‘I am tomorrow’: Violence against Indian students in Australia and political denial

Abstract

India has experienced significant economic growth since the 1990s. Young middle-class Indian nationals have embraced international tertiary and vocational education as a part of this trend. Many of these students have come to Australia to study. In 2009, claims that Indian students in Australia were being targeted for racial violence received worldwide media attention. This article presents the results of a qualitative study of public documents surrounding the ‘violence against Indian students’ issue over a 12-month period. It contends that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that some of the victimisation had a racial or anti-Indian element to it. Drawing upon literature on racism, it reveals a discourse of denial that runs through the responses of Australia’s political leaders to this claim. In the current global environment, however, exposure of Australia’s denial by the Indian media may operate as a form of counter-discourse from an emerging superpower whose citizens refuse to tolerate the failure of western nations to take responsibility for the injustice of racial violence.

The Production of the Indian Student: Regimes and Imaginaries of Migration, Education, Labour, Citizenship and Class

“…The so-called Indian student 'crisis' of 2009 and 2010 is often analysed in the context of how the violence against students challenged Australian multiculturalism and revealed both underlying racism and denial of racism in Australian society (see, for example, Mason 2012, Dunn, Pelleri & Maeder-Han 2011, Singh 2011. Some analyses further interrogate the incidents in relation to Australia's relationship to India as one of its Asia-Pacific neighbours and key trading partners (Mason 2012).…”

“…Some analyses further interrogate the incidents in relation to Australia's relationship to India as one of its Asia-Pacific neighbours and key trading partners (Mason 2012). Yet there was a far wider context of global transformations to regimes of immigration, education, labour and citizenship that shaped the experience of Indian students in Australia leading up to and after the 'crisis' itself.…”

The legislative context of prejudice motivated victimisation: perceptions of police legitimacy and citizen decisions to report hate crime incidents

“…Unfortunately, authorities downplayed the issue (Dunn, Pelleri, et al, 2011) and political leaders and federal parliament denied the matter of racism concerning these cases, trying to save face overseas (Mason, 2012a). Federal politicians engaged in three discursive manoeuvres, ranging from avoidance, opposing rhetoric, to deflection (Mason, 2012a).…”

“…Unfortunately, authorities downplayed the issue (Dunn, Pelleri, et al, 2011) and political leaders and federal parliament denied the matter of racism concerning these cases, trying to save face overseas (Mason, 2012a). Federal politicians engaged in three discursive manoeuvres, ranging from avoidance, opposing rhetoric, to deflection (Mason, 2012a). Politicians publically refused to take up the topic of racism and condemn racist violence, instead creating positive images of multiculturalism and normalising the issue as everyday violence (Mason, 2012a).…”

“…Federal politicians engaged in three discursive manoeuvres, ranging from avoidance, opposing rhetoric, to deflection (Mason, 2012a). Politicians publically refused to take up the topic of racism and condemn racist violence, instead creating positive images of multiculturalism and normalising the issue as everyday violence (Mason, 2012a).…”