Chandersen Chattur Singh was an

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constitu ...

politician. He caused a major sensation in the 1937 elections when he defeated A. D. Patel, a well known lawyer and political ally of

Vishnu Deo Pt. Vishnu Deo (Hindi: विष्णु देव) OBE (17 July 1900 – 7 May 1968) was the first Fiji born and bred leader of the Indo-Fijians. From his initial election to the Legislative Council in 1929 to his retirement in 1959, he rema ...

Early Political Activities

Chattur Singh was one of the first Indo-Fijians to take an active interest in politics. He opposed the Residential Tax Legislation (poll tax) of 1922, which imposed an annual tax of one pound on all Fiji residents between the ages of 18 and 60, by refusing to pay the tax. The court ordering his bicycle to be sold to pay for the tax. In the early twenties he formed the Young Men’s Indian Association of Lautoka, which in 1926 asked for an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n member to be nominated again to the Legislative Council and

Badri Maharaj Badri Maharaj was an Indo-Fijian farmer, politician, and philanthropist. He was the first Indian member of the Legislative Council serving for two periods between 1916 and 1923 and 1926 to 1929 as a nominated member, but he was not a popular ...

was re-nominated. Singh had been an early supporter of common roll and on a visit overseas in 1929, put the case for Fiji Indians to H.S.L. Polak, the Secretary for the Indians Overseas Association. In the 1929 elections his brother Parmanand was one of the first Indo-Fijians elected to the Council. In 1931, he appealed to Jawaharlal

Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

for help for the Fiji Indians in their fight for common roll.

The 1937 election

In the 1937 election, Singh decided to contest the Northern and Western Indian Division against A.D. Patel. Singh was a law clerk (for Lautoka lawyer, Douglas Charmers) while Patel was an accomplished lawyer and had the support of Vishnu Deo. Chattur Singh used an ingenious technique to fight the election. He used the Fiji Indian’s dislike of

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 ...

traders and money lenders, and the fact that A.D. Patel was an India-born Gujarati, to turn the election to one between Fiji-born and India-born. Together with

Ayodhya Prasad Ayodhya Prasad Sharma (Hindi: अयोध्या प्रसाद शर्मा, 30 April 1909 – 28 February 1972) was an Indo-Fijian farmers' leader and politician. He formed the most successful farmers' union in Fiji and forced the ...

and other young men he organised a secret organisation called the New Youth Army. Singh won the election by 671 votes to Patel's 651 with 66 votes being invalid.

Political decline

Later in 1937, when the

Kisan Sangh Kisan Sangh was the first farmers' union formed in Fiji on 27 November 1937. This was the result of one man's determination to improve the plight of Fiji's Indian cane farmers. Ayodhya Prasad had arrived from India in 1929, and after a stint as ...

was formed, its members were mainly those who had supported Singh in the election campaign. Aware of the power of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Singh soon distanced himself from the Kisan Sangh. He claimed to represent the mill workers and farmers in their struggle for better remuneration, but without a political base, did not have enough support to contest the next election in

1940 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1940. Africa * 1940 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1940 Philippine special election Europe * 1940 Moldavian parliamentary election * 1940 Swedish general election United Kingdom * 194 ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he supported the war effort and had his son enlisted in the army. In the 1947 elections Singh challenged the incumbent, A.D. Patel, and lost by 1,972 votes to 1,106. He attempted another comeback in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

, losing to

in a five-way race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Chattur Indian members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Arya Samajis in Fiji Politicians from Ba (town)