Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan said on Saturday he believed he should turn down an honorary degree from a Brisbane university in protest against a wave of attacks on Indian students in Australia.
"My conscience does not permit me to accept this decoration from a country that perpetrates such indignity to my fellow countrymen," Bachchan's latest blog post said.
But the Indian movie icon said he would ask for feedback from fans on whether he should turn down the degree.
"I shall put this up as my poll question and shall feel obliged if (my) extended family (of fans) can indicate to me their opinion for me to be able to take the correct action," he wrote.
A series of attacks on Indian students has unleashed a furious reaction in India.
The media has branded them "curry bashing" and photos of the latest attack victim Sravan Kumar Theerthala, lying in his hospital bed in a coma, were plastered across newspaper front pages on Saturday.
Theerthala was left fighting for his life after being stabbed last weekend with a screwdriver by gatecrashers at a party in Melbourne. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder.
The 66-year-old Indian star had previously said he would accept an honorary doctorate from Brisbane's Queensland University of Technology for his contribution to the world of entertainment and was due to accept it in July.
The baritone-voiced superstar expressed "great dismay and shock" at the attacks and said he meant "no disrespect to the institution that honours me" in wanting to refuse the degree.
Bachchan, known as "The Big B," has a huge following in movie-mad India and can be seen on any of its television channels night or day, gyrating to one of the song-and-dance routines that have made him famous.
India said on Saturday it was "closely monitoring" the situation as Australia sought to reassure students that they were safe in the country.
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