Inspired by the apology of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to the aboriginal Australians, the author writes an appreciative open letter and earmarks the road ahead for other nations to follow

Hon’ble Mr. Kevin Rudd

Greetings in the Name of God the light of every soul.

On 13 February 2008, I felt very proud of you as a person, when I learnt about your apology on behalf of the Australian people to the indigenous peoples of the Australian continent.

While your country has been mulling over the “sorry” for quiet some time now, history wanted you to do the honours. From John Cook to Kevin Rudd, Australia has come a long way.

To be honest, Your Excellency, I was aware of the human rights violations of the aborigines of Australia in a superficial way but was unaware of the ‘snatch the babies’ campaign by White Australians. Much as I was pained to read about this, I was relieved that your regret especially focused on this.

The abuse and denial of human rights of the aboriginal Australians, particularly the Stolen Generations happened in the early days of the last century and that the regret has come about in about a hundred years is quiet remarkable. The ‘Sir Roland Wilson Report’ and the recommendations of the ‘Little Children are Sacred Report’ which formed the basis of the Australian people’s sense of guilt and remorse, was ignored for 11 years by the Australian leadership.

Your brave words, ‘For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written. We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians. A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again’ are surely a reflection of your commitment. While you may have said this for your country, there is a lesson for many countries and societies to follow. I see in this seeds of the trait of accepting fault and it is a grand strand in the annals of ethical approach to diplomacy and governance to be emulated by other countries so-placed.

History is replete with instances where countries have done incalculable harm and indulged in racist crimes, which in our understanding today are crimes against humanity, but countries dare not acknowledge them. It is a creditable and courageous step that you have taken because there are many countries which have a similar track record but continue to prevaricate and their leadership lacks the political and moral will to stand up to their past. There are others like India, which refuses to acknowledge the very existence of aboriginal peoples on their soil. There is a sizeable population of indigenous peoples in India but we call them names like Adivasis-the original people and list them as Scheduled Tribes. A full-scale well-planned and well-orchestrated colonization of their resources, habitat, biodiversity, culture is on by the private sector in cohorts with the Indian state.

According to an estimate there are close to four hundred such communities in India representing 7 percent of the population. What Australia did to the aboriginal peoples, India is doing now. The world community needs to knock India on the knuckles and not buy their specious logic and fallacious rationale at various UN meets. India dares not categorize its aboriginal peoples as indigenous peoples for fear of international opprobrium under specific UN conventions. India has not ratified the Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent countries. It may be of interest to you that most of these peoples, on the basis of race, cultural decimation, internal displacement and repression of India seek independence from the Indian union.

I have studied the response of the international community for the last one week and found that world leaders have not responded the way it was expected. At least by me. The reasons are not far to seek. Most of them are either unaware or have perhaps chosen silence for saying something will put them face to face with their own similar situations.

The happiness and relief from the sense of guilt of the average Australian is a proof of the overwhelming participation of a majority of Australians with you in this apology. It does not seem to be a leader’s apology as a matter of tiding over a situation but a sincere attempt to chart a new course of reconciliation and regeneration for all sections of Australian society. That this is a beginning and not an end is the expectation of every kind soul who has admired you. I believe that you have an obligation to continue the good work.

My yearnings as an activist are that there should be no let up and a full-throttled road map for respect of all Australians per se; then progress in the fields of health, life expectancy, education, housing and equality of opportunity must follow. Whether this should take the compensation route or not is a contentious issue and should be appropriately addressed and not brushed aside. Debate and discussion as the primary tools of democracy must be used even when the other side is on a weak wicket.

I am sure that Canada, New Zealand and Australia can contribute substantially to the world’s thought process and mechanisms on engagement with aboriginal peoples respecting their distinct cultures, preservation of cultural legacy and safeguarding the right of future generations to a better life can be evolved.

It is stupefying to note that all over the world, not many decades ago, the indigenous peoples exercised de facto control over the world’s eco systems, which has now been threatened by so-called progressive society.

Saying sorry is a very difficult task. Our Gurus befriended leaders from enemy ranks after due reconciliation. Our history and religious ethos also proposes forgiveness, though our adversaries have not been kind to us. The Indian state has wronged the Sikhs far too many times in the last few decades, but no sorry is forthcoming. While it may be preposterous to call the Sikhs as the Stolen generation, but as far as the international community is concerned, they certainly are a Forgotten people.

Sikh Australians, conversant with the teachings of their Gurus, must also be commending you for your historic role. The teachings of my Guru on humility and apology are inspiring. The First Master Guru Nanak has very aptly put it as,

Everyone bows down to himself; no one bows down to another.

When something is placed on the balancing scale and weighed, the side which descends is heavier

A large number of White Australians have participated in your apology by empathizing with the aboriginal peoples. It is time for conscientious people worldwide to turn their backs to the wrongs of history and work beyond the call of duty for a just society, if humankind is to survive the blame of repeating history again and again. It is time for all people with a sense of justice and history to do a bit for ‘bringing them home’.