community services with much needed labour. The Australian Government is assessing whether these attacks are racial in nature, although the behavioural pattern and the history of the attacks make it clear that this is the case. It also appears that the Police are slow in reacting to apprehend the culprits and need to offer far better protection to Indians in areas which are already known to have extremist elements. The Australian Government and Police seem to be forgetting to the enormous contribution Indian graduates are making to the educational, economic and cultural well-being of Australia. The government has already started to pay the price; reports suggest that 4,000 fewer Indian students will be enrolling from next year, costing universities £44 million.

NHSF (UK) would like the Indian Government to act now. We also urge the Australian Government to help end these racist acts and that the Indian community must be granted immediate police protection. We cannot wait for another life to be lost.

We also recommend the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, to write to his counterpart in Australia to enforce law and order and provide necessary protection to the Indian students and community.

Due to the number of attacks taking place, NHSF have decided not to address any of these individual issues directly in this article, but have provided some links at the bottom of this page which can give you more information about them. If you have come across an article which you feel you would like to share then please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

NHSF (UK) feels so strongly that they have set up an online petition which can be accessed via a link at the end of this article. Please sign the petition and encourage others sign it in support of Indians in Australia.