Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told that most of the 157 asylum seekers brought to the Australian mainland are not Sri Lankan but South Indian.

The Asylum seekers are being held in the Curtin detention center in Western Australia after being flown from Cocos Island yesterday.

The Indian government is making preparations to establish their identities to make arrangements back to the peninsula.

Consular officials from India, which has agreed to take back its citizens and will consider taking Sri Lankan nationals who are Indian residents, are on their way to the detention center to conduct identity checks.

The asylum seekers, including children, had been detained since their boat was intercepted 27km from Christmas Island earlier in July.

Morrison said the government decided to bring the group to the mainland because identity checks would have taken too long on the ship.

Morrison said based on initial discussions with those on board, a majority are believed to have been long-term residents of the "safe" nation of India.

Australia's Immigration Minister told Australian media  "They haven't come from Sri Lanka, they haven't come from any of those other countries, Afghanistan or anything like that".

Despite the international cry out for protection by Tamil Nadu leaders and Tamil organizations in Sri Lanka, None of the asylum seekers have yet made protection claims in Australia, and most of them will be sent back to India.

When questioned regarding the asylum seekers, Scott Morrison suggested that theyn may be fleeing persecution from India.

The debates arose when the news went viral that the apprehended fishermen were being unofficially handed out to the Sri Lankan Navy in mid-sea. Majority of the Sri Lankan Tamil organizations lashed out at the Australian government saying that they should not handover the asylum seekers to the Sri Lankan authorities.