Chattur Singh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Legislative Council for Northern & Western | |
| In office 1937–1940 | |
| Preceded by | Muniswamy Mudaliar |
| Succeeded by | B. D. Lakshman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ba,Fiji |
| Profession | Law clerk,Landlord |
Chandersen Chattur Singh was an Indo-Fijian politician. He caused a major sensation in the 1937 elections when he defeated A. D. Patel,a well known lawyer and political ally of Vishnu Deo.
Chattur Singh was one of the first Indo-Fijians to take an active interest in politics. He opposed the Residential Tax Legislation (poll tax) of 1922,which imposed an annual tax of one pound on all Fiji residents between the ages of 18 and 60,by refusing to pay the tax. The court ordering his bicycle to be sold to pay for the tax. [1] In the early twenties he formed the Young Men’s Indian Association of Lautoka,which in 1926 asked for an Indian member to be nominated again to the Legislative Council and Badri Maharaj was re-nominated. Singh had been an early supporter of common roll and on a visit overseas in 1929,put the case for Fiji Indians to H.S.L. Polak,the Secretary for the Indians Overseas Association. In the 1929 elections his brother Parmanand was one of the first Indo-Fijians elected to the Council. In 1931,he appealed to Jawaharlal Nehru for help for the Fiji Indians in their fight for common roll.
In the 1937 election,Singh decided to contest the Northern and Western Indian Division against A.D. Patel. Singh was a law clerk (for Lautoka lawyer,Douglas Charmers) while Patel was an accomplished lawyer and had the support of Vishnu Deo. Chattur Singh used an ingenious technique to fight the election. He used the Fiji Indian’s dislike of Gujarati traders and money lenders,and the fact that A.D. Patel was an India-born Gujarati,to turn the election to one between Fiji-born and India-born. Together with Ayodhya Prasad and other young men he organised a secret organisation called the New Youth Army. Singh won the election by 671 votes to Patel's 651 with 66 votes being invalid.
Later in 1937,when the Kisan Sangh was formed,its members were mainly those who had supported Singh in the election campaign. Aware of the power of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company,Singh soon distanced himself from the Kisan Sangh. He claimed to represent the mill workers and farmers in their struggle for better remuneration,but without a political base,did not have enough support to contest the next election in 1940 elections. During the Second World War,he supported the war effort and had his son enlisted in the army. In the 1947 elections Singh challenged the incumbent,A.D. Patel,and lost by 1,972 votes to 1,106. He attempted another comeback in 1956,losing to Ayodhya Prasad in a five-way race.
Siddiq Moidin Koya (1924–1993) was a Fijian Indian politician,Statesman and Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indo-Fijian National Federation Party (NFP) on the death of the party's founder,A. D. Patel,in October 1969,remaining in this post until 1977. He later served a second term as leader of the NFP,from 1984 to 1987.
Ambalal Dahyabhai Patel, better known as A.D. Patel,was an Indo-Fijian politician,farmers' leader and founder and leader of the National Federation Party. Patel was uncompromisingly committed to a vision of an independent Fiji,with full racial integration. He was one of the first to advocate a republic,an ideal not realized in his lifetime. He also advocated a common voters' roll and opposed the communal franchise that characterized Fijian politics.
Pt. Vishnu Deo OBE was the first Fiji born and bred leader of the Indo-Fijians. From his initial election to the Legislative Council in 1929 to his retirement in 1959,he remained the most powerful Indo-Fijians political leader in Fiji. He was a staunch supporter of Arya Samaj in Fiji and also the editor of the first successful Hindi-language newspaper to be published in Fiji.
Parmanand Singh was one of the three Indo-Fijians elected to the Legislative Council of Fiji in October 1929 when Indo-Fijians were given the first opportunity to elect their own representatives. The other two were Vishnu Deo and James Ramchandar Rao. Singh was a landlord from Ba and undertook several business ventures which included publishing newspapers.
The Arya Samaj was the first religious,cultural and educational Fiji Indian organisation established in Fiji. From its inception,in 1904,it attracted the young,educated and progressive Hindus into its fold. During the first three decades of the twentieth century,it was the sole voice of the Indian community in Fiji and as Fiji Indians won political rights,it was not surprising that first Indian members of the Legislative Council were all Arya Samajis. The influence of Arya Samaj over the Indians in Fiji gradually waned as other organisations representing Indians were established but it remained the dominant force in politics until 1959. The modern day Arya Samaj in Fiji still speaks out on issues affecting its members and its activities are visible through the numerous educational institutions that it manages.
