A more realistic interpretation is given by India's Minister of State, Shashi Tharoor, who stated that an Indian mother does not care whether her son was assaulted because of his race, or because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or because he was the wrong colour or the wrong height, or was carrying an iPod. She doesn't want her son to be assaulted. It is a very common human feeling. (Quoted by Shashi Tharoor in an 'Opinion' article in the Sydney Morning Herald).
Well-Being Australia chairman, Mark Tronson a Baptist minister and cricket chaplain, says this is a similar issue for any parents anywhere in the world, whether their child of any age is studying or travelling or working overseas or in another city in their own country; or sometimes even 'just down the road.'
However, it is more poignant and more worrying if the child is far away, where the language and customs are different from those at home.
The reality is that it is impossible and simply not practical in Australia to have a security guard or policeman accompanying every Indian student (or student or traveller of every other country) everywhere they go and everything they do.
The escalation of this issue to a threat to terrorism by Shiv Sena for Indian domestic political consumption belies the statistics, which have already shown that young Indian students are safer in Australia than in their own country. Moreover an estimated 200 westerners (including 10 Australians) have been murdered in India since 1999.
Australian cricketers playing in the IPL now have to decide whether they take the risk of this terrorist threat. It seems that Shiv Sena has frightened the IPL Franchisees, who are to date unwilling to provide security information to Australian cricketers to help them make considered decisions as to whether to go to India or not.
IPL itself is on a sticky wicket. One previous competition was relocated from India to South Africa to avoid potential conflict during an Indian General Election; and now, the IPL itself is under threat of being shut down entirely by the Shiv Sena.
What is now being revealed, bit by bit, is that the multi-million dollar IPL cricket business enterprise is in danger of falling over because of domestic political terrorism. Perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, no international cricket will be played on Indian soil – as it is no longer played on Pakistani soil.
Numerous Australian cricketers are contracted to Indian teams including some current and former Test cricketers and a number of state cricketers. These cricketers themselves are in two minds.
Tim May, the President of the International Cricketers Association said : ''It will be up to the individuals, and I'm sure some individuals are greater risk-takers than others. I think you'll find some players would go, and some players wouldn't go." He continued, by way of explanation: "I suspect if every player had an opportunity to review the security arrangements, and those security arrangements were found to be satisfactory, then all the players would go."
M V Tronson says that international cricket itself may be at the cross roads. Where on the sub-continent will international cricketers feel safe to compete? At what point does the cricket community take on these 'terrible' agendas, and with public opinion behind them, force national security to come up to the mark?
Today, any time anyone of us takes a flight overseas, the most rigorous security precautions are enacted regardless of their intrusiveness. People still fly. And they will still watch cricket if the same precautions apply. It is annoying and uncomfortable but society cannot allow these criminals to control our comings and goings.