The University of Fiji is a university based in Saweni, Lautoka, Fiji. It was established in December 2004 under academic leadership of the Fiji Institute of Applied Studies and financial sponsorship of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji, a Hindu religious organization dedicated to education." On 14 February 2016, the Native Lands Trust Board (NLTB) signed a 99-year lease with the university for the 5-hectare property, for which the university paid F$100,000. The university agreed in return to provide two scholarships annually for the children of landowners.[2]
The University of Fiji honoured its first graduates in March 2017. Fiji's President Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu, who is also the University's Chancellor, spoke at the graduation ceremony, and commended the university for making it compulsory for all students to follow basic courses in Fijian and Hindi: “Our future depends on our ability and desire to understand each other better, to communicate with each other better, and to assist each other. Being able to communicate in each other’s language is vital for this.”[3] Fijian is the language of the country's majority ethnic group, while Hindi is the main language of the largest ethnic minority.
It includes six "Centres of Excellence", namely a Centre for Indigenous Studies (CIS), a Centre for International and Regional Affairs (CIRA), the Gandhi-Tappoo Centre for Writing, Ethics and Peace Studies (WEPS), a Centre for Diasporic Studies (CDS), a Centre for Gender Research (CGR), and a Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development.[3]
Benefactors include the India-Fiji Festival Committee, which on 16 February 2006 donated F$10,000 to the university for the tertiary education of underprivileged students.
The University of Fiji has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Australia's University of Canberra to foster collaboration in research and facilitate exchanges of staff and students. Vice-Chancellor Rajesh Chandra said on 26 May 2005 that the agreement would effectively link the University of Fiji with international academic networks and would help ensure the quality of instruction.
Future plans and goals
The Fiji Times quoted Professor Chandra on 16 February 2006 as saying that making higher education available to underprivileged communities would lead to equitable development, which would foster social and political stability in the long run.
Professor Chandra announced plans on 6 March to establish a medical school, and said that if donors could be found, the university would set up another campus in the northern island of Vanua Levu. The medical school, to be called the Dr Umanand Prasad School of Medicine, is the brainchild of Dr. Umanand Prasad, a native of Labasa who has invested F$1 million for a medical school in his home country, after thirty years abroad. It has been operational since March 2008.[4]
Arya Samaj is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati on 10 April 1875. Members of the Arya Samaj believe in one God and reject the worship of idols.
The National Language Debate in Fiji concerns the status of the country's three official languages - English, Fijian, and Hindustani. From colonial times, the sole official language was English, but the 1997 Constitution gave equal status, for the first time, to Fijian and Hindustani, alongside English.
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.
Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a public university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established in 10 February 1921 as Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed, it is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar Pradesh. The university has more than 400+ affiliated colleges spread over six districts. It is one of the largest state universities in Uttar Pradesh, with hundreds of thousands of students, both rural and urban. It offers a range of professional and academic courses in arts, science, commerce, agriculture science, law, computing and management.
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.
Pandit Shri Krishna Sharma was an Arya Samaj preacher who came to Fiji in 1926 from Rajkot, India. He was a gifted public speaker and singer of religious songs. He provided impetus to the Arya Samaj movement in Fiji. Under his influence Arya Samaj schools and temples were established in Fiji. He was responsible for the establishment of the Hindu Maha Sabha for the purpose of uniting all Hindus in Fiji. He advocated shuddhi and this caused conflict with Muslims and Christians in Fiji.
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 Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji is the national body for all the Arya Samajs in Fiji. It was formed in 1918 and registered as a religious body through the efforts of Manilal Doctor, who was in Fiji from 1912 to 1920 at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi to provide legal assistance to the Fiji Indians. Its first President was Swami Manoharanand Saraswati who had arrived in Fiji, from India, in 1913. The Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji is affiliated to Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha based in New Delhi.
Vivekanad Sharma was a Fiji Indian politician and religious worker but is best known for his promotion of the Hindi language in Fiji and abroad.
Suriname has possibly the highest proportion of Hindus who are Arya Samajis, compared to any other country. In Suriname, the Hindu population had split, with roughly 20% following the teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Ārya Samāj, and 80% following the Sanatan Dharm. According to the census of 2012 the number of Ārya Samājĩs is 16,661. The arrival of Arya Samaj preachers in Suriname, in 1929, caused a rift in the Hindu community, between the followers of Sanatan Dharm and the Ārya Samāj.
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement in South Africa. Like other parts of the world where people of Indian origin are settled, the teachings of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj, made their way to South Africa during the beginning of the twentieth century. The Arya Samaj encouraged Indian South Africans to take pride in their heritage and culture and promoted education and social reform.
Bundelkhand University is a public state university based in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1975, it has professional, technical and vocational study programmes along with facilities for research.
Gurkul Primary School was the first substantive school for Fiji Indians established in Fiji in 1918. Its establishment, coincided with the formation of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji, the Arya Samaj organisation that manages the school. The school is located at Saweni near Lautoka in the western side of the island of Viti Levu.
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.
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement in Mauritius. Established in 1911, the Arya Paropkarini Sabha was officially registered in 1913. Since its creation Arya Samaj has had a great influence on the religious, social, educational and political lives of the people of Indian origin on the island. It has endeavoured to uphold the principles and ideals set forth by Maharishi Dayanand and his reformist movement. Some of the more notable ideals are women parity and free access to education. It has provided Hindus with a choice of progressive Hinduism, has promoted education with particular emphasis on Hindi and established orphanages, primary schools, colleges and tertiary institution.
The earliest efforts to establish the Arya Samaj in Trinidad and Tobago were made by visiting missionaries in the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1930s their activities led to the establishment of a new organisation, which first was called the Arya Samaj Association, but later was renamed Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Trinidad. The main activity of the sabha was giving support to the construction of Aryan temples and schools. Unfortunately the organisation was frequently plagued by split-offs, which caused a decrease of its membership.
Swami Shraddhanand, also known as Mahatma Munshi Ram Vij, was an Indian Independence activist and an Arya Samaj sannyasi who propagated the teachings of Dayananda Saraswati. This included the establishment of educational institutions, like the Gurukul Kangri University, and played a key role on the Sangathan and the Shuddhi (purification), a Hindu reform movement in the 1920s.
On 15 February 2010, Fiji National University was formally constituted by the Fiji National University Act 2009 which amalgamated six government higher education colleges:
Fiji School of Medicine
Fiji School of Nursing
Fiji College of Advanced Education
Fiji College of Agriculture
Fiji Institute of Technology
Lautoka Teachers’ College.
Dukhan Ram (1899–1990) was an Indian ophthalmologist, academic, legislator and the vice chancellor of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University. He was the principal of Patna Medical College, one of the oldest medical colleges in India, and the president of Arya Pradeshik Pratinidhi Sabha, a satellite organization of Arya Samaj, founded by Dayanand Saraswati. He successfully contested the 1962 Bihar Legislative Assembly election from Sasaram constituency, on Indian National Congress candidature and served as the president of All India Ophthalmological Society in 1961. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1962, for his contributions to medical science.
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