YOUR SAY

Australia-India trade deal is one of a raft of measures signifying new geoeconomic and strategic ambitions, wrote DIPEN RUGHANI and NATASHA JHA BHASKAR.

Peter Laffrey wrote: As an Indian migrant, I’d like to congratulate the Federal Government on concluding the historic Australia-India trade agreement. Aside from the commercial benefits to both countries, it strengthens the relationship with AUKUS and sends a message to Mr Xi Jinping that democratic nations are also united in trade. The FTA also has a real shared societal benefit as well. I believe the substantial diaspora of 650,000 plus Australian Indians (spread over the nation) who are aspirational achievers, will feel delighted with the closer ties brought about by this FTA.

Maree Halstead wrote: Selling out our Australia one country at a time.

Salvatore Babones wrote: Everyone is celebrating the IndAus ECTA, or the AI ECTA, or whatever you want to call the latest trade agreement, and they should. But any real deepening of India-Australia economic ties has to be based on profit, not politics. For India, that means further business visa liberalisation beyond the modest reforms included. For Australia, that means increasing investment into India’s burgeoning infrastructure sector. Neither of these require an FTA. They require only political will, and the last time frame to be looking for political will is just ahead of a national election.

Nearly $250,000 raised for two young kids who survived a road accident in Telangana which took the lives of both their parents.

Jayabharathi Jayabharathi wrote: Very sad incident. Om shanti. Thanks to the well wishers and friends who are available in crucial time to help the bereaved children. God bless the good Samaritans.

Manju Menaka wrote: God bless the children. And the good Samaritans. Joyce Marshal wrote: RIP. Lord, take care of the children

Vinaya Rai wrote: A terrible tragedy but wonderful community spirit. Aparna Mahajan wrote: Part of the fundraising is going towards securing the home for the kids and to bringing them back.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF KANGAROOS FOUND IN INDIA

Wildlife authorities are being called out to rescue kangaroos from odd spots in eastern India.

Arix Bishnoi wrote: Must have escaped from the zoo?

Subhodeep Brahma wrote: Part of the new free trade agreement…?

Nitin Bhagwatkar wrote: Coders for kangaroos. Seems like fair barter!

Ajit Velankar wrote: Reverse migration?

Priyanka Sarma wrote: This is heartbreaking. Hope animal rights groups are investigating.

How do you define woman? I know! You both talk all over her during the debate you morons!

Samantha Maiden, news.com.au political editor

Sydney’s Indian community bid a sad farewell to Surjit, of Surjit’s Indian Restaurant fame.

Inderpal Chhiber wrote: He was a great, great soul. RI P

Samir Doshi wrote: Great, caring, humble man. Always looked after the cricket players at Sydney Uni. RIP.

Sridhar and Nanda Kumsy wrote: Sad goodbye from us too.

Rajesh Tanna wrote: RIP Surjitji. A humble and beautiful soul. You will be fondly remembered.

Ninda Virdee wrote: A very generous man. Touched many hearts. God bless him on his journey.

Nancy Singh wrote: Rest in peace,Chacha.

Sukhwindar Kerr wrote: Still miss his restaurant at Angel Place.

Ram Gusain wrote: (Lost) a good friend. May his soul rest in peace.

Jay Raman wrote: Sad to hear of this sudden demise. Remember those days at Angel Arcade and then at Strathfield. May his soul rest in peace.

Lalli Arora wrote: Was a good soul.Will be missed a lot

Dadi Khandhadia wrote: RIP. Sad news not only for the Sydney Indian community, but also for thousands of other Australian patrons who frequented his restaurants.

Readers Zeenat Anwar, Louis Raj, Surinder Singh, Mamta Bhatnagar, Suhinder Singh, Vivek Uppla, Sahil Tomar, Sanyogita Thakur, Jag Dhaliwal, Ranjeeni and Devendra Singh, Geetha Gopinath, Pravin Amin, Parminder Chhibber, Janki Advani Bhandary, Sanjay Kumar, Jatinder Kaur, Nadja Paolella, Roopa Mrudul and Brian Buckley also paid their respects.

Can't imagine what it is like for the trans community in Australia to watch how their identity has been discussed throughout this campaign.

