Krishna Datt, last name sometimes spelt as ''Dutt'', is a

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 ...

an politician of

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 descent. Datt served as Principal of

Suva Grammar School Suva Grammar School (or SGS) is a secondary school in Suva, Fiji. The school caters 6 streams for Forms 3 to 6 and 4 streams for Form 7. Suva Grammar has a school population of approximately 1300 students. The school is in a location near the hea ...

, where he participated in the national teachers' strikes in 1985, which launched his political career with the

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 ...

. Datt was first elected into the House of Representatives in 1987 and was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Civil Aviation in the Bavadra Government before being deposed by the coup of 1987. He also contested and won the Ba Rural Indian Constituency in the 1994 election. After the present constitutional arrangements came into force in 1999, he represented the Macuata East Open Constituency, one of 25 elected by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

. He became a member of the

Chaudhry Chowdhury is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associated ...

government, which was deposed in the 2000 coup. He was re-elected in the 2001 election with an increased majority and held the positions of the Vice-President of the Fiji Labour Party, and its parliamentary

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 ...

. In 2003, Datt was offered the portfolio of Minister for Special Education, the Disabled and National Library Services, together with 13 other FLP parliamentarians who were offered cabinet positions by the Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase but the FLP refused to accept this offer. On 12 December 2005, Datt announced that he would retire from politics at the

parliamentary 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 ( ...

scheduled for 2006, but on 14 March 2006, said that he had changed his mind at the request of his party. In the election duly held on 6–13 May, he won the Nasinu Indian Communal Constituency with an overwhelming majority, and was subsequently appointed to the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

as Minister for Labour and Employment Opportunities, one of nine Ministers from the FLP in

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

's multi-party cabinet. According to Vijay Naidu, he "quickly gain dthe image of a national statesman". The FLP members of the Cabinet were advised by its leader,

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry ( hif, महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former lead ...

, to vote against the 2007 budget but Datt was absent during voting. Chaudhry threatened those not voting against the budget with disciplinary action, and there was a public feud between him and his party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry but the 2006 coup took place before any action could be taken. As Vijay Naidu notes, Datt was in the unusual position of having been removed from government by a coup on three separate occasions."Chapter 11: Heading for the scrap heap of history? The consequences of the coup for the Fiji labour movement"
op.cit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Datt, Krishna Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Fijian trade unionists Fiji Labour Party politicians Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Fijian Hindus Foreign Ministers of Fiji Labour ministers of Fiji Government ministers of Fiji Politicians from Labasa People educated at Suva Grammar School