Raojibhai Dahyabhai Patel was an

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 ...

lawyer and politician, who was better known as the younger brother of A. D. Patel. To distinguish between the two, he was generally referred to as R.D. A member of parliament from 1966 until 1976, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives between 1972 and 1976.

Early life

R.D. Patel was born in the

Kheda Kheda is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. Kheda was known as Kaira during the British Raj. It was the former administrative capital of Kheda district. The city is known for tobacco farming. The nearest railway statio ...

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 ...

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 ...

. He arrived in

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 ...

after his brother had established his law practice in

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 ...

. Like his brother, he was a lawyer and worked together with him before establishing his own law practice in Ba.

Political career

In the elections for the expanded

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 ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, he was nominated for the Ba Indian Constituency. This was the most marginal seat in the 1963 election, in which

Sidiq Koya Siddiq Muhy'Ddin Kwaja, officially known as Siddiq Moidin Khoya (29 February 1924 – 25 April 1993) was a Fijian politician, Statesman and Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indo-Fijian National Federation Par ...

had managed to defeat

James Shankar Singh James Shankar Singh, MBE (May 10, 1924 – July 27, 2014) was a Fiji Indian farmer, businessman, social worker and politician who served as a Minister in the Alliance Government of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Like many Fiji Indian politicians of ...

by only 518 votes. With the redrawing of the constituency's boundaries, the seat had become even harder for the

Federation Party The Federation Party was Fiji's first formal political party. The Citizens Federation, which had won three of the four seats reserved for Indo-Fijians at the 1963 elections, decided to formalize its role as a political party, which was officiall ...

(NFP) to win, but after a hard campaign, R.D. Patel defeated James Shankar Singh by only 293 votes. He increased his majority in the 1968 by-election to 2000.

Rivalry with Sidiq Koya

After the death of A.D. Patel in 1969, R.D. was touted as the next leader but the party chose

instead. There was dissatisfaction within the National Federation Party with the concessions made by Koya to facilitate Fiji's independence, so after the 1972 election, when R.D. Patel was made the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, many assumed that it was an attempt by Koya to get R.D. out of his way. While he was Speaker, he did not refrain from making public comments regarding the way Sidiq Koya was conducting his duties as leader of the NFP. His term as Speaker was not without controversy, and when he adjourned Parliament to delay debate on a Bill that his party opposed, a vote of no-confidence was held on him in May 1973, passing by 21 votes to 15. However, with the constitution requiring a two-thirds majority for a Speaker to be removed from office, he remained in the chair.Immovable
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1973, p12 He later resigned as Speaker in 1976, only to become embroiled in the emerging conflict within the NFP. Differences within NFP were patched up for the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

held in March 1977, but R. D. Patel stood against Sidiq Koya as an independent candidate. Although he lost the election, he won a significant number of votes and "softened" Sidiq Koya for the first defeat of his political career six months later in the September elections. R.D. Patel became the de facto leader of the

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

community in Fiji after his brother's death and he spent the rest of his life in community service, in particular with the

Gujarat Education Society of Fiji Gujarat () is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth- ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, R. D. Indian emigrants to Fiji National Federation Party politicians Indian members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Speakers of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Gujarati people Fijian Hindus Fijian people of Gujarati descent 20th-century Fijian lawyers Fijian people of Indian descent People from Kheda district Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Politicians from Nadi Date of birth missing Date of death missing