Sri Lankan's Indian wife attacked in Melbourne

In a big embarrassment for Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who is in New Delhi for talks with Indian leaders, a fresh incident of violence against Asians in Australia occurred, when a Sri Lankan man and his Indian wife were attacked and racially abused by a group of drunken men at their home in Melbourne.

A group of 25 drunken thugs bashed up 60-year-old Ranjit Sahasranaman, who is married to Indian-origin Agalya, outside his own home in Carrams Down suburb on Sunday morning. Sahasranaman, a Sri Lankan national, revealed his over two-and-a-half hour ordeal of how he fought back with the thugs till police arrived and dispersed them, the Herald Sun reported on Tuesday.

Sahasranaman, who has lived in Australia for 19 years with his wife and two kids, said he was assaulted and racially abused by the gang of mostly white men who damaged his back fence and gained entry to his yard. He said he was forced to fight back with a bar when the intruders got within centimetres of his back door.

Interestingly, this time the police dropped home one of the injured offender who allegedly got hurt by Sahasranaman. "They were throwing punches at me," Sahasranaman said, adding "they were calling names and told me to get lost from this country."

Stephen Smith is in India to discuss with authorities the security preparation for the Commonwealth Games and the issue of attacks on Indians in Australia. Hours after the fresh incident of violence against Asians in his country, Smith said in New Delhi on Tuesday, they have zero tolerance for assaults on Indians or against anyone else who comes to Australia. "Regrettable, we know as I said to my Parliament that there have been some racial or racist overtones to a small number of those assaults and we condemn them absolutely," he said. Smith pointed out that several steps have been taken to ensure that when people visit his country they have an "enjoyable and safe experience".

"I will brief the Indian government on the actions taken by authorities to create a safe and rewarding study environment for Indian students in Australia," Smith said in a statement before leaving Melbourne.

Smith’s three-day India visit comes a month after External affairs minister S M Krishna met Smith in London to express concern over mounting attacks, including some racial, on Indian students in Australia. This is Smith's third visit as foreign minister since 2007.

There has been a flurry of visits to India by top Australian authorities, including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his deputy Julia Gillard, in the recent past. The visits were aimed at reassuring India that Australia was a safe destination for Indians to study and work in. Over 100 cases of attacks on Indians in Australia have been reported since last year. The assaults have affected bilateral ties and have also hurt Australia's education sector.

- Asian Tribune -