Indo-Fijians (Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी के हिंदुस्तानी, romanized: Fiji ke Hindustani), also known as Indian Fijians (also colloquially known as "Findians" or "Findus"), are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of India and the Indian subcontinent.[7] Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's population from 1956 through the late 1980s, discrimination and the resulting brain drain resulted in them numbering 313,798 (37.6%) (2007 census) out of a total of 827,900 people living in Fiji as of 2007[update].[8]
Indians had been employed for a long time on the European ships trading in Colonial India and the East Indies. Many of the early voyages to the Pacific either started or terminated in India and many of these ships were wrecked in the uncharted waters of the South Pacific. The first recorded presence of an Indian in Fiji was by Peter Dillon, a sandalwood trader in Fiji, of a lascar (Indian seaman) who survived a shipwreck, lived and settled there amongst the natives of Fiji in 1813.[13]
First attempt to procure Indian labourers
Before Fiji was colonized by Great Britain, some planters had tried to obtain Indian labour and had approached the British Consul in Levuka, Fiji but were met with a negative response. In 1870, a direct request by a planter to the Government of India was also turned down and in 1872, an official request by the Cakobau Government was informed that British rule in Fiji was a pre-condition for Indian emigration to Fiji.[14] The early ancestors of Indo-Fijians came from different regions of South Asia, most coming from rural villages in Northern and Southern India.
In January 1879, thirty-one South Asians, who had originally been indentured labourers in Réunion, were brought from New Caledonia to Fiji under contract to work on a plantation in Taveuni. These labourers demonstrated knowledge of the terms of the indenture agreement and were aware of their rights and refused to do the heavy work assigned to them, their contract was terminated by mutual agreement between the labourers and their employers. In 1881, thirty-eight more Indians arrived from New Caledonia and again most of them left but some stayed taking Indian wives or island women.[15]
The colonial authorities promoted the sugar cane industry, recognising the need to establish a stable economic base for the colony, but were unwilling to exploit indigenous labour and threaten the Fijian way of life.[citation needed] The use of imported labour from the Solomon Islands and what is now Vanuatu generated protests in the United Kingdom, and the GovernorSir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon decided to implement the indentured labour scheme, which had existed in the British Empire since 1837. A recruiting office was set up especially around Calcutta and the South, West and North later, especially a lot in rural village areas in different farming regions, land and areas.[citation needed]
The Leonidas, a labour transport vessel, disembarked at Levuka from Calcutta on 14 May 1879. The 498 indentured workers who disembarked were the first of over 61,000 to arrive from South and East Asia in the following 37 years. The majority were from the districts of eastern and southern provinces, followed by labourers from northern and western regions, then later south eastern countries, they originated from different regions, villages, backgrounds and castes that later mingled or intermarried hence the "Fijian Indian" identity was created. The indentured workers originated mostly from rural village backgrounds.
.[7]
Life during the indenture period
The contracts of the indentured labourers, which they called girmit (agreements), required them to work in Fiji for a period of five years. Living conditions on the sugar cane plantations, on which most of the girmityas (indentured labourers) worked, had poor standards which resembled that of slavery. Hovels known as "coolie lines" dotted the landscape.[7]
End of indenture
Public outrage in the United Kingdom and India over human rights abuses of indentured labourers, such as the story of Kunti and Naraini played a factor in abolishing the scheme in 1916.[16][17] However, Indenture continued unlawfully until the intervention of Banarsidas Chaturvedi and Reverend C.F. Andrews, which resulted in all existing indentured labourers being freed from contracts on 1 January 1920.
