June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has called for calm amid a spate of attacks against Indians, saying his country is one of the safest in the world for international students.

Rudd, 51, also advised students against taking the law into their own hands, asking during a call-in show with Melbourne radio station 3AW today that they instead report any attacks to the police.

“It’s unacceptable for any acts of violence to be committed against Indian students,” Rudd said during the program. “It’s unacceptable for any student group to believe they can take the law into their own hands and engage in so- called retribution attacks or vigilante action.”

The remarks by Rudd, a former diplomat, follow reports in the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph that Indian students in Melbourne have formed groups to escort each other home from train stations. They also follow a second night of protests in Sydney’s western suburbs over attacks the students say are racially motivated, the newspaper said.

The series of attacks has prompted a political response, with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telling parliament in New Delhi yesterday that he would press Australia to provide security for Indian students.

“I spoke to Prime Minister Rudd, who assured me that any racist attacks on Indian students will be strongly dealt with,” Singh told parliament. “He said it is unacceptable and emphasized that Australia is a multiracial society which respects diversity. India and Australia have had good relations and it has been our effort to deepen our ties.”

Calls for Calm

As of April, Australia had 81,520 Indians enrolled in full- fee education in April, up 38 percent from 58,917 a year earlier, and a sevenfold gain from the 11,364 students in 2002, according to data from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Almost half of all Indian students study in the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital.

India supplies 19 percent of all foreign students in Australia, second only to China.

The attacks on Indian students in Australia and reports of violence against them have become front-page news for Australia’s metropolitan newspapers -- and their counterparts around the world.

Police were called to Sydney’s Harris Park last night as a crowd of 200 or so Indian men rallied amid increasing tensions between the Indian and Lebanese communities, the Sydney Morning Herald reported today.

Community Action

Indian community leaders have also met with police in Parramatta to discuss violence in the area on Monday night, the Herald said.

“All sides are working hard to come to a conclusion to stop this nasty period in our lives, to move on, to put it behind us,” said Gautam Gupta, founder of the Melbourne-based Federation of Indian Students in Australia. “We are going to keep pressuring the government and use our resources to organize support structures through groups and societies -- drop-in centers, help lines, training classes for students.”

Rudd urged similar actions.

“I think everyone needs just to draw some breath on this and I think we need to see a greater atmosphere of general calm,” Rudd said today. “Australia, I’m advised, is one of the safest countries in the world for international students.”

To contact the reporters for this story: Iain Wilson in Sydney at iwilson2@bloomberg.net; Phoebe Sedgman in Sydney at psedgman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 10, 2009 02:01 EDT