It’s a freezing Saturday morning in Melbourne and I am back from my run along the Yarra River and have ordered for an extra hot cup of Latte at the Laurent café on Little Collins Street. While I am waiting for my coffee, I read the news in the local newspaper about the racial attacks against Indian students in Australia. I have also received frantic calls from my family in Hyderabad asking if I am okay and all is well. Now all this has made me look deeper at this whole issue and question the merits of these arguments. Firstly are these attacks racially motivated, secondly is Australia as a society racially tolerant and lastly what the reasons behind these attacks are. Now let me say first off that there is no right or wrong answer and it isn’t black and white. This is a complex issue which needs a nuanced perspective. On the surface these attacks are racially motivated, surely anyone can easily judge that there is more involvement of hatred then being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Indians are soft targets for racial attacks, the reason for that is a) Indians do not form community gateau’s or gang lords where if one is attacked and there is an immediate communal response. Indians living abroad mind their own business, they work hard, pay their taxes and make peace with their cocooned life. B) The local police have failed on all accounts to provide any protection, they have done very little to control the crime in the city. Plus if an Indian complains, they just dismiss it, what can an Indian do but complain.

We Indians religious follow what Mahatma Gandhi taught us, when a gora slaps you on your right side of your face, show them the left side of your face. Mind you this is only for a gora, but if a fellow Indian slaps you, go to their house in the middle of the night, bring them down and give them good front of their whole colony (Please note this is only a rhetoric not an endorsement or provocation). I often have a debate with a friend of mine over this, he says we have come here for a better life. I say “I” have come here for a different life. What’s the difference you ask - perception? I love my life in Melbourne, this city has given me so much. My most important relations where formed here, this is a city which gave me my education, economic stability, confidence and a new found respect for life. But by no means do I consider myself inferior or any less than anybody else. Hundred thousand Indians like me have equally given back to this great wonderful city. As Indian students we pay millions of dollars each year for our education, we pay equally to immigration department for fees and other formalities. Also now that I am a working professional for many years, I pay high taxes and am a law abiding citizen. All this does fuel the local economy. Hence I have full rights to demand protection and investigation into callous and brazen incidents like these. The reason I raise this point is that we have a fascination with ‘goras’ , oh we should be so grateful to them, they have been so kind to us, my point is be thankful not submissive.

This raises a more important question, is Australia a racially tolerant country, does the so called ‘multi culturalism’ truly exists. It definitely does, I have lived in Melbourne for the past six years and can say with pride that this is a racially tolerant city. But we must also understand that each person has their own set of perceptions and prejudice. How they choose to act on that, defines if they are a racist or not. Some are discreet, some subtle and some blatant, each person is entitled to their own opinion and we must understand that. I have never been racially discriminated, at least not directly, if I have been discriminated discretely, maybe, I cannot say for sure. If that is the case, I would just take that with a pinch of salt, no more, no less. I am proud of everything I represent, if anyone has a problem with that, well too bad. But Indians also have to assimilate and adapt with the local culture, if it is a part of the local culture to be respectful, polite and quiet, abide by it. Don’t shout through the roof tops in trains and trams that you want to have Gobi Aloo for dinner or if you want to get the DVD for the latest Shah Rukh Khan movie from the Indian store. That information is of no service to civil society, when you’re walking down the streets of Melbourne and want to listen to Himesh Reshammiya please keep the volume low, there is nothing wrong with that. At the same time protect your rights and uphold your integrity.

Lastly the two important issues that cannot be ignored are responsibility and accountability of the local police and the consumption of alcohol and drugs. Every Friday night as I walk pass Flinders Street I see young people so consumed in drugs and alcohol with no regard or remorse for their actions. This is a chronic problem, people drink gallons of beer and consume all kinds of drugs with no respect for their body. This endangers the social fabric to a large extent, the government spends millions of dollars in advertisements and awareness against smoking, but a lot more needs to be done for alcohol and drugs. Education, awareness and appropriate police intervention to control and curb violence and bad behavior.

Melbourne has given me my most cherished moments, my first ever pay check and my first love in everything and more. It is here where I first saw one of my favorite actresses Cameron Diaz at a movie premier outside Melbourne Central. It is here where I watched my favorite tennis player Rafael Nadal win the Australian Open. It is in Melbourne that I watched one of my favorite rock bands Coldplay singing their cult hit ‘Yellow’ at a concert in Rod Laver arena. It is in good old Melbourne where I watched an exhilarating match between Geelong and Hawthorn for the AFL premiership footy title. I would not trade this for anything and I feel as safe in Melbourne as in my home town Hyderabad. Just because of these few unfortunate incidents it would be wrong to say that Melbourne is a racist city, racism exists but everyone is not a racist.

I am a staunch Hyderabadi - I love my Hyderabadi biryani and crave it all the time, but Melbourne has become my life, my joy – I need a good cup of Melbourne latte every day.