Reckoning with Australia's racial legacy
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Samia Khatun's work "Australianama" discusses the establishment of "White Australia" in 1901. The development of the White Australia policy and the reactions to it can be examined through the lenses of colonial power relations, racialisation, and the construction of the "other." The policy reflected white settlers' concern of being overwhelmed by non-white labour, and was comparable to racial practices in other settler colonies such as the United States and South Africa. It served as both a legal and cultural structure, upholding the imperial project's basic notions of racial purity and superiority. This policy developed at a time when Australia was cementing its national identity post-federation, and it attempted to preserve the white labour force from commercial competition from non-white workers, mainly Asian workers and merchants who had migrated to Australia during the nineteenth century's gold rushes and commercial boom. By imposing immigration limits, the Australian government institutionalised the settler population's racial fears, formalising whiteness as an integral criterion of national identity. The policy was not just about race; it was also about securing economic protectionism for white workers, many of whom felt threatened by the presence of Asian labourers, who were frequently portrayed as undercutting salaries and working for lower pay in industries such as mining, agriculture, and transportation.The experience of South Asians, including Afghans, was extremely humiliating and inhumane. They had been living and working in Australia for years prior to the policy's implementation. Afghans played a critical part in opening up Australia's interior, allowing commodities to be transported over long distances in locations inaccessible to horses or carriages. Despite their contribution to the economy, they were marginalised when the new rules' racial limitations went into place. Medical examinations were frequently used to control the immigration of non-European migrants, justifying their exclusion on the basis of public health. However, for South Asians like Shamsulnissa, the refusal to submit to such examinations can be seen as a rejection of the colonial authority that sought to dehumanize and control them. Furthermore, after the restrictions of the camel importations to Australia, Shamsulnissa’s brother sued and won the case against the Australian government. Non-white communities used numerous ways to challenge the system, through legal challenges and cultural resistance.