Over the last one year there have occurred a series of regular attacks on Indian nationals and students living in Australia. It sparked street protests and a diplomatic row. A lot has been said and written about this and the reasons given range from the effects of global recession, racism in that country to better PG educational opportunities down under and the consequent employment benefits in India thereafter.
We need to find out here why is this taking place all of a sudden. Why is it that Indians are so unwelcome in such a beautiful country? I do not remember of India having fought Australia in a war or having any enmity with it, economic or otherwise, ever to see this happening. On the contrary their cricketers are very popular here and we love and adore them. They have a zeal and passion for cricket and love for India. We look up to them as the reference point when good cricket and cricketers are talked about anywhere in the globe. They earn in millions of Rupees in the Indian Premier League every year. Many of them like Steve Waugh, Brett Lee, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, are brand ambassadors of products and services sold in India.
For example, Brett Lee is for their news channel P 7 News . Pearls Broadcasting Corporation Pvt. Ltd. made a big mark in the Indian media world with its recently launched Hindi news Channel P7 in Mumbai & New Delhi. He said, “It is a privilege to be associated with P 7 News Channel as their brand ambassador. We share a common passion which is cricket. The channel is bringing cricket to the homes of every Indian cricket fan. I am glad to be the medium of reaching out to the cricket crazy fans of India to promote the cricketing season on P 7 News Channel. ”
His appeal to the Deakin University authority, of which he is the ambassador, to ensure safety for the Indian students should have been a turning point as the attacks have the potential to disturb the long-standing ties between the two countries.
Cricket has sometimes been hailed as an over hyped sport. But this is the one time when many in India and Australia are hoping the game will work its charm and help mend bridges with Indians.
Former Australian cricketer and captain, Steve Waugh, an Indophile and philanthropist whose association with India dates back to more than 22 years has done a lot of charitable and social work in our country.
For example, the Navitas-Steve Waugh Education Trust provides financial support to under-privileged children and give them better education. This is his third social welfare project in the country. The Australian batsman is known for supporting 310 children at Udayan, the home for the children of leprosy patients at Titagarh near Kolkata. Waugh has a wish that he plans to implement. “I want a kid, who has been born to parents afflicted by leprosy and brought up in Udayan, to avail of the Navitas-Steve Waugh Scholarship and study abroad. It would make for a great inspiration story,” he said.
Condemning the attack on Indian students in Australia, he said majority of his countrymen did not endorse what happened as they welcome a cosmopolitan Australia.
2 comments:
It is not a post on international cricket nor a comment against racism. I have not jumped to any conclusion nor joined in the hysteria.
India and Australia have a deep bonding of cricket and share very old ties. The game is the most popular and financially rewarding in both the countries.
I have made an attempt to find out why this is happening. People living in Australia should be knowing much more about the gruesome reality and its reasons. I look forward to their inputs. Hypothetical examples will not serve any purpose here.
After a year of the series of attacks on Indians living down under my only concern is their well being.
Colonial legacy is one of the main reasons for the close affinity and bonding between the two countries. But there has not been any confrontation during cricket matches with Australia. Excitement and passion would be far better words which run more deep in this part of the world as far as the game is concerned.
What is it about is my concern. If I had believed what all the media has been saying over the last one year I wouldn't have posted this here. If you have followed this closely you would have known what incidents have occurred. And we are not talking about one or two examples.
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