Free immigrants
From the early 1900s, Indians started arriving in Fiji as free agents. Many of these paid their own way and had previously served in Fiji or other British colonies or had been born in Fiji. Amongst the early free migrants, there were religious teachers, missionaries and at least one lawyer. The government and other employers brought clerks, policemen, artisans, gardeners, experienced agricultural workers, a doctor and a school teacher. Punjabi farmers and Gujarati craftsmen also paid their own way to Fiji and in later years formed an influential minority amongst the Fiji Indians.[18]
Indian Platoon during the Second World War
In 1916, Manilal Doctor, the de facto leader of the Indo-Fijian community, persuaded the colonial government of Fiji to form an Indian platoon for the Allied war effort during the First World War. He sent the names of 32 volunteers to the colonial government but his requests were ignored. As a result, a number of Fiji Indians volunteered for the New Zealand Army while one served in Europe during the First World War.[citation needed]
In 1934, Governor Fletcher enacted a policy which warranted an Indian Platoon within the Fiji Defence Force consisting entirely of enlisted-ranked Indians. Governor Fletcher encouraged Indo-Fijians to regard Fiji as their permanent home. One could say this was Fletcher's insurance policy against an anticipated anti-European revolt at the hands of the Native population, which subsequently took place in 1959.[citation needed]
While the Fiji Indian troops had the Europeans as their commanding and non-commissioned officers, the Native Fijians had Ratu Edward Cakobau, a Native Fijian, as their commanding officer. Prior to the Second World War, soldiers served voluntarily and were paid "capitation grants" according to efficiency ratings without regard to race. In 1939, during the mobilisation of the Fiji Defence Force, the colonial government changed its payment system to four shillings per day for enlisted men of European descent while enlisted men of non-European descent were paid only two shillings per day; the Indian Platoon quickly disputed this disparity in pay. The colonial government, fearing this dissidence would eventually be shared by the Native Fijians, decided to disband the Indian platoon in 1940 citing lack of available equipment, such as military armour, as their reason.[19]
Labels: Unifying an identity
‘Indians’ in Fiji were originally defined by the constitution of Fiji as anybody who can trace, through either the male or the female line, their ancestry back to anywhere on the Indian subcontinent and all government documents used this name.
However, in August 2008, shortly before the proposed People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress was due to be released to the public, it was announced that it recommended a change in the name of Fiji's citizens. If the proposal were adopted, all citizens of Fiji, whatever their ethnicity, would be called "Fijians". The Cabinet at its meeting on 30 June 2010 approved the Fijian Affairs [Amendment] Decree 2010. The new law effectively replaces the word 'Fijian' or 'indigenous' or 'indigenous Fijian' with the word 'iTaukei' in all written laws, and all official documentation when referring to the original and native settlers of Fiji.
All Fiji citizens are now called 'Fijians'[20]
The correct label and identity for Indo-Fijians has historically been debated. Common labels such as Fijian Indian, as Fiji-Indian and Indo-Fijian have been used inter-changeably. These labels have proved culturally and politically controversial, and finding a single label of identification for those with South Asian ancestry in Fiji has fuelled a debate that has continued for many decades.[citation needed]
Labels that use the term ‘Indian’ can be seen as problematic.[citation needed] This is because the term ‘Indian’ no longer accurately represents people with ancestry from the various regions of the South Asian sub-continent, such as modern-day Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Historic Identities: Fiji Indians versus indigenous Fijians
In the late 1960s, the leader of the National Federation Party, A. D. Patel, who used the slogan, "One Country, One People, One Destiny"[citation needed], suggested that all Fiji's citizens should be called Fijians and to distinguish the original inhabitants from the rest, the name Taukei should be used for native Fijians. At the time, there was opposition to this from some native Fijians who feared that any such move would deprive them of the special privileges they had enjoyed since cession in 1874. The Fiji Times started using Fiji Islander to describe all Fiji's citizens but this name did not catch on.[citation needed]
The United States Department of State gives the nationality of Fiji citizens as "Fiji Islander" and states that "the term "Fijian" has exclusively ethnic connotations and should not be used to describe any thing or person not of indigenous Fijian descent."[21]
This is now at odds with the current Fiji Constitution where the term ‘Fijian’ is used for all citizens, irrespective of ethnic background.[citation needed]
Luvedra na Ratu: A new identity for Indo-Fijians of indentured descent
In 2017, The paramount chief of Rewa, Ro Teimumu Kepa, announced that the descendants of indentured labourers, who were brought to Fiji during colonial period as a cheap labor, now officially belong to the Vanua (tribal land) of Noco and Rewa, and will be known as the iCavuti of "Luvedra na Ratu" (The Children of the Ratu). This decision was made in a traditional ceremony held at Ratu Sauvoli School grounds in Nabudrau, where the Tikina (a traditional Fijian political unit) of Noco presented their iCavuti to Ro Teimumu. This is the first time ever that the descendants of indentured labourers have been bestowed with a new iTaukei identity.[22]
For a long time, Fiji Indian was used to distinguish between Fiji citizens of Indian origin and Indians from India. The term was used by writers like K.L. Gillion and by the academic and politician, Ahmed Ali. The late President of Fiji, RatuSir Kamisese Mara, also used this term in his speeches and writings. The term was also used by the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma, Fiji's largest Christian denomination, which had a Fiji-Indian division.
