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Siddiq Moidin Koya 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.
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.
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.
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.
Vishal Sangh was a cane farmers' union established in Fiji on 1 September 1946,by mainly Sikh farmers,who refused to re-join the Kisan Sangh after its reunification following its split into two factions in 1943. It was led by Mehar Singh,one of the founding members of the Kisan Sangh and its former vice-president.
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.
Krishna Samy 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.
Padri Mehar Singh was one of the founding members of Fiji's Kisan Sangh when it was established in 1937. He remained a prominent member of the union until 1943,when he and Ramcharan Singh led a faction that supported the strike instigated by the rival union,Maha Sangh,led by A. D. Patel. While most of his supporters rejoined the Kisan Sangh led by Ayodhya Prasad in 1946,Mehar Singh and his remaining supporters,mainly Sikhs,formed the Vishal Sangh. This union with a small support base remained a junior partner to the Maha Sangh from then on.
The number of Fiji Indians that could be elected to the Legislative Council was fixed over the years as follows:
Unlike the majority of Fiji's Indian population,who are descendants of Indian indentured labourers brought to Fiji between 1879 and 1916,most of the Sikhs came to Fiji as free immigrants. Most Sikhs established themselves as farmers. Sikhs also came to Fiji as policemen,teachers and preachers. In recent years large numbers of Sikhs have emigrated from Fiji,especially to the United States,Canada,the United Kingdom,Australia and New Zealand. Sikhs in Fiji are generally referred to as Punjabis.
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.
References
- ↑ "Fiji Elections Archive: Elections for the Legislative Council, North Western Division 1929 - 1959". Archived from the original on 2009-10-24.