The Indo-Fijian Platoon was the only Indo-Fijian military unit created in Fiji and existed from 1934 to 1941. The platoon was eventually disbanded following a dispute over pay.

Creation of the platoon

In 1916,

Manilal Doctor Manilal Maganlal Doctor (28 July 1881 – 8 January 1956) was a British Indian barrister and politician, who travelled to numerous countries of the British Empire, including Fiji, Mauritius and Aden, providing legal assistance to the local ethn ...

, the de facto leader of the Indo-Fijian tried to persuade the colonial government of Fiji to form an Indo-Fijian platoon to support the British war effort during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He sent the names of thirty-two volunteers to the government but his requests were ignored. A number of Indo-Fijian went to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to volunteer to join the

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

and one of these served in Europe. According to historian, K.L. Gillion, the platoon was created within the Fiji Defence Force in 1934 as part of Governor

Arthur Fletcher Arthur Allen Fletcher (born Edward Arthur Allen; December 22, 1924 – July 12, 2005) was an American government official and Republican politician, he was a pioneer of affirmative action as he was largely responsible for the Revised Philadelp ...

's policy of giving

Indo-Fijians 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 ...

greater recognition and opportunity to participate in the general life of the Colony 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 ...

and to encourage them to regard Fiji as their permanent home. The platoon was made up of ethnic Indians but the platoon commander and the non-commissioned officers were Europeans. The formation of the platoon was opposed by the two prominent

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an members 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 ...

, Sir Maynard Hedstrom and Sir Henry Scott. According to John Dunham Kelly and Martha Kaplan, the platoon had been constituted to celebrate a Royal visit – "the Colonial Secretary had visions of a line of red turbans to complement the dramatic jagged-edged black-and-white uniforma of the Armed Native Constabulary". The turban never materialised but the commandant found the attachment of this unit to an otherwise European battalion, "awkward".Represented communities: Fiji and world decolonization By John Dunham Kelly, Martha Kaplan
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Dispute over pay

Prior to the start of the Second World War, soldiers had served voluntarily and were paid "capitation grants" according to efficiency ratings without regard to race. On 8 September 1939, one week after the Nazi invasion of Poland, Fiji mobilised its Defence Force and changed its system of wages under which European privates were paid four shillings per day and non-European privates two shillings per day. The Indo-Fijian platoon members refused to accept their pay. The Commandant of the Fiji Defence Force asked for the every member of the platoon to be dismissed. The Governor refused to dismiss them and praised the European second lieutenant who persuaded them to accept non-European pay.

Disbandment

The platoon was disbanded in 1940 and the reason given for this action during a war was shortage of equipment as explained by the Governor two years later: "military considerations at the time necessitated the disbandment of the Indian Platoon, which had given eight years of voluntary service in the Fiji Defence Forces. This disbandment was not due in any sense to unwillingness on the part of the Indo-Fijians to serve in the armed forces of the colony". But the real reason for this action was that members of the platoon had asked for equal pay with the Europeans and the New Zealand military authorities (who commanded the Fiji Army at the start of the War) feared that this dissatisfaction could spread to the rest of the army, which was mainly ethnic Fijian. According to Kelly, in November 1941, the soldiers of the platoon again asked to make a case for equal pay. Each member of the platoon was then separately asked to accept non-European pay, refused and was dismissed with the support of the new Governor.

References

{{Reflist + Military units and formations of Fiji Military units and formations established in 1934 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 Military units and formations of the British Empire Military units and formations of Fiji in World War II