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Irene Jai Narayan, was an Indian born teacher and politician,who had a significant influence on politics in Fiji. She came to Fiji in 1959 after marrying Jai Narayan,a well known school Principal in Suva,and began her career as a teacher. She taught in DAV Girls School and MGM High School in Suva before entering politics.
Siddiq Moidin Koya was a Fijian Indian politician,Statesman and Opposition leader. He succeeded to the leadership of the mostly Indo-Fijian National Federation Party (NFP) on the death of the party's founder,A. D. Patel,in October 1969,remaining in this post until 1977. He later served a second term as leader of the NFP,from 1984 to 1987.
Jai Ram Reddy,CF is an Indo-Fijian politician,who has 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 of the Order of Fiji,in recognition of his services to his country.
General elections were held in Fiji between 15 and 29 April 1972,the first since independence from the United Kingdom in 1970. They were characterised by the lack of rancour between racial groups,typical of the 1966 general election and the 1968 by-elections.
General elections were held in Fiji between 19 March and 2 April 1977. As a result of a split in the ethnic Fijian vote,the ruling Alliance Party of Prime Minister Kamisese Mara suffered a narrow defeat. Although the Alliance Party received the most votes,it won only 24 seats,two fewer than the Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party (NFP). One seat was won by the Fijian Nationalist Party,with the remaining seat going to an independent candidate,Osea Gavidi.
The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968,as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party. Though it claimed to represent all Fiji Islanders,it was supported,in practice,almost exclusively by Indo-Fijians whose ancestors had come to Fiji,mostly as indentured labourers,between 1879 and 1916. However,in the 2018 General elections the party recorded a considerable change in its support base as a consequent of the inclusion of more indigenous Fijian candidates.
Sir Vijay Raghubar Singh,KBE was an Indo-Fijian lawyer and politician who held Cabinet office in the 1960s and 1970s. Vijay Singh served in Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's government in a variety of positions,including Attorney-General,and was president of the Indian Alliance,a division of the ruling Alliance Party. He quit the party in 1979 following disagreement with Alliance leadership and later joined the opposition National Federation Party. Vijay Singh was involved in the restructure of the Fiji sugar industry and was a leading member of the Jaycees movement in Fiji.
Ambalal Dahyabhai Patel, better known as A.D. Patel,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 independent Fiji,with full racial integration. He was one of the first to advocate a republic,an ideal not realized in his lifetime. He also advocated a common voters' roll and opposed the communal franchise that characterized Fijian politics.
Western United Front (WUF) was an ethnically Fijian political party formed prior to the 1982 elections and contested the election in coalition with the National Federation Party.
James Shankar Singh,MBE was a Fiji Indian farmer,businessman,social worker and politician who served as a Minister in the Alliance Government of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Like many Fiji Indian politicians of the era,he joined the Alliance Party with a belief in mutiracialism,but was disappointed with the Alliance Party's appeal to Fijian nationalism after 1977 and left the Alliance to join the National Federation Party.
General elections were held in Fiji between 17 April and 4 May 1963. For the first time,women and indigenous Fijians were given the right to vote alongside the male European and Indo-Fijian population.
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 officially founded on 21 June 1964 with A. D. Patel as President and Sidiq Koya as Vice-President. The merger took place in time for the party to participate in the 1965 constitutional conference which was called to map out a path towards independence from the United Kingdom. In 1968,the Federation Party merged with the National Democratic Party to form the National Federation Party,which is now (2021) the oldest political party in Fiji still in existence.
The Citizens Federation was the political expression of a predominantly Indo-Fijian trade union movement,and was a forerunner of the present day National Federation Party.
Davendra Singh was a Fiji Indian small businessman and politician who came into prominence when he challenged and defeated the official National Federation Party (NFP) candidate in a by-election in March 1985.
Karam Chand Ramrakha was a former Fiji Indian lawyer,union leader and politician,who served in colonial Fiji's Legislative Council and independent Fiji's House of Representatives from 1966 to 1982.
The Dove Faction was one of the factions of the National Federation Party (NFP) to contest the September 1977 elections in Fiji.
The Flower Faction was one of the factions of the National Federation Party (NFP) to contest the September 1977 elections in Fiji.
The number of Fiji Indians that could be elected to the Legislative Council was fixed over the years as follows:
Balwant Singh Rakkha was a Fiji Indian medical doctor and a member of the House of Representatives of Fiji representing the National Federation Party (NFP),but he is best known for his strong support for the former leader of the NFP,Sidiq Koya and the split caused within the NFP when he was rewarded by Koya for his loyalty by being given a seat in a constituency where he was a virtual unknown.
Noor Dean is a Fiji Indian lawyer and politician who served in the Suva City Council and was elected to the House of Representatives of Fiji in 1987.