Australia objects to Ku Klux Klan cartoon in Indian daily - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Australian Government on Friday took offence to a cartoon published in an Indian newspaper showing a person in a Ku Klux Klan hood wearing a Victoria Police badge. The cartoon captioned "We are yet to ascertain the nature of the crime." The cartoon also mocked the recent remarks by Australian officials that attacks against Indians were not racist, but typical "urban crimes." Acting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that Mail Today's cartoon and its Ku Klux Klan reference are unacceptable and "deeply offensive." Over the weekend, a 21-year-old Indian student in Melbourne was murdered at night on his way to his part-time job at a fast-food restaurant. Since then, tension between India and Australia has escalated. Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had emphasized that Australia is not able to protect Indian students.