Fiji Conditions
pp. 9-75 · Read in the full issue
Indian Publicist’S Attack On
Provides Fantastic Material for America's Anti-British Newspapers
An outrageous abuse of British hospitality, and a treacherous attack upon British institutions, are disclosed in the following despatch from our Honolulu correspondent;—
Honolulu. Nov. 14.
THE following startling “snapshot” opinions were given to the American press by Dr. H. N. Kunzru, a mem ber of India’s Council of State, who re cently attended the British Common wealth Affairs conference in Sydney as leader of the Indian delegation, and who arrived in Honolulu this week: — British Indians in Fiji are forced to live under one of the most back ward Colonial policies in the Paci fic area. , The conditions under which they live and work are “deplorable”. The position is “acute”.
Dr Kunzru came to Hawaii to make a detailed study of conditions in the local sugar industry, to see if he can’t find a solution of the difficulties which he said he encountered in Fiji.
The American reporters asked Dr.
Kunzru to boil down his complaints to a few words. His answer was as fol lows : The status of the Indians in Fiji is of immediate concern because the short term leases under which they have cul tivated their sugar cane lands now are expiring, and thousands of the Indian planters are faced with the prospect of either not being able to renew their leases, or being forced to accept new short-term grants which give them lit tle or insufficient economic security.
The Indians compose 43 per cent of Fiji’s population, and 90,000 Indians are in the sugar industry.
Boiling down his complaint still fur ther, Dr. Kunzru said:— “The Indians still are subject to an antiquated master-and-servants ordin ance which, in effect, relegates them to the position of feudal slaves”.
Dr. Kunzru’s story was front-paged by the Honolulu press, one reason being, of course, that the Hawaii sugar work ers are told they are the best-off of all world sugar workers.
Reading through the published state ments credited to Dr. Kunzru, these are highlights:— Average annual wages in Fiji of Indian
planters (does that mean workers in the field?) rarely exceed £5O a year.
Now under consideration by the Fijian Government (according to Dr. Kunz ru) is a plan to divide all the land into maior portions: one half to be used by native Fijians, the other to be leased for 99 years by all “foreign” residents, in cluding the “oppressed” Indians.
All sugar production in Fiji is con trolled by the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. The management of this company (according to Kunzru) has exercised considerable influence on the Govern ment to keep the Indian workers in the position of serfs, and has done little to provide economic security for the In dian labourers.
Under current laws (Dr. Kunzru said) Indian planters would be committing penal offences if they attempted to or ganise to form trade unions.
Asked whether he had done anything on the spot about the alleged conditions of the Indians, Dr. Kunzru said that he had discussed the problem with Sir Harry Luke (newly appointed Governor of Fiji).
That was all Dr. Kunzru would say to the American press for publication. On the q.t. (or off the record, as the Ame ricans say) Dr. Kunzru was extremely enlightening.
He told the U.S. press all about him self: He is president of the Servants of India (one of the largest social welfare organisations in India), a graduate of the University of India, a Boy Scout executive, and a potent force in India’s mixed politics.
A survey of the reporters who inter viewed him leaves the impression that Dr. Kunzru is serious. Added several of the reporters: “If only half of what Dr.
Kunzru said is true, there’s lots of social dynamite in Fiji”.
Dr. Kunzru intends to “spend a week” in Hawaii to study the local sugar indus try. Local interests are concerned lest he obtain a “snapshot” opinion of the local set-up, and “sound off” about it in newspapers elsewhere.
Something About Dr. Kunxru and His Methods
THIS Dr Kunzru came to Australia in
e rS ber commonweaU?r Relations
Coni™. Se°Ta TsSe mafwito
treated‘wtfh^proper^courtiesy! &*£
made a number of public addresses. He did not openly display his apparently inherent hatred of Britain.
In Fiji, again, he was given every possible facility for carrying out his ostensible purpose—namely, the promotion of good relations between the people of the British Commonwealth—and for investi- D-ntimr thp rrmdifion nf the Fiii Indians He presided at an All-Indian Conference (see report elsewhere). He
said nothing, publicly, while on British
W Ss
det £&-££&&& S'SuSfS
row about.
But, the moment he found himself on foreign soil, among representatives of an ignorant and sensation-loving Pos which loses no chance of belittling and ridiculing the British Empire and Bnt lsh institutions he .let go a mass o malicious half-truths dwtortlojM o f fact. His purpose is not easy to under stand: but apparently he is one of those Indian intellectuals who cannot resist
a chance of spitting venom at Britain.
He cannot be explained—he is just part of the white man’s burden.
It is far too late, now, to overtake the evil impression made on American minds by this man—we only can state the facts. But it may be said that the harm done to the Indian community in Fiji by an incident like this more than outweighs all the problematical benefits of the visits of a dozen Kunzrus.
