Many of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n population, who are descendants of Indian

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...

d labourers brought to Fiji between 1879 and 1916, the Gujaratis came to Fiji as free

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s beginning in 1904. South Indians also came as free immigrants, mostly as government officials, teachers, lawyers and doctors. While the labourers focussed on work by generally taking up farming, the Gujaratis were traders and craftsmen. In the

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians () are Fijians of South Asian descent whose ancestors were Girmitiyas, indentured labourers. Indo-Fijians trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's ...

population as a whole, the

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

system disappeared within a few years of indenture, but the Gujaratis still maintain it and very rarely marry outside their caste. The Gujaratis continue to maintain strong links with India, usually sending their sons and daughters to be married there while the rest of Fiji's Indian population are often more progressive, allowing intercaste marriages.

Arrival of Gujaratis in Fiji

The first Gujaratis in Fiji were two

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

s (of the ''

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

'' caste), who arrived in Fiji in 1904 from Natal, but were originally from

Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

in the

Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...

district of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

with the support of Totaram Sanadhya. Four years later, other goldsmiths arrived, and they were soon followed by warriors, tailors (such as the famous Divek Lal), barbers, launderers and shoemakers from

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

and

Navsari Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of Gujarat in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Navsari District. Navsari is between Surat and Mumbai. It is a twin city of Surat, 37 km to the north. At the 2011 Census of Ind ...

who were mainly of the Soni caste. Between 1916 and 1920, of the 752 Gujaratis who applied to migrate to Fiji, 336 were from Surat, 296 from Navsari and 120 were from Kathiawar.

Patel Patel is an Indian surname or Indian honorifics, title, predominantly found in the States and union territories of India, state of Gujarat, representing the community of land-owning farmers and later (with the British East India Company) busine ...

s, began arriving in 1914, and came mainly from

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

State and the

Nadiad Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir,

district of the Bombay Presidency, and although most of them were farmers in India, they became grocers, drapers and laundrymen in Fiji. The first Patels were Appabhai Lalubhai and Chimanbahi, who together with J.P. Maharaj formed the A.J.C. Patel and Company with stores in Sigatoka,

Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...

Lautoka Lautoka (, ) is the second largest List of cities and towns in Fiji#List, metropolitan area in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of ...

and Ba. The most famous of the Patels were the lawyer brothers A. D. Patel, R. D. Patel, and S. B. Patel. The Gujarati population steadily grew from 324 in 1921 to 1,200 in 1930, 2500 in 1935, and 5400 in 1956.

Gujarati dominance of Fiji's retail trade

Once the Gujarati immigrants had established themselves in Fiji, other relatives usually followed. They continued to maintain close ties with their districts of origin, received goods from their relatives in India, remitted money and returned home to get married and bring their wives back to Fiji. New arrivals were assisted by relatives in Fiji and were very successful in business, being thrifty and hardworking with a strong sense of loyalty to other members of their caste. Between 1924 and 1945, of the 600

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

es registered in Fiji, Gujaratis held 300 trading licenses.

Conflict between Gujaratis and Fijian Indians

The

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s, who arrived in Fiji at almost the same time as the Gujaratis, also maintained their identity, but unlike the Gujaratis, took

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

spouses and interacted with other Indians, mainly as farmers. The Gujaratis, on the other hand, maintained their own language and caste and remained aloof from girmits, while residing mainly in towns. There were numerous calls for them to be deported from Fiji. This division was exploited in the 1937 election, when a little-known son of an indentured labourer, Chattur Singh, defeated the highly educated lawyer A.D. Patel, after turning the election into a contest between Fiji-born and India-born.

Famous Gujaratis in Fiji

One of the first Gujaratis to gain fame in Fiji was Manilal Doctor, who arrived in Fiji in 1912 after pleas by Fiji Indians, especially Totaram Sanadhya, to

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

to send a barrister (lawyer) to defend Indians' rights in Fiji. He was deported from Fiji following the 1920 strike. A.D. Patel and S.B. Patel arrived in Fiji in the late 1920s, and both played a key role in Fiji-Indian politics, but while A.D. Patel was thrust into the leadership of various organisations, S.B. Patel usually worked in the background. Gujaratis have taken a leading role in the areas of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

in Fiji. As Gujaratis are concentrated in the towns, they generally take a leading role in town and city council politics.

Bibliography

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References

{{Gujarati diaspora Asian diaspora in Fiji Gujarati Gujarati diaspora