Oz-Indian community leader says no need for Sunday's Sydney rally

Sydney, June 6 (ANI): A prominent member of Sydney's Indian community has dismissed as "entirely futile" a planned rally here on Sunday to highlight assaults on Indian students.

Dr Yadu Singh is urging people not to attend, saying it will cause a lot of inconvenience and backfire on the Indian community.

"Nobody knows who the organisers are, even the police command does not know. This rally is futile because we already have the attention of the top political leader of this country, which is Prime Minister Kevin Rudd," the Daily Telegraph quoted Singh, as saying.

"We already have the attention of (NSW) Premier Nathan Rees and (Victorian) Premier John Brumby. So, this rally is completely futile and I'm urging people not to attend and not to hold the rally because this is going to cause an inconvenience to a lot of people, which will backfire on students and the Indian community," he added.

Recent attacks on Indian students have sparked dismay in New Delhi and warnings that the violence could lead to a fall-off in the number coming to Australia to study.

In Melbourne last weekend, about 2,000 demonstrators from the Indian community marched in protest at the rising violence.

The rally was stopped after police detained 18 students.

Dr Singh, who is attached to the Indian Consulate in Sydney and heads a committee concerned with the welfare of Indian students in Australia, attended a meeting convened by Premier Nathan Rees in Sydney on Friday to address the problem.

Dr Singh said: "If any harm happens, people have to remember this may end up with some violence, and that is not what we want."

International education is NSW's third biggest export, pumping 5.3 million dollars into the economy each year. (ANI)