People living in glass houses should not throw stones at others!!!

There seems to be no end to the attacks happening on the Indian students in Australia. But the bigger point to be wondered is whether the way Indians are protesting against these attacks are justified.

You simply cannot go and block the traffic or shout slogans and protest as it happens in India. No country would tolerate any outsider coming there and protesting against it. The Australian Government has time and again said that they are in the process of providing security and protection to the Indian students, but most of it is still going in vain. Every morning, we get to read of "just another one off attack" on an Indian student. Yes, we get angry. We get frustrated. But going and protesting like this is not a solution to the problem.

We find racism everywhere. Even in our own country, look at the way foreigners are treated. Molestation, rape and even murder in some cases are not new in India. You can hardly forget a Scarlett Keeling who was raped and murdered on the beaches of Goa not so long ago. Nor can you forget a couple of German tourists molested in Mumbai. So its not that we are all gentlemen. Why talk about foreigners? Have we really been able to get over what Raj Thackeray and his MNS has been doing to Biharis and UPites in Mumbai? Isn't that a sort of a racial discrimination?

Having said that, I do not say that we should keep mum. The best way to solve the Australian issue is to build diplomatic pressure on Australia to do something "effective". We all agree that Australian Government is doing something. But we want results. The attacks should stop. They should realise that if that does not happen, people would stop considering Australia as a destination for higher education. Currently, Australia is the second largest country after the US of A which attracts 36000 Indians every year for higher educations. If things do not change, it won't be long before UK or Germany may take over that coveted position. One more thing that can be done is boycotting Australian products. Do not buy their products. Protest in this way. In fact I was glad to note a couple of days back, a wine shop in Mumbai openly protesting against the attacks by not selling the Australian Fosters beer.

Though much more needs to be done and the onus solely lies on the Governments, both Indian and Australian, I can surely say that violent protests are definitely not the way! As they say, people living in glass houses should not throw stones at others!