The use of the terms 'Fiji-Indian' or 'Fijian-Indian' are misnomers. This is because the meaning of the words 'Indian' and 'India' have changed over time, including during the British colonial rule and before it. Historically, the subcontinent of South Asia was informally referred to as "India" by foreign travelers and cartographers, the people living there were called 'Indians'. However, after the British colonial rule and the subsequent partitioning and division of the subcontinent into several countries, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the term 'India' primarily began to refer to the country that gained independence from the British in 1947, and 'Indian' began to refer primarily to citizens and inhabitants of that new country, rather than all people of the subcontinent. This change in political demarcation and the formation of new countries has caused the meanings of 'India' and 'Indian' to evolve into a national identity. The terms, 'Fiji-Indian' or 'Fijian-Indian' also no longer accurately reflect those whom have ancestry from other parts of the South Asian subcontinent.
Indo-Fijian
With the creation of the independent nation of India in 1947, the term "Indian" began to be used more frequently to refer specifically to citizens of the Republic of India. However, the sub-continent of India still exists, comprising many countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan. It is commonly referred as South Asia, a more accurate geographic description and preferred term in many academic and scholarly contexts. Therefore, the term ‘Indo-Fijian’ is preferred as a way to refer to people with ancestry from the various regions of the sub-continent (such as modern-day Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan) rather than just those from modern-day India.
The term is also more closely connected to the diaspora of the South Asian indentured labourers (or Coolies) who have settled in other countries, such as the Indo-Caribbeans, Indo-Mauritians, etc.
In 2006, Jone Navakamocea, Minister of State for National Planning in the Qarase government, called for the use of the term "Indo-Fijian" to be officially banned. He declared that the term was "unacceptable", and that Indo-Fijians should be referred to only as "Indians". The Hindustan Times reported Navakamocea had "alleged that the Indo-Fijian term was coined by Indian academics in Fiji to 'Fijianise' their Indian ethnicity", which, in Navakamocea's view, undermined the paramountcy of indigenous rights.[23] Navakamocea lost office in the 2006 military coup when the army accused the Qarase government of anti-Fijian Indian racism and overthrew it.
Political participation: early 20th century
The colonial rulers attempted to assuage Indo-Fijian discontent by providing for one of their number to be nominated to the Legislative Council from 1916 onwards. Badri Maharaj, a strong supporter of the British Empire but with little support among his own people, was appointed by the Governor in 1916. His appointment did little to redress the grievances of the Indo-Fijian community.[citation needed] Buttressed by the Indian Imperial Association founded by Manilal Maganlal, a lawyer who had arrived in Fiji in 1912, the Indians continued to campaign for better work and living conditions, and for an extension of the municipal franchise; literacy tests disqualified most Indo-Fijians from participation. A strike by Indo-Fijian municipal workers and Public Works Department employees, which began on 15 January 1920, ended in a riot which was forcibly quelled on 12 February; Manilal, widely blamed for the unrest, was deported.[citation needed] Another strike, from January to July in 1921, led by Sadhu (priest) Vashist Muni, demanded higher rates of pay for workers of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR), the unconditional return of Manilal, and the release of imprisoned 1920 strikers. The authorities responded by deporting Muni from Fiji.[citation needed]
Demands increased for direct representation in the legislature. In 1929, South Asian immigrants and their descendants were authorised to elect three members to the Legislative Council on a communal roll. Vishnu Deo, James Ramchandar Rao and Parmanand Singh were duly elected. Agitation continued for a common roll, which the colonial administrators rejected, citing the fears of European settlers and Fijian chiefs that a common electoral roll would lead to political domination by South Asians, whose numbers were rapidly increasing. The fear of Indo-Fijian domination also led to the abolition of the elected membership of Suva Municipal Council in 1934, with the council becoming a wholly appointed body.[24]
Two major Hindu movements attracted widespread support in the 1920s, and relationships between Hindus and Muslims also became increasingly strained.
The Arya Samaj in Fiji advocated purging Hinduism of what it saw as its superstitious elements and expensive rituals, opposed child marriage, and advocated the remarriage of widows, which orthodox Hinduism didn't promote at that time. The Arya Samaj also encouraged education for girls, which wasn't the norm at the time. The Arya Samaj began by establishing schools and by using a newspaper of one of its supporters, the Fiji Samachar founded in 1923, to expound their views.
A post-war effort by European members of the Legislative Council to repatriate ethnic South Asians to modern-day India, starting with sixteen-year-old males and fourteen-year-old females, was not successful, but reflected the tensions between Fiji's ethnic communities.