Naveen Razik, SBS journo

It was around this stage of the 2019 election campaign when Clive Palmer began a relentless anti-Shorten advertising blitz. What he does with his money in the next fortnight could be one of the big wildcards this time around Kishor Napier-Raman, Crikey journo

Indian-Australian filmmaker Aleisha Winslow, 20, spoke to BAGESHRI SAVYASACHI about her latest short film and entering Australia's pale film and TV industry.

Jumana Khan wrote: So important and necessary to see SA representation in these creative industries. Not just actors, but also directors and producers. We have so many stories to create, tell and show! Wonderful to see your story being told, Aleisha.

Iqra Saeed wrote: Such a good read!

Shubha Trivedi wrote: What a quirky title - it is enough to make me want to see this film. When is it out?

Where in India, we asked, will you find this iconic church and what is it called?

We asked, what’s Ranveer Singh saying here?

Keyuri Thakkar Patel won a movie ticket for her comment: “Call the fashion police I say...Bindaas contest can wait.”

Ken Bee wrote: ‘I dare to wear my PJs and bubblegum footwear in public.”

Shruti Kumar wrote: “Hire me to entertain at Baby Showers. Guess Boy or Girl from my colours!”

Eldee D'Lima wrote: “Roses are red, violets are blue, my suit is bindaas, what say you?”

Alok Chaudhary wrote: “Deepika and I are pregnant!” (Mic drop.)

Sonal Wahi wrote: “Show me your nightsuits!”

Shaila Maheshwari wrote: “Who wants to play Tippy tippy tap what colour you want?”

Priyanka Agrawal Chokhani wrote: “I'm on my way to meet Govinda.”

Where in Oz, we asked, will you find a conservation park that is home to nearly 800 Australian sea lions?

If we think the mark of potential leaders of the country is defined by daily press packs looking for gotcha moments, we seriously underestimate intelligence of voters who look for vision, integrity, humanity & commitment to solving our big challenges Sam Mostyn AO, businesswoman and sustainability adviser

Why is it we only ever use the phrase "but he did so much for X community' when speaking of multicultural communities? You do realise we pay taxes? That we are citizens? That to 'serve us' is not a charitable act we need to be grateful for?

Nyadol Nyuon, lawyer

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An Indian Link election survey conducted midway in the election campaign has had the two leading political parties – Australian Labor Party and the LiberalNational Coalition – at the same level of support from the community.

If these numbers can be extrapolated nationally, then on the evening of May 21, neither party will form government in their own right, and the preference flows from the Greens and the Independents could decide who will take the reins in Canberra.

One thing for sure, though, is that PM Morrison’s curry night selfies on social media have turned more people off than brought in supporters. The food posts did not go down well with 23 per cent of the respondents, who said that they are less likely now to vote for him, as compared to 8 per cent who have a positive view. For most respondents though, it made no impact. “Let the man cook, if he wants to,” wrote one respondent, as a comment on the survey.

Let’s put things in perspective as to why the Indian community in Australia is being so heavily courted by all the political parties.

Firstly, it’s the sheer numbers. Currently 750,000-strong (though not all are eligible to vote), the community is growing rapidly, expected to touch the million mark when the Census results are released later this year. That the bulk of the community lives in marginal seats makes it a no-brainer that the leading politicians are drawn in.

Also, the new migrant is quite young –with an average age of 35, high levels of education, and a good understanding of the importance of elections and the power of the vote, having been brought up in a country like India.

But herein lies the dilemma for the new migrant. Those who migrated here and became citizens in the last, say, eight years, will have seen a Liberal Conservative government in India under PM Modi. This intersects largely with the time of a similarly attuned Coalition government in Canberra, mostly under PM Morrison. And yet as new migrants, education and healthcare are uppermost in their minds. Stretched financially, they rely on public education and health systems, and see the ALP as better responding to these needs. So, Indian-origin voters have the potential to swing both ways - and yes, they have been known to progressively change over the length of their life in Australia.

Indian Link’s online election survey gathered data on voting intentions from 1,218 nationwide respondents in the week 2-8 May 2022.

A substantial portion of the sample were those that have lived in Australia for over 20 years (55 per cent), while 25 per cent reported they have been here for 11-20