For we are young and free

15th June 2009

I have fond memories if my 3 year stay in Melbourne and even today I often ask myself how my life would have been if I had stayed back.

Back then there was Pauline Hanson and her One Nation Party that wanted to drive out the Asians but almost everybody thought she was an idiot and she never gained the popularity in active politics she wanted. Now things are different. There have been so many attacks on Indian students that it defies the very foundation of a country like Australia. In my three years stay there I met people who when asked where you from would give an answer like "Scotland", "Lebanon", Greece" or Croatia or some other country. I never came across anyone who couldn't recall if he/she himself or their parents or grandparents have come from some other part of the world. In three years I met only one person who was actually a native Australian, more commonly known as Aboriginal.

How can anyone stake claim to a country in an environment like this is beyond my understanding. Don't forget that John Batman - the founder of Melbourne also arrived there is a boat

Maybe the people who attacked the Indian students need to come to Mumbai and learn a thing or two about peaceful coexistence from Raj Thackeray.