CanberraCalling

A networking forum by the Indian High Commissioner in Canberra brings some of the best minds of the community together. PAWAN LUTHRA reports

This is an opportunity to exchange ideas amongst ourselves and a forum to network”.

That was how the Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Her Excellency Sujatha Singh described the select gathering of Indian community leaders in Canberra on 28th October 2009.

Over 50 representatives of various Indian associations, academics with an Indian connection and community leaders discussed issues of mutual interest at this very special meeting.

The scene was set at Hotel Hyatt alongside Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra and delegates had flown in or driven in from Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria and NSW – in fact all the states where members of the Indian diaspora can be found. Chaired by Deputy High Commissioner VK Sharma and hosted by the High Commissioner, the two Consul Generals of India, Amit Dasgupta from NSW and Anita Nayar from Victoria were also present to absorb the feedback from the attendees and give their own viewpoints.

For over 2 hours, delegates to this mini and private Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas - strictly by invitation only - came forth with their ideas and suggestions on various issues covering the life of Indian-origin Australians. Topics which were brought up included the still-hot Indian international students issue, the role of Indian employers vis-a-vis Indian students, domestic violence etc. As each of the 50-odd guests stepped up on the platform and presented their suggestions, the Indian government representatives kept copious notes. Later the High Commissioner spent over an hour presenting her and her team’s views on the matters raised.

The topics raised, discussed and analysed included the following.

The delegates felt that the students coming to Australia need to be made aware of the reality of living, studying and working in Australia. These might be problems faced because of not being aware of the types of courses they are enrolling for, the dangers of late night travel, and the problems with employment including exploitation by their employers due to their lack of awareness of Australian rules and regulations. The delegates also raised questions regarding the policing of education consultants in India and their governance. AIBC Chairman Emeritus Neville Roach, one of the speakers, said regarding the issue that we Indians living in Australia have a responsibility to help the Australian and State Governments to win back the confidence and goodwill of the Indian community here and in India. We need to convince the authorities to act more sensitively, he added.

Vish Vishwanthan from the Federation of Indian Associations in Australia (FAIA) also felt that the Indian reportage of the attacks on the students created a bad image of Australia in India. He urged the Australian Government to work with the Indian media to repair some of the damage done to this representation of Australia in India.

Umesh Chandra, President GOPIO from Queensland however, stressed that it is important to face up to the fact that Australia is a racist country and if that fact is denied, then this problem will not be solved. He stressed that students should be made to feel more welcome and there should be job opportunities created for them in their own communities.

Building on this Neville Roach added, “In relation to the attacks on India students, we should encourage Australian Governments and our fellow Australians to avoid the usual kneejerk reaction of denial when allegations of racism are made. This only destroys our credibility. Instead all such allegations should be taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated, with appropriate action against proven perpetrators.”

Gambhir Watts from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan raised the transport problems which students face in Australia. He felt that this was a discriminating factor against overseas students.

Umesh Kotur from Chandana TV was keen to make available orientation courses for the new migrant.

In response to issues relating to the students, High Commissioner Singh agreed that this one issue has dominated the relationships between the two countries in the past 6 months. “My colleagues, Consuls General Amit Dasgupta and Anita Nayar have spent a lot of time in the last six months talking to students in Harris Park, in Sunshine, in Footscray, in taxis and restaurants and then we have been camped inside the Australian Parliament meeting the various MPs on these issues. We can possibly write a Ph D thesis on the topic”, she told the gathering. “Our job is to protect the legitimate interests of the Indian students in Australia; after all, they are Indian nationals,” she strongly stated. “However”, she continued, “the students need to recognise that their first job is to study, so if they have to write an exam anytime, they should be able to do so”.

Mrs Singh urged the local Indian community to get involved in the welfare of the students. “There are 100,000 students and over 300,000 (settled) Indians here: it will be great if the seniors can reach out to them, become a mentor to them, guide them. It will go a long way,” she said.

However, she also cautioned that the system of getting visa approvals for students in India is getting tougher. Practices in the Australian High Commission have changed such that now all visa applicants are being interviewed and it is believed that there is an 80% refusal rate for new visa applications. The Indian government has

Sujatha Singh, High Commissioner of India to Australia, addresses a gathering of leading members of the community

Mrs. Singh agreed that the denial of the sale of uranium to India has been a stumbling block in the relationship between the two countries. She conceded that lobbying the powers-that-be, from within the Indian community here, could be a possible help in the process image of Australia. This needs to be corrected and the Australian High Commission in India is doing this”, she clarified.