Differences between ethnic Fijians and Indians complicated preparations for Fiji independence, which the United Kingdom granted in 1970, and have continued to define Fiji politics since.[citation needed] Prior to independence, Indo-Fijians sought a common electoral roll, based on the principle of "one man, one vote." Ethnic Fijian leaders opposed this, believing that it would favour urban voters who were mostly Indo-Fijian; they sought a communal franchise instead, with different ethnic groups voting on separate electoral rolls. At a specially convened conference in London in April 1970, a compromise was worked out, under which parliamentary seats would be allocated by ethnicity, with ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians represented equally.[citation needed] In the House of Representatives, each ethnic group was allocated 22 seats, with 12 representing Communal constituencies (elected by voters registered as members of their particular ethnic group) and a further 10 representing National constituencies (distributed by ethnicity but elected by universal suffrage. A further 8 seats were reserved for ethnic minorities, 3 from "communal" and 5 from "national" constituencies.
In 1987, shortly after a coalition government was formed that represented both communities, two military coups were staged by low-ranking Fijian officers that aimed at sidelining the Indo-Fijian community in politics.[25]
Ethnic South Asians outnumbered indigenous Fijians from 1956 through the late 1980s. This was due to the death of 1/3 of the indigenous population, mainly male and children, that died from smallpox contracted when King Cakobau and other chief leaders returned from a trip from Australia during which they caught smallpox. The percentage of Indigenous female population increased as a result, and the native male population was scarce at one stage,[26][better source needed] but by 2000 their share of the population had declined to 43.7%, because of a higher ethnic-Fijian birthrate and particularly because of the greater tendency of Indo-Fijians to emigrate. Emigration accelerated following the coups of 1987 (which removed an Indo-Fijian-supported government from power and, for a time, ushered in a constitution that discriminated against them in numerous ways) and of 2000 (which removed an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister from office).
Political differences between the two communities, rather than ideological differences, have characterised Fijian politics since independence, with the two communities generally voting for different political parties.[citation needed] The National Federation Party founded by A.D. Patel, was the party favoured overwhelmingly by the Indo-Fijian community throughout most of the nation's history, but its support collapsed in the parliamentary election of 1999, when it lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives; its support fell further still in the 2001 election, when it received only 22% of the Indo-Fijian vote, and in the 2006 election, when it dropped to an all-time low of 14%. The party formerly favoured by Indo-Fijian was the Fiji Labour Party, led by Mahendra Chaudhry, which received about 75% of the Indo-Fijian vote in 2001, and won all 19 seats reserved for Indo-Fijians. Founded as a multi-racial party in the 1980s, it was supported mostly by Indo-Fijians, but has seen no representation in parliament since the coup of 2006.
Impact of the Church and religious/ethnic politics
The Church plays a major role in Fiji politics.[27] Often some leaders appeal to Fijians addressing them as "Christians", even though Hindus are 33% of the
population in Fiji, compared with 52% Christians.[28] The 2000 Fijian coup d'état that removed the elected PM Mahendra Chaudhry, was supported by the Methodist Church.[29]
Some Methodist Church authorities have continued to advocate the establishment of a Christian state. In a letter of support from the then head of the Methodist Church, Reverend Tomasi Kanilagi, to George Speight, the leader of 19 May 2000 armed takeover of Parliament, Reverend Kanilagi publicly expressed his intention to use the Methodist Church as a forum under which to unite all ethnic Fiji political parties.[30] The Methodist church also supported forgiveness to those who plotted the coup in form of so-called "Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill".
In 2005, Methodist Church general secretary Reverend Ame Tugaue argued that the practice of Hinduism and other religions should not be guaranteed in law:
"Sodom and Gomorrah were only destroyed after the Lord removed the faithful from there and not because of a few would we allow God's wrath to befall the whole of Fiji. It was clearly stated in the 10 Commandments that God gave to Moses that Christians were not allowed to worship any other gods and not to worship idols. One thing other religions should be thankful for is that they are tolerated in Fiji as it's naturally a peaceful place but their right of worship should never be made into law."[31]
Following the military coup in Fiji, which deposed the government of Laisenia Qarase (which Indo-Fijians claimed as unsympathetic to Indo-Fijian interests), Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu of the Fiji Council of Churches and Assembly of Christian Churches has stated that the coup is "un-Christian" and is "manifestation of darkness and evil". He claimed that "52% of Fijians are Christian and the country's Christian values are being undermined."[32]
Demographic factors
Indo Fijians are concentrated in the so-called Sugar Belt and in cities and towns on the northern and western coasts of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu; their numbers are much scarcer in the south and inland areas. The majority of Indo-Fijians came from northern and southeastern part of India and converse in what is known as Fiji Hindi (also known as 'Fiji Baat'), this language has been constructed from eastern Hindi dialects mixed with some native Fijian and some English loan words,[33] with some minorities speaking Gujarati, and Punjabi, and many who speak Tamil as their mother tongue with less fluency.[34] Almost all Indo-Fijians are fluent in English.
