The ties between India and Australia dates back to the 18th century. They have several commonalities which serve as a foundation for close cooperation and multifaceted interaction. Before independence, both the countries were part of the British Empire and presently both are members of the UNO, Commonwealth of Nations, G-20, IOR-ARC, ASEAN Regional Forum and Asia-Pacific Partnership on Climate and Clean Development.

The essays in this collection attempt to analyse the various facets of India-Australia relations. Presenting a variety of critical viewpoints from both the countries drawn across a number of environments cultural, political, personal, sporting and travel, the contributors address critical issues concerning Australia's failure to construct and maintain a meaningful relationship with India, racist attacks on Indians, sporting culture, foreign policy, and cultural understanding.



Contents: Foreword by Peter N. Varghese High Commissioner of Australia, New Delhi Introduction by Auriol Weigold Australian Lessons Dipesh Chakrabarty Missed Opportunities Peter Reeves The Lizard of Oz: Indian Adventures in the Antipodes Rukmini Bhaya Nair Diplomatic Despatches from New Delhi: The Australian High Commission and the Australia-India Relationship, 1946-1947 Nayantara Pothen Conflict within the Commonwealth: Australia's Troubled Relationship with India Auriol Weigold Australia-India Relations: Strategic Dissonance Christopher Snedden Between the Dragon and the Elephant: Australia's Relations with China and India Louise Merrington Australia's Relations with India: In the Light of Asia's Emerging Strategic Environment Sandy Gordon Trading Places Brian Stoddart Liberalisation, Urban Space and the `Decent Crowd' in Contemporary India Douglas Hill Indias Translated, Created and Memoired: Ethel Anderson Narrates the Subcontinent Ipsita Sengupta Bollywood and the Australia Imaginary, 2001-2010 Sharmistha Gooptu How far is Bollywood from my Hotel?: The Myth and Reality of the Global Force of Bollywood Anupam Sharma Aussies Go Bolly: Australian Journeys through Indian Cinemascope Amit Sarwal and Reema Sarwal A New Dimension?: India, Australia and the Cultural Politics of Sport Boria Majumdar After the Games Brian Stoddart A Sum of All the Parts? Brian Stoddart



Author Bio: Brian Stoddart is an Emeritus Professor of La Trobe University, Australia, where he also served as Vice Chancellor and President. Now he works as an international consultant to higher education reform programmes funded by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Union. His doctoral work was on South Indian nationalist politics. Later he created an international reputation for his extensive work on sports culture, including Saturday Afternoon Fever: Sport in the Australian Culture and Sport, Culture and History.

Auriol Weigold is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Canberra and, in 2009-10, a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Prime Ministers Centre, Canberra. She is the author of Churchill, Roosevelt and India: Propaganda During World War II. Also, she has published extensively on the India-Australia bilateral relationship.