Hinduism in Fiji () is the second-largest religion, and primarily has a following among Indo-Fijians, the descendants of indentured workers brought to Fiji by the British from India for colonial sugarcane plantations between 1879 and 1916.Susanna Trnka (2008), State of Suffering: Political Violence and Community Survival in Fiji, Cornell University Press, , pp. 7 Mass immigration ended in 1920, when Britain abolished the indenture system. Fiji identifies people as "Indo-Fijians" if they can trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. In the 2017 census, Hindus represent 24.0% of Fiji's population.
History
Fiji became part of the British Empire in 1874. In 1879, the British government brought the first Indians as indentured labourers to work in the sugarcane plantations owned by British colonial officials.John Kelly (1992), A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji, University of Chicago Press, , pp. 1-39James Lochtefeld, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, , pp. 228 By 1916, about 60,000 Indians had been brought to Fiji, with job advertisements and work contracts that promised Indians right to return or right to stay, own land and live freely in Fiji after the 5-year work contract period was over. These contracts were called girmit (phonetically derived from the English word "agreement").
Nearly 85% of those brought to Fiji as indentured labourers were Hindus, with Muslims, Christians and Sikhs constituting the minority. Most were from poor rural areas. Their migration was part of a wider movement of indentured labour from India, China, and southeast Asian countries to plantations and mining operations in the Pacific Islands, Africa, Caribbean, and South American nations.Cumpston, I. M. (1956), A survey of Indian immigration to British tropical colonies to 1910, Population Studies, 10(2), pp. 158-165 About 75% came from northern India (primarily Uttar Pradesh but also Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana and Punjab) with the other 25% coming from southern India (primarily Tamil Nadu), each group bringing their own version of Hinduism.
Many indentured Hindu labourers in Fiji preferred to return to India after their indentured labour contract was over. Estimates suggest 40% had returned by 1940, with higher return rates in early years.Grieco, Elizabeth (1998), The effects of migration on the establishment of networks: Caste disintegration and reformation among the Indians of Fiji, International Migration Review, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 704-736 In 1920, after non-violent civil protests led by Gandhi against the indentured system in British colonies around the world, Britain abolished the system. This stopped the inflow of new Indian labour into Fiji plantations, while Indians continued to leave Fiji plantations. The departure of productive, low cost Indian labour became a serious labour shortage problem for the British plantations. In 1929, the British colonial government granted Indo-Fijian Hindus electoral and some civil rights, in most part to stabilize exports and profits from its Fijian sugar plantations and to prevent Indian labourers from leaving from the labour-intensive plantations. But the electoral rights granted were limited, not proportional but racial quota based, and the government segregated Indo-Fijians in a manner similar to South Africa, that is on communal and racial basis from Europeans and native Fijians. This system was resisted by the Hindus, and in an act of peaceful protest, Hindus refused to accept the segregated council. However, within years, the Hindu community split along the lines of majority Sanatan Dharma group and a minority Arya Samaj group, a situation that delayed further development of Indo-Fijian political rights. The Arya Samaj developed an educational and religious presence among Indo-Fijians during the early twentieth century. Established on 25 December 1904, it preserved Hindu cultural traditions while promoting education for the community. In 1918, the organisation was formally registered as the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji and established the Gurukul Primary School in Lautoka.
A colleague of Gandhi, A. D. Patel led independence initiative in Fiji, demanding civil rights for all Fijians. However, the political segregation and unequal human rights for Hindus (and other Indo-Fijians) was retained in Fiji's first Constitution as the British empire granted independence to its colony Fiji in 1970.
According to 1976 Census of Fiji, 295,000 people (or 50 percent of Fiji's population) were of Indo-Fijian origins, of which 80% were Hindus. In other words, 40 percent of Fiji's population were Hindus. After a period of persistent persecution from 1980s and several coups, which included burning of Hindu homes, arson of temples and rape, Fiji witnessed a wave of emigration of Hindus and other Indo-Fijians to Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and India. About 50,000 of them emigrated after the 1987 coups, between 1987 and 1992 alone.Dean Starnes and Nana Luckham (2009), Fiji, , 8th Edition, pp 37 The percentage population of Hindus in Fiji has declined since then, both in total and in percentage terms.Sussana Trnka (2002), Foreigners at Home: Discourses of Difference, Fiji Indians and the Looting of May 19, Pacific Studies, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 69-90Boydell, S. (2000), 'Coups, Constitutions and Confusion in Fiji', in Land Tenure Center Newsletter 80 (Fall 2000):1-10
Demographics Year Percent Decrease 1976 45% -19.8% 1996 33.7% -11.3% 2007 27.9% -5.8% 2017 24.0% -3.9%
In the 1976 census of Fiji, 45% of its population professed to be Hindus.Compare and contrast: From late 1980s through early 2000s, Fiji witnessed several coups and considerable communal unrest, where some Hindus faced persecution. Many Hindus in Fiji emigrated to other countries.
The 1996 census recorded 261,097 Hindus (33.7% of the total population). However, the 2007 census recorded 233,393 (27.9%) which had a -5.8% decrease. The Hindu community in Fiji has built many temples, schools and community centres over time. The community celebrates Diwali as their primary annual festival. According to the 1996 census most of the Hindus in Fiji are Indo-Fijians and only 864 indigenous Fijian following Hinduism.
