The Indian government should take effective measures to instill confidence in the minds of foreign nationals who want to visit India and dispel fears being triggered due to a sustained campaign launched by vested interests.
A top Switzerland player opted out of the ongoing World Junior Squash Championships in Chennai because her parents didn’t want her to travel to India due to safety concerns. According to a report in the New Indian Express, teams from Iran, US and Australia have also expressed concerns and asked players not to venture out alone.
Although situation in many countries is even worse, there has been a campaign to malign the image of India. Recently, The Economist whose avowed mission is to defeat Modi carried an edit saying India has failed its women.
“Ambre Allinckx is our top-ranked women’s player. She couldn’t make it because her parents did not want. They have been reading reports on the internet about how unsafe India is for women and didn’t want to take the risk of sending their daughter over. However, we have not experienced any disturbance so far,” Pascal Bhurin, coach of the Switzerland team told The New Indian Express.
According to the report, other teams also expressed similar concerns. “We heard about such issues. So I prefer that my daughter stays with the team always,” Amir, father of Iranian player Niki, told the paper. Even the Australian team is taking precautions. “We always have somebody with us. When I travel to other countries like New Zealand, I go out and feel alright. Out here, we always have a guy with us,” said Australian player Alex Haydon.
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