Author: Tejaswini Patil, University of South Australia and South Asia Masala

The recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne that left at least two students seriously injured caused widespread outrage among various sections of the Indian community. The media frenzy that ensued, with headlines such as ‘Australia, land of racism‘ and ‘Down under and Down right racist‘, further inflamed the outrage. The Indian Government’s reaction was equally strong, with Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna describing the attacks as ‘appalling’ and ordering the Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Sujatha Singh, to visit Melbourne and assess the situation. Even Bollywood actor Amir Khan weighed in, arguing, ‘It was most disturbing to hear about racist attacks on Indians living in Australia.’ The Australian Federal Government and the Victorian Police were quick to condemn the attacks and dispel the notion that they were racially motivated. The reaction to these attacks by state and non-state actors, in terms of managing, controlling and sustaining the post-production discourses raises two important issues:

1. Does setting up the discursive context of the debate in the language of ‘race attacks’ and ‘racism’ contribute to the understanding of these attacks?
2. How does the debate reflect on the troublesome aspects of identity and nationalism within the Indian and the Australian contexts?

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