One of the most difficult problems in the British Colonial administration is provided by Fiji. The Fijians are in creasing, and are becoming agricultur ists. Britain, under the terms of cession, is the trustee for Fijian lands. The In dians also are increasing, and are avid for land, which they farm well and pro fitably. But the Indians were admitted to Fiji as tenant-farmers of sugar-lands, with certain obligations to the C.S.R.
Co., and subject to the inalienable land rights of the Fijians. The Indians, es caping from the poverty of their over crowded homeland, gratefully accepted the conditions. But nowadays, the cir cumstances of life in India are forgot ten, and the Fiji Indians clamour for more land, more privileges, and equality with the British.
For two decades, the British most conscientiously have striven to adjust racial differences in Fiji. They are try ing in Fiji, as in every part of the Em pire—despite the snarling and malice of all kinds of trouble-makers, from Fas cist to feebleminded, and from Com munists to Kunzrus —to provide social justice and political freedom for all the races they control, and a fair share of the good things of life; and they have made considerable progress. Lately, British official opinion has been definite ly favourable to Fiji-Indian aspirations.
The British have obtained marked con cessions from Fijian landowners in fav our of Indians.
British officials, being what they are, probably will continue their policy, un perturbed—although they scarcely will gain in respect for a race which produces and encourages Kunzrus. But there are others who, when faced with such in cidents as this, will ask the Fiji Gov
ernment seriously whether it is worth while trying to do anything for such an ungrateful and unappreciative commun ity—whether it would not be better to leave the Indians in the condition they originally accepted—namely, cane-grow ers and labourers for the big sugar com pany.
And there is practical commonsense in that question. The C.S.R. Co. has made Fiji the most prosperous colony in the Empire. The Co. must have cane-grow ers and labourers, at a price which will enable it to compete with other sugar producing countries. Already. Fiji sugar-production costs are at their peak.
The Honolulu statements of Dr. Kunz ru can be very briefly disposed of.
I travelled through the cane-growing districts of Fiji not long ago; and I have travelled in India—and the conditions simply are not comparable. The Fiji Indians generally are far from rich— but mostly they are well-fed, well housed, protected and cared for, and in social condition, education, widening opportu nities, they are improving all the time.
I saw no slum conditions, or distress ing poverty. I saw—and photographed— swarms of happy, well-fed, well-clothed Indian children, mostly going to or leav ing schools, which are provided for them by Government and Missions.
Indian cane-farmers may not earn more than £5O-£7O p.a., in cash, from the Co.; but they live on their own lit tle farms and produce most of their own foodstuffs.
Land tenures are a real problem—not of Britain’s making—but very substan tial progress has been made lately (and Dr. Kunzru knew it) in finding a solu tion.
Wherever Indians have emigrated— South and East Africa. Trinidad, Brit ish Guiana, Mauritius, are places that come to mind—they have sat around and howled their discontent with life in gen eral and British rule in particular. Fiji is no exception. Yet. probably, they have made greater progress in Fiji, spiritually and materially, than any where in the world. —R.W.R.
Some Facts, From C.S.R. Co.'s Records
REPORTS of Dr. Kunzru’s Honolulu utterances were shown to Sir Philip Goldfinch, general manager of the C.S.R. Co., in Sydney: and he kindly supplied the following informative notes.
Land and Short-Term Leases: The tenure of lands leased from the Fijian owners is generally 21 years; and, admit tedly, difficulties in connection with re newals have constituted in the past a genuine grievance on the part of Indian lessees. This has long been recognised by the Government: but, owing to the uni que circumstances under which Fiji was ceded to the British Crown (which was specially asked to protect the Fijians against the alienation of their lands), the question of remedial measures was ex traordinarily difficult. However, the Fijians, through their Council of Chiefs, recently agreed (in November) by an overwhelming majority, that it is in the best interests of the native race that all lands (including leases) not required for the maintenance of the Fijian owners be opened for settlement, and that all land (including leases) not so required be handed over to the Government to lease on behalf of the Fijians.
Masters and Servants Ordinance: This law applies to all servants, and not to Indians only, and imposes certain obli gations on masters also. The statement that the Ordinance “relegates Indians
to the position of feudal slaves” is ab surd. Contracts under the Ordinance, like other contracts, are enforceable in law, but in actual practice the law is seldom invoked.
“Wages” of Planters: Presumably the word “wages” is used loosely for “in come”. The proceeds from all agricul tural industry depends mainly on two factors:—(a) The ability of the farmer, (b) The market value of his product.
