Akhil Fiji Krishak Maha Sangh (All Fiji Farmers’ Grand Union) was a

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

farmers'

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

formed on 15 June 1941 in opposition to the existing union, 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 ...

. Supporters of Kisan Sangh tried to stop the formation of the Maha Sangh but were unsuccessful. The people responsible for the formation of a second sugar cane farmers' union were

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 ...

and

Swami Rudrananda Swami Rudrananda (11 March 1901 – 30 June 1985), born Muthukrishnan, was an Indian Hindu monk and a disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic, Swami Shivananda, the direct disciple of Ramakrishna. After moving to Fiji in 1936 he became on ...

. The union was supported by the

South Indian South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

sugar cane farmers 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 ...

. {{TOC right

The 1943 Strike

The Maha Sangh claimed that the 1940 sugar cane contract was not fair to cane farmers, and in 1943 its members went on strike supported by dissident members of the Kisan Sangh, led by Padri

Mehar Singh Padri Mehar Singh was one of the founding members of Fiji's Kisan Sangh when it was established in 1937. He remained a prominent member of the union until 1943, when he and Ramcharan Singh led a faction that supported the strike instigated by the r ...

and

Ramcharan Singh Ramcharan (sometimes Ram Charan) is a given name and surname. People with this name include: Given name *Ram Charan, Indian actor *Ram Charan (consultant), Indian-American business consultant * Ramcharan Chaudhari (Tharu), Nepalese politician * Ram ...

. The farmers did not gain anything from the strike, but A.D. Patel emerged as a new leader for Fiji Indians and in the 1944 Legislative Council election won the North West Indian seat. The strike action in the middle of the second world war, caused the native Fijians to view the Fiji Indians with suspicion and drove a wedge between the two major races in Fiji.

Maha Sangh splits into two Factions

The Maha Sangh continued to compete with the Kisan Sangh for the support of farmers in the 1940s and 1950s but had its own share of internal divisions. When K.S. Reddy was nominated into the Legislative Council, the leader of the Maha Sangh, A.D. Patel, was for the first time faced with a possible challenge to his leadership, as Reddy was also based in Nadi, was a South Indian like most Maha Sangh supporters and held the powerful position of General Secretary of the union. Competition between the two reached a crisis on 31 March 1956, when at a meeting in Nadi, Reddy asked non-financial members to leave. Their refusal to leave led to police being called and tear gas used. K.S. Reddy later joined the Alliance Party while A.D. Patel had formed the Federation Party, which later merged into the

National Federation Party The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A. D. Patel, A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party (Fiji, 1960s), National Democratic Party. Though it claimed to ...

Negotiations for 1960 Contract

In 1959, the Maha Sangh and four other cane farmers' unions formed an umbrella organisation known as the

Federation of Cane Growers The Federation of Cane Growers was formed as an umbrella organisation to negotiate the new cane contract due to take effect from 1960 with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. Negotiations for 1960 cane contract Talks on the new contract starte ...

to negotiate with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company for the new cane contract. While negotiations were still in progress, the Kisan Sangh withdrew from the Federation and signed the contract offered by the sugar company, leaving the Maha Sangh as the dominant group within the Federation of Cane Growers.

References

* A.P. Sharma, ''Farmers Struggle in Fiji: a History of Fiji Kisan Sangh'', Kisan Sangh, Lautoka, 1962 * B. V. Lal, ''A vision for change: AD Patel and the politics of Fiji'', Australian National University, ACT, 1997 Cane growers unions of Fiji Fiji Indian organisations 1941 establishments in Fiji Trade unions established in 1941

The 1943 Strike

Maha Sangh splits into two Factions

Negotiations for 1960 Contract

See also

References