Flashback 2012 The issues that became talking points this year, in Sydney’s Indian community

shows Bollywood Star (SBS) and Dumb, Drunk and Racist (ABC).

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

The Indian community is the fourth largest migrant group in Australia, Census data revealed this year, with Hinduism the largest growing religion. As our numbers increase, so does our clout on a variety of fronts – and not merely as a viable vote bank. It is hardly surprising then that it has been a busy year for the community, making strides in different endeavours. Here’s a look at the major trends within our community this past year.

India-Oz

At the highest levels, the main issue was related to the relationship between our country of origin and the one we now call home. Have the conflicts of the past few years irrevocably changed things for the worse, or is there opportunity to build bridges? The Australian government certainly seems to believe the latter is true, given the number of high-profile visits that have taken place to India. PM Julia Gillard’s own tour will probably be remembered by the wider community for that muchreplayed stumble on the lawns at Rajghat - and maybe for the somewhat controversial announcement of an Australian honour for Sachin Tendulkar - but many in the Indian community here who waited to see more on the uranium front were left disappointed. Not much progress has been made on the issue ever since that change of track announced last year. It would seem that from India’s perspective at least, this will continue to be the deciding factor in the normalisation of relations. The Australia India Institute’s “Taskforce Perceptions” report released this year, made some 30-odd recommendations for both nations towards the same end in a variety of other fields, and at best, make up a ‘softer’ strategy.

In the mainstream

There were a fair few Indian links in the mainstream this year.

The cricket tour early on was eminently forgettable, marking the beginning of the slide for the Indian team towards the crisis it finds itself in today.

What was not so disappointing however, was the launch later in the year of the government’s Asian Century White Paper in which provisions were made for increased opportunity in our schools for the learning of Asian languages including Hindi.

(Mala Mehta no doubt broke into an impromptu bhangra she is well-known in the community for her crusade for Hindi language learning in our schools).

There was also much discussion in the community about two mainstream TV

Wish the same could be said about this year’s Sydney Film Festival at which India was a special theme: there were simply not enough takers from the community, even though the line-up of films included some hot new offerings such as Gangs of Wasseypur. (The hoi polloi will not be stimulated unless there is a Bollywood star involved somewhere). The mainstream however, lapped it up - just like Parramasala later in the year. With Parramasala strangely, there was not much excitement within the community in the lead up to it, but once it was on, it turned out to be really quite enjoyable: something for the organisers to address perhaps.

India at uni

Perhaps the year’s most significant trend for the community has been the flurry of India-related activities on our university campuses, welcome reports after the students’ crisis of a few years ago.

Worthy of special mention was the inaugural Australia India Literatures International Forum organised by the UWS’s Mridula Nath Chakraborty. We have had large scale events in film and cultural shows, even art exhibitions, but this first attempt at a writers’ fest, which attracted English as well as regional language writers from India, some of the best from Australia, and some of the brightest from the Indian-Australian community, deserves special kudos. It wins Indian Link’s Event of the Year Award!

Early in the year UNSW organised its inaugural Gandhi Oration. Aboriginal activist Patrick Dodson who attracted