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Politics of Fiji take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Fiji has a multiparty system with the Prime Minister of Fiji as head of government. The executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Fiji. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
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.
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi and port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing region, it is known as the Sugar City. Covering an area of 16 square kilometres, it had a population of 52,220 at the 2007 census, the most recent to date.
Sir Vijay Raghubar Singh, KBE was an Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician who held Cabinet office in the 1960s and 1970s. Vijay Singh served in Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's government in a variety of positions, including Attorney-General, and was President of the Indian Alliance, a division of the ruling Alliance Party. He quit the party in 1979 following disagreement with Alliance leadership and later joined the opposition National Federation Party. Vijay Singh was involved in the restructure of the Fiji sugar industry and was a leading member of the Jaycees movement in Fiji.
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.
Ayodhya Prasad Sharma, 30 April 1909 – 28 February 1972) was an Indo-Fijian farmers' leader and politician, who 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.
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 (1900–1981) was an Indo-Fijian politician, union leader and businessman, who had a considerable influence on Fiji’s sugar industry.
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.
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 National Farmers Union' (NFU) is one of Fiji's largest trade unions. It was launched in Labasa in July 1978 under the auspices of the Fiji Trades Union Congress, with Mahendra Chaudhry as its first General Secretary. The union was initially based in Vanua Levu but gradually extended its operations to Viti Levu.
Karam Chand Ramrakha is a former Fiji Indian lawyer, union leader and politician, who served in colonial Fiji's Legislative Council and independent Fiji's House of Representatives from 1966 to 1982.
Sugar Cane Growers Council represents the sugar cane farmers with the sugar industry in Fiji. It is made up of 38 members elected by the farmers and eight members nominated by the government. The Sugar Cane Growers Council election is held every three years. The Council has a chief executive, the first one being Vijay R. Singh, and a chairman.
Jagannath Sami has been a soccer player representing a premier district side in the Fiji Football Association competitions, a leader of the sugar mill workers, a leader of a farmers' union, a politician and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Sugar Cane Growers Council of Fiji (SCGC) but he is best known for the controversy surrounding his dismissal as the CEO of the SCGC by the military regime of Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama following the military coup of 2006.
The Fiji Cane Growers Association (FCGA) is a cane farmers' union established in 1992 by supporters of the National Federation Party (NFP).
Jain Kumar is a Fijian civil servant and former politician of Indian descent. He was elected the Chairman of Sugar Cane Growers Council of Fiji on 19 January 2007. He replaced Vijendra Autar who had been sacked by the military together with Jagannath Sami and eight board members appointed by the deposed government.
Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) is the government-owned sugar milling company in Fiji having monopoly on production of raw sugar in Fiji. It is also the largest public enterprise in the country employing nearly 3,000 people, while another 200,000 or more depend on it for their livelihood in rural sugar cane belts of Fiji.
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 helped others in time of need. Some of the successful organisations are listed below in order in which they were established. Some, such as the National Federation Party, are no longer exclusively Indian, but are still predominantly so.
References
- ↑ http://www.gdnet.org/middle.php?oid=189&zone=researcher&action=researcher&researcher=2409
- ↑ http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/pi-cpp/workshops/Sugarcane-ws_Fiji.pdf
- ↑ "Election Results 2006 - Fiji Islands". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
- ↑ "Former Labour MP is new SCGC CEO". Fijilive. 31 March 2007.