Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

05 February   2021

 

 

WHITE AUSTRALIA TO ONE AUSTRALIA

 

There was a time when Australian government had ‘White Australia Policy’ in immigration. To my mind, that would have been more comfortable for the then leaders whose minds were trained in ‘White Culture’. It was because of the true power of the ‘People’ that this policy changed and this year the Government started promoting ‘One Australia Policy’. Now we are able to celebrate our respective ancestral powers towards ‘One Australia’. I believe that I also contributed to this progress.

I chose the highest common structure even though it was  the most difficult one. That was the judicial pathway. The law I chose was ‘Racial Discrimination Act 1975’. The Judiciary did give me a ‘fail mark’. But because I took on ‘junior’ position, I learnt. My real ‘win’ was that elevation to the higher level despite such failures. The pain that I endured, without taking shortcuts in processes naturally connected me to the pain of victims – including due to gender-based discrimination. Eventually, my work joined forces with the consolidated power of all victims of unjust discrimination. The deeper our pain, the more common we become. To the extent it is true pain – all we have to do to find solution to someone else in similar pain is to make their pain ours and go into the structure we developed with our then pain as the nucleus. Then we identify with the solution needed by us in that position.

When Buddhism foremost policy was included in the Constitution of Sri Lanka in 1972, I did not experience any pain – directly or through my family elders. But after my own Australian experience, I identify with the pain of those who are affected by it. Majority are in Multicultural parts of Sri Lanka.

I feel that the current Sri Lankan President is reinforcing the ‘Buddhism Foremost’ policy because he is as fearful of indigenous power as White Australians were until recently. Times of India has captured it under the heading - 'I am the leader that you searched for': Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa tells Lankans on Independence Day.

 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday  told Sri Lankans that he was the leader that they
searched for and openly flaunted his strong Sinhalese-Buddhist roots to  say that he was the right man to hold the highest office  .. in the country.

Addressing the nation on the occasion of  Sri Lanka's 73rd Independence Day, Rajapaksa said, "I am a Sinhala Buddhist leader and I will never hesitate to state so. I  govern this country in accordance with Buddhist teachings’..

To my mind, the president  was going into the most challenging experience of his life and that was when he was the Defence Secretary threatened by LTTE which had the backing of Indian power. Unless he felt the threat as his own, it would have been difficult for him to remain in that position as the government’s representative. It’s a kind of sledging force but when done on behalf of his group, it’s karmic power could be positive. King Duttugemunu is often invoked  by such leaders to overcome fear of Indian power – including by invoking Emperor Ellalan.

Hence to retain his credibility in the current position, the president would need to go into the anxiety he would have felt when fighting against the LTTE. Given that the LTTE was open about its ‘Separation Policy’ – the President would need to ‘show’ its Opposition – Buddhism foremost or more importantly ‘Sinhala only’ policy.

Emperor Ellalan is recognized as the most Just of all Tamil rulers. Hence when Emperor Ellalan is invoked – justice structure is invoked. That was the power of Tamil elders until LTTE.

The withdrawal from the agreement regarding Eastern Container Terminal happened due to fear of what happened in Myanmar. The army power is in the custody of those who continue to be in the army. The Unions cannot be controlled by politicians. So long as Tamil leaders do not invoke LTTE but Judge Ellalan, there will be a just and peaceful solution to the ethnic problem and beyond. Sri Lanka needs its ancestral ethnic powers to remain Independent.