(CNN) -- Anjali Thakur is living in fear in India. She is a mother afraid for her son. "We are all having sleepless nights," Thakur says. Sourabh Sharma -- one of the Indian students attacked in Melbourne. Her son isn't in a war zone or even a country known to be dangerous. He is a student in Melbourne, Australia. "Three years back when we sent him," she says, "it was one of the safest places for the children to go." The Australian government says it is still safe but a spate of vicious attacks on Indian students in recent weeks has parents like Thakur and hundreds of students shaken and angry.
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Spate of attacks on Indian students in Australia makes headlines in India
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Students say attacks racially motivated; authorities say they are crimes of opportunity
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Attacks have stoked political tensions between New Delhi, Canberra
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More than 80,000 Indian students attend Australian universities
They have reacted with protests in at least three @placeholder cities.
If that kind of sentiment spreads, it could have serious consequences for @placeholder's $12.6 billion-a-year education export industry.