The Hindu population in Fiji is not uniformly distributed. Population in some villages and towns such as Nadi and Nausori area have a Hindu majority.Susanna Trnka (2008), State of Suffering: Political Violence and Community Survival in Fiji, Cornell University Press,
ReligionIndigenous FijianIndo-FijianOthersTOTAL393,575%338,818%42,684%775,077%Sanātanī5510.1193,06157.03150.7193,92825.0Arya Samaj440.09,4942.8270.19,5641.2Kabir Panthi430.0730.020.01200.0Sai Baba70.0700.010.0600.0Other Hindu2190.157,09616.91130.357,4307.4All Hindus8640.2259,77576.74581.1261,09733.7
Society The social structure among Fijian Hindus has lacked any caste structure.John Kelly (1988), Fiji Indians and Political Discourse in Fiji: from the Pacific Romance to the Coups, Journal of Historical Sociology, Volume 1, Issue 4, pp. 399–422 ScholarsCarolyn Brown (1988), Demographic constraints on caste: a Fiji Indian example, Journal of Historical Sociology, Volume 1, Issue 4, pages 399–422Brenneis, D. (1984), Grog and gossip in Bhatgaon: style and substance in Fiji Indian conversation, American Ethnologist, 11(3), pp. 487-506 suggest that this lack of formation or observance of caste system among Fijian Hindus may have been because of the nature of work in Fijian plantations where everyone's profession revolved around farming, because Fijian Hindus lived together from the time they arrived in coolie ships, and because of demographic constraints faced by them. Extensive exogamy has been observed among Hindus of Fiji since the earliest days of plantation settlements, just like in other major indentured Hindu labour settlements in Mauritius, Natal (South Africa) and the Caribbean.Hollup, O. (1994), The disintegration of caste and changing concepts of Indian ethnic identity in Mauritius, Ethnology, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 297-316Van den Berghe P. L. (1962), Indians in Natal and Fiji: A "Controlled Experiment" in culture contact/LES INDIENS A FIDJI ET AU NATAL, Civilisations, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 75-87Elizabeth M. Grieco (1988), The Effects of Migration on the Establishment of Networks: Caste Disintegration and Reformation among the Indians of Fiji, International Migration Review, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Autumn, 1998), pp. 704-736
As with South Africa, the British colonial officials segregated people by race in Fiji. Plantation settlements in Fiji, as a policy, considered Indo-Fijian Hindus as a worker class, and did not allow them to live near or with European settlers,Claudia Knapman, White Women in Fiji, 1835–1930: The Ruin of Empire?, UQP, nor mix with native Fijian people.A. J. Christopher (1992), Urban Segregation Levels in the British Overseas Empire and Its Successors, in the Twentieth Century, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 95-107Jayawardena, C. (1980), Culture and ethnicity in Guyana and Fiji. Man, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 430-450 The segregation created a culture contact problem, that worsened over time.A. C. Cato (1955), Fijians and Fiji-Indians: A Culture-Contact Problem in the South Pacific, Oceania, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Sep., 1955), pp. 14-34 During the time of colonial rule, all the indigenous Fijians were proselytised and converted en masse to Christianity (mostly Methodism) by missionaries from Europe, mainly the British Isles. The Indo-Fijian Hindus, however, largely refused to convert and the great majority have remained Hindus to this very day.Ralph Premdas (1993), in The Politics of Ethnic Conflict Regulation, Editors: John McGarry et al., Routledge, , pp. 253-274
Culture
Fijian Hindus celebrate Rama Navami, Holi and Diwali. Of these, Diwali is a public holiday in Fiji.Public Holidays The Fijian Government
In the first half of 20th century, Holi was the principal festival for Hindus of Fiji.John Kelly, From Holi to Diwali in Fiji: An Essay on Ritual and History, Man, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Mar., 1988), pp. 40-55 Thereafter, Diwali gained prominence. After Fiji gained independence from British rule, Diwali has eclipsed all other Hindu festivals, and is now the principal Fijian Hindu festival. John Kelly suggests that this may reflect socio-political situation in Fiji, the segregation faced by Hindus as they demanded equal political rights with European residents and native Fijian people. This shift in cultural milieu among Hindus in Fiji, posits Kelly, may be because Holi is a transcendence-oriented, all inclusive, extrospective festival, while Diwali is a perfection-oriented devotionalism and introspective festival.
Among the Hindus of Fiji, any kind of work including physical labour in farms, is culturally considered a form of puja (prayer) and religious offering.Susanna Trnka (2008), State of Suffering: Political Violence and Community Survival in Fiji, Cornell University Press, , pp. 96
Hindus began building temples after their arrival in Fiji. These served as venues for marriages, annual religious festivals, family prayers after the death of loved ones, and other social events. The Hindu temples were constructed both in northern and southern Indian styles. The Shiu Hindu temple at Nadawar in Nadi, for example, was built in 1910; however this temple was destroyed in an arson attack and communal violence against Hindus in 2008.Another Arson attack on Fiji's Hindu Temples Radio Australia (October 2008) Sri Siva Subramaniya Hindu Temple in Nadi is the largest Hindu temple in Fiji.Largest Temple in Fiji Opens Hinduism Today (September 1994)