Nagpur: While racial attacks on Indian students and professionals make headlines across the globe, the security of these vulnerable individuals is under scrutiny. To delve deeper into the matter, Nagpur Today spoke with students and professionals from the Second Capital of the State who are living abroad about their experiences of racial discrimination, whether faced by them or by anyone they know.
Nurturing her dream of pursuing higher studies abroad, Kalyani Ladekar, an engineering graduate, moved to the United Kingdom (UK). While pursuing her studies, like other students, she also opted for a job to support her education and manage her expenses. Her friend Kinjal, who also worked hard and managed to save £1,000 (around Rs 1 lakh Indian rupees), however, was duped in an online fraud.
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Friday 17 Jan. 2025
Kinjal was contacted by some fraudsters claiming that her passport was misused in a scam and looted her of her hard-earned money. When she approached the local police and her university, they all turned down her advances, leaving her at a loss of money and any support, perhaps due to her Indian status.
Prashil, originally from Bhandara and currently based in Ireland, spoke to Nagpur Today about his ordeal and how, after an Asian man committed murder in Dublin, his entire neighborhood turned hostile towards Indians, refusing to let them rent a place.
“After the horrifying incident of murder, many of our landlords barred Asians from renting a place in the vicinity. That time was really tough for us, as we were subjected to racial slurs and discrimination. However, after a while, things returned to normal, but the scar remained in our hearts,” said Prashil.
Namit Hazare, who also lives in Dublin, shared his thoughts, stating that while incidents of racial attacks and discrimination have been circulating, fortunately, he has not been subjected to any such incidents. Though he has heard a lot about such incidents.
Nagpur Today also came across many students and professionals who narrated their incidents on the call but refused to come on record fearing exacerbation to the current scenarios.
This exposes the grim reality of freedom of expression, where students and professionals, despite spending lakhs of rupees on foreign soil, are still not welcomed into people’s hearts there.
– Shubham Nagdeve
