By Kumkum Chadha
When the Australian government cracked down on students’ visas, there was a furore. In many cases, visa requests were rejected, and in others, the waiting time was extended beyond ten months. In a few cases, the endless wait resulted in PhD offers expiring.
If the move by the Australian government is aimed at sifting “non-genuine students” misusing the visas for a back door entry for work and residency, it has also resulted in genuine ones being shortchanged.
The government on its part has announced a series of reforms, including tougher visa conditions, stronger English-language tests and rules for education agents who bring overseas students to Australia. The tougher visa conditions have prompted institutions to change their policies, with some going as far as imposing blanket bans on Indian students.
Conceding the “change is hard”, the Australian government is hard pressed given that the migration levels are very high and need to be brought back to “sustainable levels”, the government says.
This has triggered disquiet among Indian aspirants who are traditionally the second largest international student community in Australia. They feel a sense of betrayal to what once was an open-door policy for students. Not only has that changed, but doors are being closed on them without warning. This unpredictability has resulted in many students withdrawing their applications for visas.
Despite legitimate concerns about immigration integrity, the move may erode, to some extent, the goodwill between the two countries. Clearing the air, Philip Green, Australia’s High Commissioner to India said in an exclusive interview to a media house that the number of visa rejections has not gone up: “That is not true. You know the rate of approvals for visas for students who want to study in Australia is going up. There is a history of Indian students going to Australia to study, but that would continue for a long time.
Yet, it should not be a one-way street. I will tell you what is happening. The Indian government has opened up opportunities for foreign universities to open branch campuses here so that is where the future is. But a lot of Indians would want high quality Australian education and many will continue to go to Australia for it, but these campuses give Indian families a choice to get high quality Australian education in India at a much lower cost”.
Green is among those who grabbed eyeballs when he took Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles for chai to New Delhi’s Malcha Marg: “We went by auto. I don’t think he knew what was happening and why it was happening, but he was charmed. We stood under an ancient tree, there was a small shrine there and the chaiwala who has been there for decades was serving us his famous chai. I think for him it was quite an experience…that little bit of Indian culture,” as he sips his own cup of tea at his sprawling home in Lutyens Delhi—the home that has history and one built by well-known architect Joseph Stein.
But back to the visa restrictions and whether the branch campuses being opened in India are in reality an “invisible restriction,” he said: “No, this is about choice and the opportunity to study in Australia for Indian students will remain”.
Equally it is true that Australia is hitting some limit in terms of the number of students that it wishes to accommodate: “That is a reality and it is true that we are determined to ensure that Indian students coming to Australia are at the higher quality end of the spectrum, but we continue to welcome Indian students and they will continue to come, but there will be this other pathway which will allow another set of Indians to study courses here”.
On the perspectives of the two countries, he said India is a country of the future; it is growing fast and one of the biggest economies of the world; there is intense vibrancy here and it will be more and more consequential to the world and to the region in the coming decades. So, it makes sense for Australia to pay close attention to India and understand the new India and be in closer engagement with it”.
On whether the concept of “a new India” is a recent one or an idea that has been evolving for some years, Green said: “The pace has picked up in the last five years. I see India’s global influence rising more than it did in the past. Now it is the fifth largest economy in the world, and within the next five years, it will be the third largest. This gives a sense of how rapid the movement has been”.
On the bilateral relationship, Green talks about cricket and business in one breath: “We have a modern contemporary relationship; have complimentary economies; we have this human bridge: a million people of Indian origin live in Australia and is the fastest growing migrant population in India. There are other things that bind us and cricket is one of them, but we want to get beyond that and focus on things that would take us forward. The phrase ‘Come for cricket and stay for business’ is to encourage Indians to come and enjoy cricket, but spend a little time with business people and grow their business in Australia. I will focus on the modern relationship, but will also not forget that cricket is important.”
Green is among those who is fascinated by India: “It is dazzling” to quote him. “India is special; it is rising fast; we are friends and strategic partners with India and it is a cornucopia of wonderful experiences”
From undertaking a bus tour in the nineties when he first came to India to being here as a high commissioner, Green has had a “taste of India” so to speak, be it Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, Kolkata in West Bengal, Bodh Gaya in Bihar, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh or Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, not forget a visit to the Taj in Agra. Of course, combating snakes during a hike in the Western Ghats is another story for another day: “It was a formative influence on me. Back home, the culture is not so profound and striking. A lot has changed since I came last: the way in which the country looks and the development being much stronger. But one thing that is the same is conversation and hospitality. In no other assignment have I been welcomed in so many people’s homes. Back in the nineties when I went around as a tourist, a few things were inevitable beginning with conversations about cricket, and people in the bus or train we were travelling in would offer us food. Hospitality of India is a persistent character of this country”.
The taste for aloo chaat, jalebi and masala chai intact, it started with limited options: “Given that I was operating at the ground level I had no option, but to eat Indian food. I remember being served chai in an earthen cup on a train; I also recall eating a breakfast of puri and aloo curry on the roadside, and at the same time, savoured a multi-cuisine breakfast at a posh hotel which had then cost ten Australian dollars. The joy is in being able to try something new and I love the food from the south, especially Kerala, and it is among the best food I have had in my life. Then undertaking the food tour along Old Delhi in its myriad culture, the narrow lanes and one really learns about the history and culture of the walled city: something that will remain with me for a long time”.
India, he says and sees as a place where the quality of conversations are enriching and engaging: “There is a welcoming spirit which has touched me.”
Signing off on a positive note, Green said: “This society is on a big transformation towards development and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of Viksit Bharat in 2047 seems entirely right. Some countries when they become economically strong and politically powerful also become assertive in how they engage with the rest of the world. My hope is that India can draw upon the spirit of Gandhi and become a global power that operates in a way that is in sync with the rest of the world”.
—The writer is an author, journalist and political commentator