Irene Jai Narayan (23 February 1932 – 29 July 2011) was an Indian-born teacher and politician, who had a significant influence on politics in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), 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 ...

. She came to Fiji in 1959 after marrying Jai Narayan, a well known school Principal in

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest 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 Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

, and began her career as a teacher. She taught in DAV Girls School and MGM High School in Suva before entering politics.Labour Leader Mahendra Chaudhry remembers Irene Jai Narayan
, flp.org.fj; accessed 22 August 2016.

Member of Legislative Council

In 1966, she was handpicked by the then leader of 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 officia ...

A. D. Patel Ambalal Dahyabhai Patel, better known as A.D. Patel (13 March 1905 – 1 October 1969), was an Indo-Fijian politician, farmers' leader and founder and leader of the National Federation Party. Patel was uncompromisingly committed to a vision of an ...

to contest the Suva Indian Communal seat in the Legislative Council against Andrew Deoki. Deoki was an experienced political campaigner, having represented Suva in the Legislative Council since 1959 and had wide social contacts. He was the only non-Federation Indian member elected in the 1963 elections. A.D. Patel was of the opinion that a female candidate would be able to counteract some of Deoki's influence in the constituency. In the end Irene Narayan won easily by 5,676 votes to 2,779 votes. She increased her majority in the 1968 by-election. For a long time, she remained the sole Indian female member of the Legislative Council.

Member of House of Representatives

Irene Narayan was elected to the

Dominion of Fiji The Dominion of Fiji was the official name of Fiji between October 1970 and 6 October 1987. When British rule ended in 1970, the Colony of Fiji was given independence as a Dominion, in which the British monarch, Elizabeth II, remained head ...

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

in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, 1977 (March), 1977 (September) and 1982 elections, from the Suva Indian Communal Constituency. In 1977 when the National Federation Party split into two factions, she joined the "Flower" faction, with

Jai Ram Reddy Jai Ram Reddy, CF (12 May 1937 – 29 August 2022) was an Indo-Fijian politician, who had a distinguished career in both the legislative and judicial branches of the Fijian government. In 1998, he received Fiji's highest honour, the Companion ...

, opposed to

Sidiq Koya Siddiq Moidin Koya (29 February 1924 – 25 April 1993) was a Indians in Fiji, Fijian Indian politician, Statesman and Leader of the Opposition (Fiji), Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indians in Fiji, Indo-Fij ...

's "Dove" faction. In the September, 1977 election, the "Flower" faction won most of the seats reserved for Indians,

became the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

and Irene Narayan played an influential role within the "Flower" faction. In January 1977, ''The Fiji Times'' honoured her as its Woman of the Year.

Resignation from NFP

She served as president of the party from 1976 to 1979. She was also the Opposition

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

from 1977 to 1979, and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1985. In 1985, following the resignation of Jai Ram Reddy, she narrowly lost a bid to lead the opposition, to Sidiq Koya. Relations between her and the new leader remained strained and she resigned from the National Federation Party (NFP) after electoral setback in a by-election, accusing Koya of favouring his own supporters over party unity and stating that "the NFP has no future and is no longer virile as an opposition party."

Member of Alliance Party

Between 1985 and 1987, the NFP again went through internal turmoil and many of its Parliamentarians resigned from the Party, but while most joined the fledgling

Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party (FLP; fj, Ilawalawa Cakacaka ni Viti), 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 in ...

, Irene Narayan surprised everyone by joining the Alliance Party, which she had bitterly opposed throughout her political career. The Alliance Party was aware that she would not be able to hold the Suva City Indian Communal seat on its ticket and so rewarded her with the marginal seat of Suva Indian National Constituency. The Alliance had never lost this seat but in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 1987, the loss of this seat led to the narrow defeat of the Alliance Party.

Post coup politics

Following two military coups in 1987, she was one of the few Indo-Fijians who agreed to serve (as Minister of Indian Affairs) in the transitional government of 1987–92, a government that was widely condemned by many of her fellow Indo-Fijians for promulgating a constitution which many saw as racist as it ensured ethnic Fijian political supremacy. She served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1994 to 99, and in 1985 co-founded the

Fiji Indian Congress Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), 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 ...

. Although a Hindu, she played a leading role in the founding of the Christian Democratic Alliance in 1999. Early in 2005, Narayen joined the National Alliance Party, a new

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

founded by ''Ratu'' Epeli Ganilau as an attempt to revive the defunct Alliance Party. She participated in the official launch of the party on 8 April 2005.

References