Ram Narayan (Ramsay) Deoki (1905 — 4 October 1964) was the first ordained Fiji Indian minister in the

Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma The Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma is the largest Christian denomination in Fiji, with 34.6% of the total population at the most recent 2007 census. Along with the chiefly system and the Fijian government, the Methodist Church forms ...

Family background

His father, Shiu Narayan Deoki, was initially a farmer in

Navua Navua () is a town 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 ...

but the decline in the sugar industry in the district forced him to move to

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

, where he set up a grocery business. In 1918, S. N. Deoki, together with 20 other members of his family converted to

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Education

At the age of twenty-one he was sent to

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to study with students much younger than him. He also studied biblical studies at the Methodist Home Mission College in

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. In 1926, his name was put forward to be trained as a minister but there was opposition from

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ministers who feared that he would have to be paid the same rates as themselves as there was no provision for an

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 minister in a Church dominated in Fiji by Fijian ministers. He worked for several years as a local preacher and teacher before being accepted on probation in 1934. He was finally ordained on 11 June 1939.

His accomplishments

He was a minister for more than 20 years and as Secretary for Education in the

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promoted the Missions schools. He was respected outside his church as well and served as District Commissioner for

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in every district where he ministered. He fought for Indian autonomy in the Methodist Church in Fiji, fearing that integration of the Fijian and Indian Churches would lead to Indians being numerically swamped by indigenous Fijians. He served as the President of the Indian division of the Church. He was also a founding member of the Indian Reform League, a social and sports organisation formed in 1924 to cater for the needs of Fiji Indians. He died in Suva on 4 October 1964.

Bibliography

* *
First Indian Methodist minister honoured

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deoki, Ram Narayan People from Suva Fijian Methodist ministers Converts to Methodism Fijian Methodists Fijian people of Indian descent People from Navua 1905 births 1964 deaths