Anti-immigration backlash roils ties between Australia and India - part I

Yet in spite of the hurt and tragedy of the past year, the events indicate a striking change and constructive long-term potential. Vindaloo against Violence was a rollicking success with supporters ranging from the prime minister and the parliamentary dining room to regulars in country pubs.

The Indian student presence could also solve the puzzle of Australia-India relations. For 50 years, Australian policy-makers struggled to understand why Australia-India relations were not as rich as it seemed they ought to be. Trade, marriage, travel links and a presence in the Australian population made China an object of curiosity and study .This was different from India, where the presence of Indian-origins people in the population was considerably smaller. Yet India and Australia seemed to have much more in common - language, government, law and of course the C-word - cricket. What was missing - and again in contrast to China - were people. But the influx of Indian students, most of them seeking permanent residency, should change this.

The turmoil of the past year emphasises how enmeshed Australia has become with Asia. For Australia, this has been a very good thing. Supplying the natural resources for expanding Chinese and Indian economies, Australia came through the 2008 recession much better than most places.

One problem, however, for Australia’s engagement with Asia lies in the fact that underinvestment in education has depleted its capacity to understand its neighbours. Fewer than 5 per cent of Australian university students study Asian countries; Asian language study is rarer still. The scholars who taught the current prime minister and his generation about China are nearly all retired, and the shifts in educational funding have meant that they have often been replaced by scholars who teach computer science, accounting or health sciences. Teaching about Asia has shrunk. This innocence showed up during the Indian-student distress. Few Australian officials had much knowledge of Indian society, history or current politics. The awkwardness was apparent.

One view of Australia’s future is as a calm centre for Asia. The large presence of students from Asia for the past 15 years provides substance for such a picture, especially now that the missing Indian link has arrived. And the fact that now about 250,000 young Indians and Chinese meet each year in Australia offers potential - though no guarantee - for ties and understanding that will drive the region’s interactive future.