James Madhavan (died 20 December 1973) 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 was a member of the Legislative Council and

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 ...

for most of the period between 1947 and 1973 and had two spells in the Executive Council.

Biography

Madhavan initially was a primary school teacher but when the

Maha Sangh Akhil Fiji Krishak Maha Sangh (All Fiji Farmers’ Grand Union) was a sugar cane farmers' union formed on 15 June 1941 in opposition to the existing union, the Kisan Sangh. Supporters of Kisan Sangh tried to stop the formation of the Maha Sangh but ...

sugar cane farmers' union was formed in

Labasa Labasa (pronounced ) is a town in Fiji with a population of 27,949 at the most recent census held in 2007. Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. T ...

, he was one of its earliest members. Unlike in

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian ...

where it was mainly supported by

South Indians The Dravidian peoples, or Dravidians, are an ethnolinguistic and cultural group living in South Asia who predominantly speak any of the Dravidian languages. There are around 250 million native speakers of Dravidian languages. Dravidian spe ...

, the Maha Sangh in Labasa had support from a wide cross-section of the Indo-Fijian community. He became the leader of Maha Sangh in Vanua Levu and when the organisation split into two opposing factions, he registered a new association known as the Vanua Levu Farmers Union. He also remained an active member of the Fiji Teachers Union and was its president in the 1950s and early 1960s, retiring from the position in 1967. Madhavan used his status to gain election to the Legislative Council and was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to the legislature in the Eastern Indo-Fijian constituency in 1947. After being elected, he allied himself with A. D. Patel against Vishnu Deo. When Patel lost his seat in the

1950 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1950. Africa * 1950 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1950 Iranian legislative election Australia * 1950 New South Wales state election * 1950 Queensland state election * 1950 South ...

Madhavan was selected as the Indian representative in the Executive Council. He remained in the Legislative Council until losing his seat in the 1959 elections, when he changed constituencies. However, he returned to the Legislative Council after being re-elected in his previous constituency in a 1961 by-election. He contested the 1963 elections under the banner of Citizens Federation, together with Patel and Sidiq Koya. All three won convincingly and went on to form the Federation Party in 1964. In the same year he was appointed to the new Executive Council. After being re-elected in 1966 he was appointed Deputy Speaker. Madhavan died in December 1973 at the age of 58.Mr James Madhavan
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1974, p100 His son Shiromaniam was also a politician.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madhavan, James Fijian Christians Fijian educators National Federation Party politicians Fijian trade unionists Fiji sugar industry Indian members of the Legislative Council of Fiji 1973 deaths Year of birth missing Members of the Executive Council of Fiji Politicians from Labasa