Four in ten Australians think attacks on Indian students 'racially motivated'

Melbourne, Jan. 19 (ANI): Almost four in ten Australians believe the spree of attacks on Indians students are racially motivated, a new poll has revealed.

According to a UMR Research poll published in The Age, 35 per cent Australians see race as the main reason for the attacks on Indian students.

In June last year, the percentage was just 27 per cent.

The poll also found that Victorians are more likely than other Australians to believe the attacks on Indians students are racially motivated.

Over a third of Victorians (36 per cent) thought the attacks racially based.

While 48 per cent nationally said the students were not being targeted on racial grounds, in Victoria this applied to 54 per cent.

The national poll of 1000, done this month, found more than nine in 10 people were aware of the attacks.

Two Indian taxi drivers in Ballarat were involved in incidents late last week - one was assaulted and the other threatened with a knife.

John Utting, managing director of UMR, said: "Australians and in particular Victorians are acutely aware of the recent attacks on Indians. What a lot of research demonstrates is that perceptions of rates of crime in Australia far outstrip actual rates of crime." (ANI)