Indians pray for racial harmony on Malaysia’s Independence Day

August 28th, 2009 Malaysia Muslims protest proposed Hindu templeKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Dozens of Malaysian Muslims paraded Friday with the head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism, in a dramatic protest against the proposed construction of a Hindu temple in their neighborhood. The unusual protest by some 50 people in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, raises new fears of racial tensions in this multiethnic Muslim-majority country where Hindus comprise about 7 percent of the 27 million population.

August 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The following are the highlights of President Pratibha Patil's Independence Day-eve address to the nation: * Democracy, inclusive economic development, social empowerment and the value system based on our heritage are the building blocks of our nationhood. * The voice of every citizen is important and the principle of inclusiveness is integral to democracy.

June 27th, 2009 CHENNAI - The attacks on Indian students in Australia were racial outbursts by anti-social elements, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said here Saturday. The minister said the Indian government was in touch with the Australian authorities and expressed confidence that the situation will become normal there.

June 25th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Victoria state Premier John Brumby says he is distressed by the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne but insists Indians were not targeted and pointed out how so many Indians settled here were well established and successful in their chosen fields. "It is a pity that these incidents have happened and it is distressing.

June 25th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Premier John Brumby prides on people from 230 nations speaking 220 languages and dialects and following 116 faiths living in Australia's Victoria state, but the attacks on Indian students in capital Melbourne over the last few weeks have left him a worried man. It is a pity that these incidents have happened and it is distressing.

June 24th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australians are in two minds about multiculturalism, and a long-term survey has found that nine out of 10 Australians believe that racial prejudice exists in the country. They believe cultural diversity is good for the country but they're worried that cultural differences will stop everyone from getting along.

June 11th, 2009 VANCOUVER - Four white Canadians were Tuesday charged with a racial assault on a group of Indians at Langley on the outskirts of Vancouver. According to police, the six Indian-origin men were playing tennis at the weekend when the four suspects approached them and started shouting "racially based expletives.'' The assailants, who included three young men and a woman, went on to pull fence boards even as they continued shouting racial "obscenities and threats.'' Police said: "The suspects attempted to enter the tennis court which was now barricaded by the tennis players.

June 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd had assured him that racial attacks on Indians in that country would be "strongly dealt with". "I have already spoken to the prime minister of Australia and he has assured me that any racial attack would be strongly dealt with," Manmohan Singh said in parliament, while replying to the debate on the president's address.

June 9th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The police chief of Australia's Victoria state on Tuesday admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students across the country were racially motivated, as claimed by most of the Indian victims. Victoria's chief commissioner of police Simon Overland said that some of the robbery attacks were racially motivated and others are were opportunistic.

June 7th, 2009 MELBOURNE - In another attack on Indians in Australia, a car belonging to an Indian student was torched in Melbourne Saturday night by suspected drug addicts. While the police have ruled out a racial motive, the student has claimed it was a racial attack.

June 6th, 2009 PATIALA - The central government would soon formulate a policy to deal with racial discrimination against Indians abroad, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said here Saturday. Arriving in her hometown Patiala for the first time after being inducted in the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Preneet Kaur expressed concern at the plight of students from India who have been facing racist attacks in Australia for about a month now.

June 1st, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Monday said students from the state studying in Australia are free to contact him if they faced any danger. "The chief minister is worried about the safety of the students from Gujarat studying in Australia after the racial attacks on some students of Indian origin last week.

May 31st, 2009 MELBOURNE - Thousands of Indian and Australian students gathered outside the Victorian parliament Sunday to protest a string of attacks on Indians in Australia that many say are racially motivated. The students, including many from other Asian countries, shouted slogans against the Australian government and the police for failing to protect the Indian students.

May 29th, 2009 BANGALORE - The Australian government Friday assured India it will protect Indian students from racial attacks in Melbourne and bring the culprits of recent attacks to justice, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said here.

April 30th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Telugu speaking Malaysians, who have been outnumbered by their brethren from Tamil Nadu, have appealed for more radio and TV shows. The Malaysian Telugu Association has sought more TV and radio programmes in Telugu over RTM (Radio Television Malaysia) and TV operator Astro, said Malaysia Nanban newspaper.