Attacks on Indian students not racist: Oz Senate panel

Melbourne: Amid a spate of attacks on Indian youths in Australia, a Senate committee which probed the issue has concluded that the assaults were more likely to e "opportunistic robberies" than prompted by racism, prompting a student body to say the authorities "are still in denial."

"There was very little evidence that the assaults were based on racism or discrimination," committee chairman and Liberal Party senator, Mr Gary Humphries, told "The Australian".

The Senate committee report on the welfare of international students, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, found that the majority of evidence suggested that assaults against the youths were more likely to be "opportunistic robberies" than prompted by racism.

A total of 94 cases of attacks on Indians have been reported so far this year in Australia as against 17 incidents of assaults in 2008.

Reacting to the report, Federation of Indian Students of Australia (Fisa) president, Mr Amit Menghani, said the authorities "are still in denial of the major issue."

Mr Menghani said it was not just a matter of some students not being safety conscious. The
inquiry "failed" to address the issue "and it could really damage the reputation of the
Australian education system again," he was quoted as saying.

International Education Association of Australia director, Mr Dennis Murray, also criticised the report, saying "it doesn't get to grips with the issue of social cohesion".