On January 26 the people of Australia celebrated what is called Australia Day. It is the day in 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip docked his ship at what is now called Sydney Cove and raised the British flag there and declared that the entire land was British colony from that day.
Once the forced occupation was established the British in 1880 named this day First Landing, later changed it to Anniversary Day and also Foundation Day. The aboriginal people were vehemently against such names. So in 1946 all the state governments of Australia and the Commonwealth together named the day Australia Day.
It is normally celebrated by white Australians and immigrants to Australia but not by aboriginal people. To them there is very little to celebrate. They take it as reminder of loss of sovereign rights to their native land, loss of their family, loss of the right to practice their own culture and follow their age-old tradition.
This day marks the arrival of the British with ship full of guns and gun powder. It also marks the day when merciless slaughter of the aboriginal people began and forced their submission to the occupiers of their motherland. The aboriginals called it ‘Invasion Day’, ‘Day of Mourning’ and ‘Survival Day’. However since 2006 they have named it Aboriginal Sovereign Day.
The main significance of this day is the reminder to the world of how the western nations established colonies all over the world through sheer force and merciless brutality and got themselves very rich in the process.
Jatindra Saha
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