Brahmanand Raghvanand was an Indo-Fijian civil servant. He served as a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in the 1950s.

Biography

Raghvanand was the son of

Badri Maharaj Badri Maharaj was an Indo-Fijian farmer, politician, and philanthropist. He was born as Badri Dutt Bamola however took on the surname Maharaj at some time after arriving in Fiji. He was the first Indian member of the Legislative Council servin ...

, the first Indo-Fijian member of the Legislative Council.New Fiji Legislative Council
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', October 1953, p19 He was educated in Fiji and New Zealand. He became a leader of the

Arya Samaj 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. Dayananda Saraswati founded the samaj in the 1870s. Arya Samaj was the first Hindu ...

in the 1920s, but was forced to resign from the organisation by the Governor and Colonial Secretary and closely monitored for several years afterwards. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was one of the Indian members elected to the Central War Committee. Raghvanand worked in the colonial civil service and became Assistant to the Native Lands Commissioner

Lala Sukuna '' Ratu'' Sir Josefa Lalabalavu Vanayaliyali Sukuna (22 April 1888 – 30 May 1958) was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji. Lineage Sukuna was bo ...

, the first non-European to hold principal office. In 1944 he was elected to the council of the Fiji Public Servants' Association. In the

1952 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1952 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

he was made an MBE for his service. In 1953 Raghvanand was appointed to the Legislative Council by the Governor as one of the 'official' members. He retired in 1955. In 1963 he was made a Justice of the Peace.''Fiji Royal Gazette 1963'', p16 He died at the age of 87.Deaths of Islands People
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1980, p73

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raghvanand, Brahmanand Fijian civil servants Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Members of the Order of the British Empire