“I also believe that for Indian employers there should be a voluntary code of conduct which they need to adhere to and the Consul General’s office in Sydney will be working on this,” she added.

Many delegates were equally concerned about the rising incidence of domestic violence in the community.

“Unfortunately, some domestic violence issues are being imported from India with new migrants unaware that certain issues which are taken for granted in India can be counted as domestic violence here in Australia”, one delegate stated. In reply, the High Commissioner urged the various associations to be more involved in educating the community here.

“The associations need to be more relevant with the changing needs of the community, there has to be education at grass roots levels,” Mrs Singh said.

The Australia-India Parliamentary Group, led by Julie Owens (Member for Parramatta), joins the gathering

Raji Swaminathan from Sydney Tamil Sangam raised the issue of an aging diaspora. Not only is the organic Indian Australian aging, but also parents migrating here have greater needs, she noted.

“It is difficult to find facilities which can take care of them who understand the language, cultural habits such as vegetarian food or even simple issues such as how to tie a sari”, she said.

A number of other delegates echoed her views.

“From the High Commission’s position, it is very difficult for us to contribute significantly in this regard,” Mrs. Singh said, adding, “I do urge you however, to raise it with your local MPs”.

The Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas has failed to excite the Indian Australians, some of the delegates reflected.

“While it is a great idea, we only get to know in November as to where it is being held and as such find it difficult to plan to attend,” it was stated. Neville Roach, the only Indian-Australian to have been honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Award and a member of Indian Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council, recounted to the group the importance of attending the PBD as a team.

“From the US, there are over a thousand attendees. They sit together, they lobby as a team, and are accorded special forums at the PBD. From Australia, we do not have these numbers which makes it difficult for us to be a force at these functions,” he said.

The High Commissioner agreed that there should be sufficient advance notice as to the venue of the PBD so that guests can plan their other travel around it.

“However, the date of 9th January is fixed, as it is the day Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa,” she said. She also confirmed that Australia needs a stronger voice and bigger numbers need to attend the PBD.

An interesting point emerging from the delegates was the urgent need to lobby the Australian government to consider selling uranium to India.

“The nuclear non-proliferation treaty is outdated and is a discriminatory tool used to whip India. While certain signatories of the treaty like China use uranium to further their influence and assist countries such as North Korea, Pakistan and Iran, Australia is ignoring this fact. India needs uranium to meet its growing energy needs. Australia continues to preach its commitments to climate change, and urges countries like India to reduce their emissions, yet they do not want to help India use a much cleaner source such as uranium,” it was observed.

The delegates urged the formation of a lobby group which can educate the local Indian community on these issues and then from the grassroots, lobby with the them know their feelings about this discrimination against India.

Mrs. Singh agreed that the denial of the sale of uranium to India has been a stumbling block in the relationship between the two countries. She conceded that lobbying the powers-that-be, from within the Indian community here, could be a possible help in the process, while stating vehemently that she was not in a position to be able to tell the community here what to do.

“The non resident Indian community in the US played a major role in lobbying the US government in passing the bill to transfer peaceful nuclear know-how to India,” she noted, implying that perhaps a similar stance from within the community here could possibly achieve the same.

Other delegates such as Shail Chandra and Dev Tripathy from Hindi Samaaj, raised the issues of Hindi language teaching in the community. Members from Melbourne such as Ravi Bhatia, Sanjay Jain and Sydney’s Dr. Yadu Singh raised issues both privately and publicly of the students and racism in the community.

Later, the High Commissioner invited the delegates to meet with members of the Australia India Parliamentary group at the High Commission. There the group led by Julie Owens, Member for Parramatta met with the delegates and spoke about the growing strength of relationship between the two countries.

An afternoon such as this brought together some of the best in the Indian community from around Australia under one roof to discuss issues of concerns to the Indian diaspora.

While the High Commission picked the brains of those present, for delegates themselves, it was an opportunity to put their concerns forward to representatives of the Indian government here, while availing of the priceless networking opportunities that it all opened up.

A mini Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, it certainly helped rally the community together.

Photos Michael Thorne