Trouble Down under

The months of December, January and early February are the most pleasant months if you happen to live in Chennai, a place known for its hot & humid weather. The early mornings are pleasant with the birds chirping and the air is fresh ’n’ chill. Come march you would start perspiring the moment you wake up. Living in a hot & humid place and being a hairy person is a practical joke by the Almighty. After completing the morning rituals, most Chennaites will be picking up their copy of “The Hindu” newspaper and enjoying a cup of early morning drink, sitting besides the window.

Of late it deeply disturbs me whenever I read that Indians are being attacked in Australia (the land down under). Initially I hoped and prayed it should be one off incident but alas my hope was shattered into pieces when this little news kept repeating itself, before anyone could realize it turned into a political tornado. True to its nature, the Indian media started serving sensational news item by the day. At one point of time I am sure many followers of English news would have known the Australian geography better than their own neighborhood. The ugly racism card was being repeatedly played and unfortunately the Indian public started to accept the media’s verdict without any questions asked. Until our honorable External Affairs minister called for some sense of sanity and little more responsiveness from the Indian media. The Indian attack rhetoric was played down little once the Home ministry & External ministry started saying their opinion. Meanwhile yours truly was wondering what is that it’s really happening in the land of Kangaroo’s. I always believe in every story has two sides and unfortunately we are not able to go beyond the obvious.  Here is what is really happening in down under and why this might just be the precedent for more clashes like this in the other parts of the world, unless all the stakeholders doesn’t perform due diligence. I sincerely hope & pray I am proved wrong by my fellow human beings.

With the world relenting under severe economic depression the jobs are vanishing in thin air. Suddenly people are losing their opportunity for having a decent life. On the other hand the Indian community is truly opening up thanks to economic liberalization in 1990, Indians have started traveling to faraway places in pursuit of a foreign education and life. Because if ain’t studied aboard you are lost in the Indian rat race. Every free man certainly has the right to choose his / her choice of education. But in the madness the non – metro or ‘Bharat’ (a ‘India’ within India) because of their ignorance often fall trap to the lucrative/enticing offers made by foreign universities. We can’t blame these universities also, since their native population is ageing they naturally want to expose themselves to the student community which is quite in abundance in India.  The Indian parents in their eagerness to provide the best possible education often oversee the fact about the true worthiness of certain college degrees. For them a foreign education is more prestigious than a Indian education not necessarily the better one. 85% of the Indian students take education loans, these loan amounts cover the cost of education and book. With  no one to watch their back and freed from inner moral restrictions most of the Indian students have a blast and start enjoying their academic stay.  In order to earn for their daily livelihood they often end up taking part time jobs as store cashier, gas station person, Indian restaurants working well into late night hours where the hourly billing rate is high since not many native people opt for these timings. No place on earth is safe when you roam around the streets during the owl hooting hours (1am – 3am) there by exposing themselves to all the societal nonsense and robbery attacks. 

If we really want to avoid such happenings in the future, the Indian parents and students should exercise a little more caution & restraint in choosing a foreign university, ensure whether it’s the best course and there is no such quality courses offered in India. Make sure you don’t return from part time jobs during ‘owl hooting’ hours and even if you happen to return please ensure you come together as a group of people.

Now this volatile issue has the characteristics to be repeated across the globe unless all the stakeholders perform due diligence in their respective areas. And the Indian media should  reports news events as it is rather than garnishing with their own seasonings. God bless humanity.