Amit DasguptaYear of living da

Sydney’s Consul General of India found himself thrust into the spotlight almost immediately after taking over as the representative of the Indian Government here. A year on, he chats with

PAWAN

LUTHRA

, CEO of Indian Link about the challenges of the past year

Since his arrival in Sydney just about a year ago, Consul General Amit Dasgupta has certainly made his presence felt. Within weeks of assuming office, he was confronted with the explosion of attacks on Indian students. A concerned local Indian community, pressure from the Foreign Ministry in India, and the mood in India certainly kept this diplomat in the limelight all year round. His comments in the media have been well received: his articulate views on SBS’s Insight program particularly, won him many admirers. Amit Dasgupta offers us a peek into the challenges that defined his past year in Australia.

PAWAN LUTHRA: It is about a year since you took over the helm at the Indian Consulate in Sydney. Was it a baptism of fire for you?

AMIT DASGUPTA: Yes, it was quite traumatic, quite dramatic, but I am quite pleased that after I arrived in Sydney, based on briefings I had got from my predecessor, I decided to establish a student liaison committee and task them with coming up with, a) what they perceive as the problem, and b) what we need to do. So when the first attacks happened, we were up and running and that was sheer coincidence and good luck. I guess with a large influx of Indian students, I wanted to understand what was happening and so in a meeting with Indian community services and presidents of various associations, a committee of 4-5 people who volunteered was established. This committee delivered and helped us at the time of the student attacks. Once their job was done, this committee was dissolved. Meanwhile, the student issues had reached greater proportions and I found various associations such as the AIBC had set up student committees and they came up with recommendations.

Regarding the attacks on Indian students, I do not know why they’ve happened. I keep hearing words like soft targets. I have taken the position that this is an unacceptable term to me, because the key of policing is crime prevention and if you cannot prevent a crime and a crime indeed takes place, only two courses of action are left: one is, the catch the criminal, and the second is, ensure such a crime does not reoccur. If you use a term such as ‘soft target’, today it will be Indian students, and tomorrow it will be the elderly, perhaps even children and the disabled…there will be no end. If a crime takes place, it means policing has not been in order.

PL: Have the attacks been racially motivated?

AD: I do not think that all crimes are racially motivated. If one looks at the age and profiles of the assailants, their average age is 17-19 years, or people who are intoxicated on alcohol or drugs, possibly unemployed. The Indian community carry cash and they get mugged late at night. The Chinese move in larger groups and can protect themselves better. Let’s also be clear that the attacks are happening in one State above another, and this suggests that this State has less effective policing.

PL: What is the progress on issues of travel concession, affordable housing and job placement services for students?

AD: The NSW Government-constituted task force has given its report which is, I believe, under examination and being studied by the NSW cabinet. A decision will be considered and conveyed in the next few days. I do not have a copy of this report - it has not been shared with me; however, my understanding is that at least on housing and unemployment there has been some progress. The travel concession is a political decision. I have raised it once again, and also set up the suggestion of establishing an International Students’ Centre.

PL: Should the Indian government have taken strong steps to curb the mis-reporting by the media, which has resulted in such negativity about Australia?

AD: India, like Australia, has a free press. And the media always offers readers and viewers what they anticipate their audience will want. It is a reflection of their perception and with the number of the attacks on Indian students going up, the feeling in India was that Australia is not the safest place - this was something that the Indian media latched on to. When the attacks took place, the coverage by the Indian media brought the two heads of state together on a subject that deserved attention. I also believe that to talk about a ‘racist Australia’ is a catch phrase, but quite frankly I do not believe that anyone in India seriously believes that Australians are racist. The real problem the Indians are facing is that attacks are taking place and continuing, and that no one has been caught. It is very difficult to tell a parent when you return their deceased son or daughter that Australia is a safe place and that all Indians are welcome, and that this is nothing but a crime. A parent does not derive any comfort from that. I believe that the political leadership in India has shown maturity. Because at the end of the day, they have to respond to a situation when an attack takes place. We’ve always perceived Australians to be laid back, happy-go-lucky and exceptional people through his head without provocation and then further attacks took place. The victims received no support from the system, and the attackers were not caught. In Sydney the whole situation was different. We reacted quickly, the NSW Government coming here for their PR, they are the risk takers. Their figures are not falling due to the ‘fear factor’. The figures are falling due to new restrictive visa regimes which are leading to low enrolment. When the visa regime is strict, you are basically