To mark their protest against the incidents of "racial attacks" against Indian students in Australia, a massive 'peace rally' was organized on Sunday by organizations such as the Federation of Indian Students in Australia (FISA) and National Union of Students.

The agitation against the violent attacks on Indian students gathered momentum after the television recording of 25-year-old Shravan Kumar fighting for life in the Royal Melbourne Hospital sent shock waves among the nearly 95,000 Indian students in Australia.

As per a FISA statement, the rally was organized to give a vent to the mounting rage in the Indian community against the escalating hate crimes in Australia. The rally began from the hospital, with the protestors proceeding to the Victorian Parliament in Spring Street, shouting slogans like "Bharat Mata Ki Jai."

Displaying placards with messages like 'Save our Students' and 'Stop Racist Violence,' the protesting Indian students said: "We want justice for the victims of racist violence." Anita Nayar - the Indian Consul General in Melbourne - described the rally as freedom of expression.

Claiming that Australia is not a racist country, John McCarthy, the Australian High Commissioner in New Delhi, called for cooperative efforts to ensure that incidents of violence do not take place, and assured that the Australian government was determined to take appropriate action for preventing such incidents in the future.