Krishna Datt, last name sometimes spelt as ''Dutt'', is a

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 ...

an politician of

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 descent. Datt served as Principal of

Suva Grammar School Suva Grammar School (or SGS) is a secondary school in Suva, Fiji. The school caters 6 streams for Forms 3 (Year 9) to 6 (Year 12) and 4 streams for Form 7 (Year 13). Suva Grammar has a school population of approximately 1200 students (as of Febru ...

, where he participated in the national teachers' strikes in 1985, which launched his political career with the

Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party (FLP; ),() also known as Fiji Labour, is a political party in Fiji. Most of its support is from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoc ...

. Datt was first elected into the House of Representatives in 1987 and was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Civil Aviation in the Bavadra Government before being deposed by the coup of 1987. He also contested and won the Ba Rural Indian Constituency in the 1994 election. After the present constitutional arrangements came into force in 1999, he represented the Macuata East Open Constituency, one of 25 elected by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. He became a member of the

Chaudhry Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to emine ...

government, which was deposed in the 2000 coup. He was re-elected in the 2001 election with an increased majority and held the positions of the Vice-President of the Fiji Labour Party, and its parliamentary

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. In 2003, Datt was offered the portfolio of Minister for Special Education, the Disabled and National Library Services, together with 13 other FLP parliamentarians who were offered cabinet positions by the Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase but the FLP refused to accept this offer. On 12 December 2005, Datt announced that he would retire from politics at the

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

scheduled for 2006, but on 14 March 2006, said that he had changed his mind at the request of his party. In the election duly held on 6–13 May, he won the Nasinu Indian Communal Constituency with an overwhelming majority, and was subsequently appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Labour and Employment Opportunities, one of nine Ministers from the FLP in

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Fiji, sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the military quashed the 2 ...

's multi-party cabinet. According to Vijay Naidu, he "quickly gain dthe image of a national statesman". The FLP members of the Cabinet were advised by its leader,

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader beca ...

, to vote against the 2007 budget but Datt was absent during voting. Chaudhry threatened those not voting against the budget with disciplinary action, and there was a public feud between him and his party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry but the 2006 coup took place before any action could be taken. As Vijay Naidu notes, Datt was in the unusual position of having been removed from government by a coup on three separate occasions."Chapter 11: Heading for the scrap heap of history? The consequences of the coup for the Fiji labour movement"
op.cit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Datt, Krishna Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Fijian trade unionists Fiji Labour Party politicians Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Fijian Hindus Ministers for foreign affairs of Fiji Labour ministers of Fiji Government ministers of Fiji Politicians from Labasa People educated at Suva Grammar School