Vivekanad Sharma (1939 - 10 September 2006) was a Fiji Indian politician and religious worker but is best known for his promotion of the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

language 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 ...

and abroad.

Early life

Dr. Vivekanand Sharma was born 'in'

adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...

Fiji into a cane farming family. He had his primary education at Votualevu Government School and secondary education at Shri Vivekananda High School after which he undertook teacher training. Upon completing his three years bond to serve the government, he went to

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 ...

for further studies on 1st January 1964 and did his Bachelors and then master's degrees from Hindu College, Delhi University and later PhD in Hindi

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

from Sardar Patel University.(As per my personal records of the Family History)

Contribution to Hindi literature

Dr. Sharma published a large number of books on Hindi and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

customs and culture. He was the founder and the President of ''Hindi Maha Parishad'' of Fiji (an organisation to promote Hindi), as well as founder, Principal and the Manager of Maharishi Sanatan College. He was the Chairman of the Hindi Work Group of Curriculum Development Unit, Ministry of Education, Fiji. He was also the Hindi Programme Coordinator at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

. Upon his return to Fiji he produced several plays and used

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

to promote Hindi and Hinduism. He opened a book shop in Nadi, Fiji, namely Prashant Pustak Bhandaar in 1975 for the preservation and promotion of Hindi and Indian cultures, customs and traditions in Fiji at national level. Dr. Suresh Rituparna, one of his best friends from Hindu College Delhi helped in the publication of all the books of Dr. Sharma.

Political involvement

Dr. Sharma was an associate of

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 ...

who kindled his interest in politics. He was the founder and President of International Youth Federation of the University of Delhi. He surprised everyone by standing as an

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

candidate in the 1972 general election. He lost the election but was appointed a Senator by

Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Kamisese Mara Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, (6 May 1920 – 18 April 2004) was a Fijian politician, who served as Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the fi ...

; later he won the general election and became the Minister of State for Youth and Sports. He held Ratu Mara in high regard and wrote a book on him in Hindi. In the 1977 election, he won the South Western Indian National seat for the Alliance Party and remained in Parliament until 1981. During the time of the Qarase Government he was a national member for his

Indian Council of Fiji Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Religious activities

He was the founder of ''Votualevu Tirth Dhaam'' (Hindu Pilgrimage Centre). He served as the General Secretary and later as the National President of

Shri Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, ...

and as an advisor of

Shri Sanatan Dharam Brahman Purohit Sabha of Fiji Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, ...

. He died in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

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on 10 September 2006. He was cremated at Vatuwaqa Cemetery in Suva on Wednesday, 13 September 2006. Awards During World Hindi Convention in Mauritius he was appointed Vice President of World Bhojpuri Secretariat and a Senior Member of World Hindi Secretariat. He was also awarded Hindi Bhushan by the Uttar Pradesh Government of India - the first recipient of Indian origin born outside India. World Bhojpuri Convention honoured him with "Vishwa Bojpuri Sammaan" and the Vishva Hindi Sanskriti Sansthan honoured him with Vishva Hindi Sammaan. Locally, he was also decorated with the rare award of Sanatan Ratan by Shree Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji in 2004 Conclusion There may not be another Vivekanand Sharma for many years to come. He was indeed an institution and we shall ever be rini (indebteded) to him. Some of his quotable quotes are: 'How can they who leave their mothers unrobed, clothe others’ mothers in saris' 'Do your duty righteously and leave the rest on Bajrangi Baba' 'Never turn away any one disappointed from your compound' 'Language means culture, culture means identity' 'Make Hindi the vehicle of communication to protect our civilization which gives us our identity' 'Life is short, let it be great' by Satya Nand Sharma (B.A. - Delhi Uni) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

References

External links

DR. VIVEKANAND SHARMA 1938 - 2006: An authority on Hindi in Fiji
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Vivekanand 1938 births 2006 deaths Alliance Party (Fiji) politicians Indian members of the Senate (Fiji) Indo-Fijian writers Fijian Hindus Delhi University alumni