Response to a biased and factually incorrect TOI Article

Response/Concerns


I doubt if the reporter has done any research on social life in Australia or even in India. I don't think that it is acceptable for any unwanted/uninvited guest to enter into any house without permission. It is called trespassing and is punishable by law.


The question that has to be asked is - did the Police or authorities apply the full force of law?


This style of reporting clearly smells of bias, anyone can have a drink or party at home. It is part of basic human right. But what is unacceptable is anyone breaching someone's privacy and dignity.


I have personally met Shravan and all his friends. They all came from a very decent and good family. They were socialising within friends and as stipulated there were no 'free flowing liquor' or 'indian girls' at the party. It was decent get-together as reported to me on the day of the incident.


I was personally with them for the first week when none of the named distinguished people even bothered to support the suffering students. In fact the Indian Consulate people came, after 4 days, after the issue was carried diligently by the Indian media.


The reporter actually missed the facts again. The gathering outside the Parliament was actually a peace walk organised when Victorian Government refused to even acknowledge the increasing attacks against people of Indian origin. By Police's own admission there were approximately 3 to 4 reported incidents against Indians and Indians were 3 to 4 times more likely to be victims of attack.


The idea was to get attention in a peaceful way which will also give people a way to vent their frustration. The peace walk was the protest of the silent majority.


Contrary to the reporter's observation there were thousands of people in the walk. No stones were thrown at the Parliament House. In fact, Shravan's room-mates, friends and well-wishers finished the rally by lighting candles on the footsteps of Parliament.


I would challenge the reporter to show any gathering of thousands of angry young people that ends so peacefully.


People on their way to the station were enticed by rabble-rousers. In fact, I personally worked with the Chief Commissioner of Police to try to diffuse the crowd. A fact that was substantiated by him at the time. I am sure a simple phone call to him will clarify the reality on who was helping.


For record, I am not aligned to any political party and I definitely do not hold any extremist view point.

This reporter made no attempts to contact me. In fact I was contacted by three staff from TOI during the last 4 days, including Shobhan Saxena Senior Asst Editor (Sunday Times). We spoke on the phone atleast 3 times and exchanged a number of emails. How come only this reporter failed?


For record, I am not a Cardiologist.


It also seems that the reporter has only met with people with a certain viewpoint. I think the reporter would have done justice by mentioning that the Indian associations they are talking about is headed by an Education Agent. A declaration of conflict of interest generally is indication of an accountable reporting. Did the reporter ask if the people named in his report have not made profit from student migration either by way of earning commissions or migration work?


The implication that people from other countries are not concerned about crimes and discrimination again shows the lack of knowledge and professionalism in reporting. In fact Government of China had issued a number of warnings to Government of Australia even before Government of India did anything. Testament to the fact that crimes against Indians is a serious problem is the fact the United Nations Human Rights Commission has asked Australia to present a report on such attacks to the United Nations.


Let us not rile the memories of young men and women of India who have lost their future and in some cases their lives in seeking a better future. There is nothing wrong in people seeking better future. I think these young Indians - where ever they are from - deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.


They are hard-working people and are sons and daughters of hard working parents. What we should be worried about and writing and exposing are the 40% college operators and education agents who are nothing more than scam agents hurting Australia and India and their good citizens.


 

Excerpts from TOI article here.

Liquor, much like loud music and laughter, flowed freely at the party. On such occasions, it is not unusual for uninvited guests to join in the revelry. When two young, white gatecrashers rang the doorbell, the Indians welcomed them with open arms. But soon the booze began to take its toll. Hot words were exchanged when the whites made passes at Indian girls. They were shown the door.
 

Pasted from <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Oz-us-A-banged-up-equation/articleshow/5826770.cms>


 
Even as Shravan Kumar struggled for his life in the hospital, a small group of left-wing radicals, both Indian and Australian, staged a demonstration outside the Victoria state Parliament House. They shouted angry slogans, pelted a few stones and bricks, broke some windows. From the sidelines, half a dozen or so members of the Australian Socialist Party, a fringe group, made provocative speeches. Among the rabble-rousers, according to a witness, was an Indian, Gautam Gupta, a failed businessman and a jobless cardiologist who over the years had fancied himself as an avatar of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. (Efforts to reach Gupta bore no fruit.) By sunset, the police had dispersed the demonstrators. Along the way however they, and especially the firebrand Gupta, attracted a huge amount of attention in the national media. And that coverage in turn got the Indian media all worked up.


 
Pasted from <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Oz-us-A-banged-up-equation/articleshow/5826770.cms>


 
Indian community associations are making a valiant effort to come to the rescue of students duped into coming to the country. They are lobbying the government to strengthen security for Indians and to come down hard on the perpetrators of violence. The Indian consulate, too, is straining every nerve to assist them. But it is woefully understaffed. All the same, the leaders — including high-profile ones like Vasan Srinivasan, who very nearly got elected to the Victoria parliament; Vernon da Gama, a hugely sought-after solicitor and Ravi Bhatia, the suave and highly admired CEO of a telecom company — are unanimous in their belief that the issue at stake in the spate of attacks on Indians is not so much racism as a question of maintaining order and enforcing the law.


 
They repeat that the Indian media's charges of racism quite correctly rile the Australians. This, in turn, tarnishes the entire Indian diaspora, most of whose members are successful professionals and adds strains and stresses to the India-Australia bilateral relationship. I asked the community leaders why Indians were targeted and not students from other countries. One reason, I was told, is that most of the other students come from good social backgrounds. They have a working knowledge of English and have the necessary funds to pay for their education.


 
Pasted from <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Oz-us-A-banged-up-equation/articleshow/5826770.cms>