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.

Early Political Activities

Chattur Singh was one of the first Indo-Fijians to take an active interest in politics. He opposed the Residential Tax Legislation (poll tax) of 1922, which imposed an annual tax of one pound on all Fiji residents between the ages of 18 and 60, by refusing to pay the tax. The court ordering his bicycle to be sold to pay for the tax. In the early twenties he formed the Young Men’s Indian Association of

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing region, the city has come to be known as the Sugar ...

, which in 1926 asked for an

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n member to be nominated again to the Legislative Council and

Badri Maharaj Badri Maharaj was an Indo-Fijian farmer, politician, and philanthropist. He was the first Indian member of the Legislative Council serving for two periods between 1916 and 1923 and 1926 to 1929 as a nominated member, but he was not a popula ...

was re-nominated. Singh had been an early supporter of common roll and on a visit overseas in 1929, put the case for Fiji Indians to H.S.L. Polak, the Secretary for the Indians Overseas Association. In the 1929 elections his brother Parmanand was one of the first Indo-Fijians elected to the Council. In 1931, he appealed to Jawaharlal

Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

for help for the Fiji Indians in their fight for common roll.

The 1937 election

In the 1937 election, Singh decided to contest the Northern and Western Indian Division against A.D. Patel. Singh was a law clerk (for Lautoka lawyer, Douglas Charmers) while Patel was an accomplished lawyer and had the support of Vishnu Deo. Chattur Singh used an ingenious technique to fight the election. He used the Fiji Indian’s dislike of Gujarati traders and money lenders, and the fact that A.D. Patel was an India-born Gujarati, to turn the election to one between Fiji-born and India-born. Together with Ayodhya Prasad and other young men he organised a secret organisation called the New Youth Army. Singh won the election by 671 votes to Patel's 651 with 66 votes being invalid.

Political decline

Later in 1937, when the

Kisan Sangh 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 ...

was formed, its members were mainly those who had supported Singh in the election campaign. Aware of the power of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Singh soon distanced himself from the Kisan Sangh. He claimed to represent the mill workers and farmers in their struggle for better remuneration, but without a political base, did not have enough support to contest the next election in 1940 elections. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he supported the war effort and had his son enlisted in the army. In the 1947 elections Singh challenged the incumbent, A.D. Patel, and lost by 1,972 votes to 1,106. He attempted another comeback in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

, losing to Ayodhya Prasad in a five-way race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Chattur Indian members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Arya Samajis in Fiji Politicians from Ba (town)