As a student who faced unsafe incidences to me, I am inclined to write to public about precautions to take while abroad. People who have traveled a lot within india or abroad safely usually tend to have a high confidence that every place is safe.
This belief can make them quite adventurous and over confident. I belonged to this category. I am currently a student in UK. Irrespective of which abroad nation it is, it is important to remember that we are the odd man out in an alien place. Its not a very great idea to work late at university and return home late. Laptops are quite cheap these days, more true if you compare course fee costs.
It will really be a great idea to buy a laptop before going abroad. Most courses irrespective of whether they are computer related are bound to have computer work, the least in the form of having to use Word or Office packages to type documents and handing work.
Be aware that although racism is quite low comparatively these days, there is still competition and not all people are Mahatma Gandhi’s to tolerate an odd man in their country doing great. They naturally become jealous. It might be possible that you may not face direct racism in the form of direct display of hatred, but it is quite possible that you can be a victim of jealousy. It is very important to stay professional and keep to your objectives. When abroad the objective is to study. Beware of colleges, there are cultural differences between an indian born indian and a local of another country. When we are abroad its our duty to adjust to their culture and we can not expect tolerance to our culture. India is a great nation with great people, who have a great deal of tolerance. They displayed tolerance when over the years mother india faced invasions. We people tend to forget history too soon, I have seen people who talk in support of foreigners, who actually may not have a great opinion of India. I have personally faced incidences where westerners have told me on my face that India stinks with a big frown on the face. If such travellers can not tolerate the conditions here, they shouldnt have travelled to India in the first place. The conditions are this way here in India due to the fact that India is holding a great population count. India is still recovering from the poverty that history left us in immediatly after independence. Indians have become intolerant, which is uncharacteristic of them. Let us, indians learn to tolerate indians and not foreigners. Let us not tolerate foreigners who come to India and call it a stinking nation. But we need to tolerate the state of current india, and keep hope that we will be really a great nation in near future. The point is that, in western nations, people tolerate locals and do not have a great deal of tolerance for foreign cultures comparatively. But this is different in India. In India we do not tolerate the state of India and crib about its state, but treat a abusive foreigner with hospitality.
Coming back to safety abroad. I want to share what happened to me. I have been a very confident traveller. When I was returning from university to home at around 10:30, I was beaten up by a mob of around 4-6 people. The incidence was a big shock to me. At the same time actually there was a stranger, who was indian, who made the situation worse.
Of my experience let me jot down the safety precaution steps here:
Be professional and know what you talk.
Remember that you are the odd man out.
Remember that there can be hatred in the heart and jealousy can trigger it.
Buy a laptop before travelling and add it to your budget, so that you dont have to
travel late to and from university.
Do not venture out in the dark. Stick to a day time routine.
Travel a lot and do not be overly conservative.
Do not over work yourself and thereby making it difficult to cope up with an alien place.
Buy calling card and be regularly in touch with family back in home.
Beware of strangers, irrespective of their place of origin. It is best not to open acquaintance with a total stranger, whom you might meet in a public place or at your part time work place. This is very important even if the person is from the same country of origin as you are.
When abroad, do not become over confident of civil structure in the nation you are in. Any nation has the same problems that India has, they might have handled some problems that india still is facing, but they have the same problems that we have. So expect the same kind of situation and scenario to happen to you abroad.
There might be racial prejudices at organisational level, like university administration, police force, civil offices etc., remember to defend yourself and do not tolerate any injustice and complain to authorities immediatly and be strong in forcing justice, by putting pressure from various fronts.
Keep trust on India and india will help you when you are in trouble abroad.
Travel to India once a while, if you do not have the budget for this, its better to study in India itself.
Calculate costs with care and do not underestimate living expenses abroad, not over estimate..
Learn to cook and learn self help and self discipline, which heals a great deal irrespective of whether one is in India or abroad.
Listen to lot of your favourite music.
Get a driving license and may be a 2nd hand car, so that you dont have to walk in unsafe places, travelling by car is far safer to by foot.
Jai hind.