Lakhavir Singh, the 22-year-old Sikh student from Mumbai, who was attacked by a gang of white racist youth in Scotland on Saturday, said there was much more to British racism than what everyone saw on Celebrity Big Brother.
"There was such an outcry over the way Shilpa Shetty was treated by Jade Goody, but her ordeal was nothing compared to how we Indians get treated on the streets here every day.
They call us Paki and not by our names. Living here has become very difficult," Lakhavir told MiD DAY from Paisley, near Edinburgh, where he has been studying for the past two years. He added there have been three such racial outrages in the past three months.
No exit
"I fear leaving my room to go to the university. I want to return to Mumbai, but I can't, as I have my exams in May.
It pains me that beyond a call from someone named Omprakash, the Indian embassy did nothing to help me.
Thankfully the local Sikh association and my college were very supportive," said Lakhavir.
However, Omprakash Bhola, acting consulate general, Edinburgh, said he was following the matter and would extend all possible help to Lakhavir.
"Our first priority is to give him medical assistance. He has been psychologically affected by the incident," he said.
Lakhavir's parents and two siblings stay in sector-9, Belapur. He is doing his Masters in Finance in Paisley University.
The incident A group of white boys beat up Lakhavir, accusing him of having a bomb in his turban, as he waited for a bus at a supermarket near Glasgow, where he works part-time.
They ripped off the 22-year-old's turban and punched him in the face and kicked him as he lay on the ground.
Lakhavir said that in spite of four frantic calls made to them, the police came only after he had been subjected to brutal violence and racial abuse for over an hour. |