According to the 1996 census (the latest available), 76.7% of Indo-Fijians are Hindus and a further 15.9% are Muslims. Christians comprise 6.1% of the Indo-Fijian population, while about 0.9% are members of the Sikh faith. The remaining 0.4% are mostly nonreligious.
Hindus in Fiji belong mostly to the Sanātana Dharma sect (74.3% of all Hindus); a minority (3.7%) follow Arya Samaj. Smaller groups, including The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and numerous unspecified Hindu sects, comprise 22% of the Hindu population. Muslims are mostly Sunni (59.7%) or unspecified (36.7%); there is an Ahmadiya minority (3.6%). Indian Christians are a diverse body, with Methodists forming the largest group (26.2%), followed by the Assemblies of God (22.3%), Roman Catholics (17%), and Anglicans (5.8%). The remaining 28.7% belong to a medley of denominations. There is an Indian Division of the Methodist Church in Fiji. About 5000 Indo-Fijian are Methodist.[35] They are part of the Methodist Church in Fiji and support the position of the Methodist Church in Fiji,[36] rather than the rights of Indo-Fijians.
Diaspora
The Indo-Fijian diaspora developed with people of South Asian ancestry leaving Fiji, mainly following the racially inspired coups of 1987 and 2000, to settle primarily in Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada. Smaller numbers have settled in other Pacific islands, the United Kingdom and other European countries.[37]
South Asians were initially brought to Fiji as indentured laborers to work on sugar cane plantations. Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 60,000 South Asians arrived in Fiji. Approximately, 25,000 of these have returned to South Asia. From 1900 onwards, some Indians arrived as free immigrants, who were mostly from the regions of Gujarat, Kutch, Sindh, and Punjab.[citation needed]
Indo-Fijians have been emigrating to United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom since the early 1960s. These were mainly economic migrants and their number gradually increased in the 1970s and 1980s to reach approximately 4000 per year.[citation needed]
Following the military coup of 1987, many Indo-Fijians saw little future in staying in Fiji and tried to find any means to leave the country. Professional, middle class and business found it easier to emigrate. It has been estimated that more than 100,000 Fiji Indians have emigrated since 1987. This represents a third of the existing Indian population in Fiji.[38]
They were victimized a lot by the military adding to the reasons they moved abroad to Canada, Australia, and the United States. Another reason a lot of skilled Indo-Fijians were migrating to other countries was for a better future. This caused Fiji to lose a lot of their skilled workers. Moreover, many Indo-Fijians strived for a better education causing a bigger gap between them and the indigenous Fijians.[39][40]
Former Prime Minister Chaudhry has expressed alarm at the high rate of emigration of educated Indo-Fijians. "If the trend continues, Fiji will be left with a large pool of poorly educated, unskilled work force with disastrous consequences on our social and economic infrastructure and levels of investment," he said on 19 June 2005.[41] He blamed the coups of 1987 for "brain drain" which has, he said, adversely affected the sugar industry, the standard of the education and health services, and the efficiency of the civil service.
Health issues
Similarly to the indigenous Fijian population, Indo-Fijian's face major obstacles when it comes to health. They are often cited in research articles as a group that has a higher than normal prevalence rate of Type 2 diabetes.[42]
List of notable Indo-Fijians
James Madhavan, one of Fiji's longest serving parliamentarians
^Davidson, J.W. (1975). Peter Dillon of Vanikoro: Chevalier of the South Seas. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 31. ISBN0-19-550457-7.
^Gillion, K. L. (1962). Fiji's Indian Migrants: A history to the end of indenture in 1920. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN0-19-550452-6.
^Gillion, K. L. (1962). Fiji's Indian Migrants: A history to the end of indenture in 1920. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN0-19-550452-6.
^Gillion, K. L. (1962). Fiji's Indian Migrants: A history to the end of indenture in 1920. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 130–131. ISBN0-19-550452-6.
^Gillion, Kenneth (1977). The Fiji Indians: Challenge to European Dominance, 1920–1946. Canberra, Australia: Australian National University Press. p. 177. ISBN0-7081-1291-9.
Australia
New Zealand
United States
Canada
