Indian students aren’t the only targets

In a world where it is believed that education from foreign universities will help obtain better employment and even better salaries, the question of students’ safety away from their homes is one that commonly arises.

The recent murder of Anuj Bidve has once again raised this nagging issue of the safety of Indian students abroad. Such violence against Indians, students in particular, is often said to be directly related to racism, a term commonly used in this context.

But is the use of such a strong term justified?

Racism is the belief that people’s characteristics and abilities are based simply on their race and ethnicity and though some of the attacks reported against Indian students were racially motivated, one cannot generalize them all under this category as such attacks are not restricted to the Indian student community alone.
 
These attacks were generally opportunistic and had nothing to do with race or Indian students in particular. Many of these crimes have been taken out of context and sensationalized to a great extent by the media, which tend to get carried away with their attempts at touching human emotions, as was seen in the Bidve case.

A common idea among people is that such attacks on Indians are often provoked by the locals’ insecurity about jobs and opportunities that they believe are meant for them, but are being offered to Indians instead. Indians outperform the locals academically and come as cheap labor, which lands them great jobs, leaving the local youth unemployed. This builds a feeling of hostility against Indians which leads to cases of crime, or so it is believed.

When a person travels to another country, he or she needs to have an open mind. One is more than likely to face racist remarks no matter where they are. This trend isn’t exclusively seen in Australia or Britain, the two countries currently on the radar, and is most definitely not directed toward Indians alone.

Cases of racism are a common phenomenon world over. Discrimination occurs against almost all minority groups. This was clear all through the “war on terror” post 9/11, during which Muslims across the globe were extensively discriminated against and were often victims of violence.

India, too, is no exception to cases. As an example, though many may not agree, South Indians are often made fun of in the North Indian states and are stereotyped and vice versa.

Also, one cannot easily forget the orthodox beliefs of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, which is incapable of hearing a word against their state or its people and also unleashed violent attacks on those who migrated to Mumbai for economic reasons.

Though the attacks in Australia seem racially driven and more than just crimes of opportunity, similar neighborhood crimes are a common occurrence in India as well. Cases of drunken murders and rapes make frequent news in the country.


A report released by the Australian Institute of Criminology in 2009 indicates that “international students are less likely or as likely to be victims of physical assault and other theft” as the general population of the country. This theory can be applied to any country as most of these robberies and assault cases are petty thefts and opportunistic in nature.


While in foreign countries, people in general, especially those working night shifts, are advised to steer clear of dark alleys and deserted streets to avoid being exposed to incidents of crime, the situation is no different in India. Here too people, women in particular, are warned against the same for their own safety.


With racial discrimination and related crimes prevalent everywhere, why should one focus primarily on the safety of Indian students alone? Students world over need to be reassured about their safety in a foreign country.
 
Originally published in The SoftCopy