Is David Hicks 'too hot' a potato for Delhi?
Melbourne, Jan 20: Cricket is not the only eyesore when it comes to present Australia India relations. A much bigger eyesore, simmering underneath the smooth surface is that of the issue of David Hicks, the Australian, who reportedly confessed to have committed crimes against
David Hicks’ own account of his activities encapsulated in classified documents and personal letters written to his father, Terry Hicks, (some) now available in the public domain, may come to haunt him. One would not be wrong in arguing that with these revelations, his problems may have just begun
In a letter on August 10, 2000, Hicks wrote from Kashmir, claiming to have been a guest of
"I got to fire hundreds of bullets. Most Muslim countries impose hanging for civilians arming themselves for conflict. There are not many countries in the world where a tourist, according to his visa, can go to stay with the army and shoot across the border at its enemy, legally."
Indians are coming...
Sunday, 16 December:“To have an Indian sounding name of a candidate on a ballot paper is not yet common in Australia, but to visit a doctor with an Indian sounding name is a common feature of our multicultural society”, Mukesh Garg told the invitees at the Forum titled Political Consciousness amongst Australian Indians.
Mukesh Garg, the Family First Candidate in the last elections from
Gellibrand, speaking at the forum said candidates like Sukrit Sabhlok and
Surome Singh of the LDP who secured only 196 votes between them are making
the difference –
Indian Australian candidates becoming a regular feature, and “It
really does not matter if you don’t win the first time or the second time –
it is about making a statement that we have come and we carry what it takes
for voters to not only acknowledge but also trust us to fight for their
needs.
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Sitting(from left) Nitin Gupta, Alex Bhathal, Conrad
D'Souza, George Lekakis and Gandhi Bevinkoppa Standing (from left): Abul Hasnat, Raman Marar, Gurdip Aurora, Pradeep Taneja & Mukesh Garg |
“We Indians must make the effort (by entering active politics) because politics reduces friction and brings communities together”, he cajoled the young Indian Australians.
The Australia India Solidarity Group Inc. (the AISG) in
association with the Bharat Times, organised the forum at The Bengal Tiger
Indian Restaurant,
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