Indian Association of Fiji has been the name used by organisations formed at different times in the history of Fiji, to unite different groups within the Fiji Indian community to work to improve the plight of Indians in Fiji.
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec Islands to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island is Ono-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the total population of 898,760. The capital, Suva, on Viti Levu, serves as the country's principal cruise-ship port. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry—or Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is paramount. Due to its terrain, the interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited.
The Association was initially formed in 1920 by N. B. Mitter, who was the headmaster of a school in Nadi. The Association organised labourers from the Western Division, which included Ba, Nadi, Lautoka and Nadroga. The Association did not have any influence on the 1921 strike which affected the western districts of Fiji as it was led by a recently arrived missionary from India, Vashist Muni.
Nadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had grown to over 50,000. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign tourists. Along with sugar cane production, tourism is a mainstay of the local economy.
The Western Division of Fiji is one of Fiji's four divisions. It consists of three provinces in western/northern Viti Levu, namely Ba, Nadroga-Navosa and Ra.
Ba is a district situated on the north western part of the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. The name Ba is also used for a province, a tikina, a town and a river. Ba district comprises the areas surrounding Ba Town and includes the Fijian administrative tikinas of Ba and Magodro. Ba district is in the Western Division. Ba is a sugar cane growing district and sugar cane farming and employment in the Ba Sugar Mill are the main areas of employment. Some 80 percent of the residents of Ba District are of Indian origin. The Ba District soccer team is the most successful soccer team in Fiji.
The early 1920s were dark days for the Fiji Indians with the failure of the 1920 and 1921 strikes and large numbers of ex-indentured labourers waiting for ships to be repatriated back to India. In the early 1920s Ram Singh tried to revive the defunct Indian Imperial Association as the Indian Association of Fiji but having representatives from all sections of the Indian community, with Ilahi Ramjan (a Muslim) as President, Ram Singh (a Hindu) as Secretary and Deoki (a Christian) and Ram Samujh (a Hindu) as vice-presidents. It made representations to the Secretary of State for the Colonies about residential tax and other issues, but the Government regarded it as representing only the urban educated Indians and refused to recognise it.
Babu Ram Singh was a Fiji Indian who had come to Fiji under the indenture system and was one of the few people who, after indenture, prospered and made an attempt to help his less fortunate ex-indentured brethren. Babu Ram Singhs surviving Business, Fiji Rubber Stamp Co Ltd is still under operation in Mark Street, Suva, and is looked after by his children.
The Indian Imperial Association of Fiji (I.I.A.) was active in Fiji during the last years of the indenture system, safeguarding the interests of and assisting in the improvement of the Indian community.
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies.
On 9 December 1934, the Indian Association was reformed, this time as a successor to the controversial Fiji Indian National Congress (formed in 1929), to safeguard and further the political rights of the Indian community in Fiji. Its president was A. D. Patel and Vishnu Deo was its secretary. The Association made representations to England and India opposing the proposal for a purely nominated system of choosing members to the Legislative Council. In 1935, the Association protested to restrictions to Indian immigration to Fiji. In 1936, Charles Freer Andrews made his third visit to Fiji on the invitation of the Association.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the first Indians in Fiji, two different organisations called the Fiji Indian National Congress were formed in Fiji. The acting Governor of Fiji, Alfred W. Seymour, despite European opposition, declared 15 May as a public holiday and as a day of rejoicing. Vishnu Deo and his supporters wanted the day to be marked as a day of mourning and on 12 May, at a meeting in Lautoka, it was decided to form the Fiji Indian National Congress. On 14 May, at another meeting in Suva, Dr Hamilton Beattie, who had taken upon himself the responsibility of improving the status of the Indian community, formed another organisation with the same name.
Ambalal Dahyabhai Patel, better known as A.D. Patel (1905–1969), was a Fiji Indian 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.
The Association was revived in 1946, but this time it concentrated on education. It started two schools: Deenbandhu Primary School and Indian High School (now known as Jai Narayan College and which has, on record in the Fiji Islands Education System, the current best academic performance for over a decade ), both located in Samabula, Suva.
Suva is the capital and largest metropolitan city in Fiji. It is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Rewa Province, Central Division.
At the 26th Annual General Meeting of the Association, held at Indian High School, J. F. Grant retired as President and was replaced by Hari Charan. [1]