In the latter regard, it is sufficient to say that the price paid for cane has not varied in the past 15 years, in spite of the depressed state of the sugar mar ket. The burden of low prices has fall en entirely on the manufacturer, and the grower has been paid a price for his cane which compares more than fav ourably with that paid in India and in sugar-producing British Colonies. As a result of this stabilisation in prices, crops have greatly increased.
Labour: Dr. Kunzru’s allegation that “the management of the C.S.R. Co. has exercised considerable influence on the Government to keep the Indian workers in a position of serfs and has done lit tle to provide economic security for the Indian labourers”, if correctly reported, can only be characterised as a slander ous lie. It suggests a conspiracy be
(Continued On Page 73)
tween the Government and a large em ployer which is impossible under any
British administration.
So far as the position of the Indians
in Fiji is concerned, the following
quotations are apposite;—
From The Report Of Messrs Mcneill
And Chimman Lal (1914);
(Mr J. M. McNeill, a senior member of the Indian Civil Service, and Mr ’. C c^^ al J n L f 9 ’ 12 a 3 Indian barrister, were commissioned in 191 2 i to investigate the conditions of Indian immi grants in all British Colonies);— “The great majority of emigrants exchanged grinding poverty, with practically no hope of betterment, for a condition varying from sim ple but secure comfort to solid prosperity. Emi grants live under very much better conditions than their relatives in India, and have had opportunities of prospering which exceeded their own wildest hopes”.
FROM “FIJI AND THE FUTURE” (BY KILMER
O. Moe), 1929:
(Mr. Kilmer O. Moe, a representative of the Kabehameha Schools in Honolulu, with experi ence of the Philippines, was invited by the Methodist Mission to visit Fiji in 1929) ; “The Indian has been transplanted from the hard, sterile soil of India to a fruitful land.
He has struck his roots deeply into the soil and is responding to the improved conditions in a very satisfactory manner. He has forged ahead economically, as well, until he holds at this writing a very strong position in the Col ony. There is little doubt that he has availed himself of the opportunities that have come his way and that he has prospered beyond anything that his brethren in the homeland
may hope for. Fiji, in this respect, has been a land of promise.
“I am not at all impressed with the influen ces that come to Fiji from India. There are too many of them, and they clash with one another.
“The human elements that belong in Fiji hold no menace. The danger was rather from those who would saddle this young and hope ful Colony with dissensions and prejudices brought in from overseas. These have no place in Fiji, or in the South Seas”.
From Sir Frank Stockdale, Report On
Fiji, 1937:
(Sir Frank Stockdale is Agricultural Ad viser to the Colonial Office, and has an in timate knowledge of agriculture throughout the British Empire):— “The sugar-canes were formerly grown by the sugar Companies themselves with hired labour.
The C.S.R. Company now cultivates only a small acreage on its own account and relies almost entirely upon the efforts of small far mers, who cultivate as tenants of the Com pany, or as lessees of lands leased from Fijian owners.
“The change of system is one of the most interesting agricultural developments which have taken place in the Colonial Empire within the past 15 years, and although there at times have been difficulties, these have been faced when they arose and a valuable scheme of co operative production has been evolved”.
FROM REV. J. W. BURTON, CHAIRMAN OF
The National Missionary Council Of
Australia, When Interviewed In Suva
BY THE “FIJI TIMES AND HERALD”. 1938: (Mr. Burton resided in Fiji from 1902 to 1911, and has since frequently visited the Colony): “I was greatly impressed with the improve
merits made for the accommodation of mill la bour. It is manifest that a new and more sympathetic attitude is taken by employers and, as I always maintained, has resulted in economic advantage to the employer and in the begetting of self-respect in the mind of the worker.
“I believe that the three major races in Fiji —European, Fijian and Indian—are finding that co-operation, goodwill, and mental respect are the only satisfactory bases for economic, soc ial and moral life”.
FROM ‘‘INDIA AND THE PACIFIC” (BY C. F.
Andrews), 1937;
“By far the strongest and best impression I have carried away from this, mV third visit to the Fiji Islands, is the advance made in the last 20 years by the Indian population. . . .
The change that I have witnessed has not only given good economic results; it has also pro vided a new social structure. On all my jour neyings among Indians abroad, I have never seen such a complete transformation. . . .
“There will be many criticisms still to offer, both with regard to Government policy and also with reference to the C.S.R. Co.’s method, and I shall offer them freely and frankly; but at the same time I wish to be equally frank in heartily commending the improvements I have witnessed. I can fully appreciate the business foresight which has carried the Com pany through one of the darkest periods in modern economic history”.
Mrs. M. E. Thompson arrived in Syd ney by the “Westralia” on December 12 from " New Zealand. Mrs. Thompson is engaged in mission work for the Meth odist Mission at Nukualofa. Tonga, and will spend leave in Sydney.