German town where 7 Indians were injured in attack celebrates Diwali and has a cricket team – The Indian Express

In German town of Magdeburg that celebrates Diwali and has an Indian cricket team, the Friday attack at a Christmas market came as a shock for the Indian community — mostly students and some hundred-odd families who have found employment in IT and electrical companies in the capital of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Seven Indian nationals were among more than 200 injured when a man rammed his car into a busy Christmas market, also killing five. Even though the Indian authorities have not shared any details about the injured, The Indian Express has gathered that five of the seven injured Indian nationals were students while the other two were professionals from Wolfsburg city.
While three of them have been discharged, the other four — all students — are still hospitalised. On Monday evening, the Embassy of India in Berlin said that they were in close contact with all the seven Indians injured in the attack.
“Three of the Indians have been discharged, while the remaining are under treatment. Mission is in regular touch with them and actively providing requisite support,” it said in an X post.
Jens Strackeljan, Rector of OVGU, told The Indian Express over email: “Unfortunately, students from India were also injured in the attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday. There are minor injuries but four students are still in different hospitals. They are receiving the best possible care, but will have to stay in hospital for a few more days. However, there is no danger to life.” He added that he is not allowed to mention any names.
Satish Ranjan, a molecular immunologist from Bihar at the Magdeburg hospital and a resident of the city since 2011, said that the Christmas market is located at the heart of the city. “The university is just one stop away by bus or tram, and Indian students, like others, hang out in that area round the year.”
Ranjan, who was at the market a few days prior to the incident, said, “The road is blocked for vehicles as only trams are allowed… The place is crowded at any time of the day, more for during the Christmas market, which is like a Diwali mela.” He said that there is a sense of “fear and shock” in the town, which hasn’t seen an attack like this, and the Indian community as well as the local Germans are trying to process the incident, which has rocked the city.
The city with a population of over 2.3 lakh — capital of one of German provinces in the north-eastern part — is home to two higher education institutions – the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. The five injured students were all studying in the Otto von Guericke University, out of which four continue to remain in the hospital. As per official statistics by the German authorities, Magdeburg is home to 19,015 international students, out of which 10 per cent come from India.
Deeban Chakravarthi, who heads Magdeburg Indians, a non-profit of Indian students pursuing their studies in Magdeburg, said that Indian students form the largest international students’ group in the city.
Chakravarthi, who came to Magdeburg in 2009, says at the time, there were only 75 Indians in the city. “The growth is not gradual, but there has been a spurt ever since English language courses were introduced in the universities since 2015,” he says.
Now, Indian festivals are also celebrated here, he says, including cricket. “On November 2, we celebrated Diwali in a big way, and there is also a local cricket team with a majority of Indian players, which was encouraged by the local authorities as a means of assimilation,” he said.
Strackeljan, University’s Rector said, “There are 1,965 Indian students enrolled at the university. No other university in Germany has more students. We are very happy that we have such good cooperation with India. That is why we feel a special obligation to provide all the support we can give in such a dramatic situation.”
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Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues – not necessarily in that order – for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. … Read More
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