Ayodhya Prasad Sharma was an Indo-Fijian farmers' leader and politician. He formed the most successful farmers' union in Fiji and forced the Colonial Sugar Refining Company to make concessions to farmers after 60 years of total control over Fiji's economy. However,other Indo-Fijian leaders formed rival unions and his initial success was not repeated. He also served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1953 and 1959.
Kisan Sangh was the first farmers' union formed in Fiji on 27 November 1937. This was the result of one man's determination to improve the plight of Fiji's Indian cane farmers. Ayodhya Prasad had arrived from India in 1929,and after a stint as a teacher took up cane farming and thus obtained firsthand experience of the problems faced by Fiji Indian cane farmers.
Brahma Dass Lakshman was an Indo-Fijian politician,trade unionist and businessman,who had a considerable influence on Fiji’s sugar industry. He served in the Legislative Council in two spells between 1940 and 1963.
Akhil Fiji Krishak Maha Sangh was a sugar cane farmers' union formed on 15 June 1941 in opposition to the existing union,the Kisan Sangh. Supporters of Kisan Sangh tried to stop the formation of the Maha Sangh but were unsuccessful. The people responsible for the formation of a second sugar cane farmers' union were A. D. Patel and Swami Rudrananda. The union was supported by the South Indian sugar cane farmers in Fiji.
Tulsi Ram Sharma was the first Indo-Fijian to qualify as a lawyer. He served one term as member of the Legislative Council and three terms as the President of Fiji Indian Football Association. He was one of the founding members of the Maha Sangh,but his association with farmers' union was short-lived. In 1941 he was appointed to Central Indian War Committee,formed by the Government to enlist the support of Indians to the war effort.
The Federation of Cane Growers was formed as an umbrella organisation to negotiate the new cane contract due to take effect from 1960 with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company.
The Kisan Sangh had been active in the Western Division of Fiji since 1937 but had not seen the need to expand its activities to other sugar cane growing districts because of transportation problems and the fact that the other districts combined had far fewer cane farmers than the Western Division. By 1950,the Maha Sangh,a rival to the Kisan Sangh,was well established in Labasa in the Northern Division. As negotiations began for the 1950 cane contract,the Kisan Sangh decided to spread its activities to the Northern Division and the Labasa Kisan Sangh was formed with support from Viti Levu.
The Southern Division Kisan Sangh was formed in Fiji in 1946 by a former member of parliament,K. B. Singh,due to personal differences with the president of the Rewa Planters Union,Ram Krishna Chaudhary. There was widespread opposition to this until Vishnu Deo took over its leadership and worked together with Ram Krishna Chaudhary and his union.
Pandit Ami Chandra Vidyalankar was an Indo-Fijian educator,preacher,labour leader,politician and football administrator. He served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1947 and 1953.
The National Congress of Fiji was a Fijian political party that existed from 1965 to 1967. It was created to represent Indo-Fijians as a rival to the Citizens Federation. It soon merged,along with the General Electors Association,which mainly represented Fijians of European descent,to form the Alliance Party.
General elections were held in Fiji between 17 April and 4 May 1963. For the first time,women and indigenous Fijians were given the right to vote alongside the male European and Indo-Fijian population.
Krishna S. Reddy was a Fiji Indian school teacher,leader of a farmers' union and both a nominated and elected member of the Legislative Council. Although he started his political career as an ally of A. D. Patel,disputes over the leadership style of A. D. Patel led to a split within the farmers' union that they both led and later they became members of opposing political parties. After independence,he was elected to the House of Representatives as an Alliance member and also served as an assistant minister.
The Citizens Federation was the political expression of a predominantly Indo-Fijian trade union movement,and was a forerunner of the present day National Federation Party.
The number of Fiji Indians that could be elected to the Legislative Council was fixed over the years as follows:
This is a synopsis of organisations formed by Indians in Fiji. When they became free from the bondage of indenture and were able to organise themselves,they founded numerous organizations to seek social and political justice. These organisations promoted the teaching of Indian languages and religious practices and also to help others in time of need. Some of the successful organisations are listed below in the order in which they were established. Some,such as the National Federation Party,are no longer exclusively Indian,but are still predominantly so.