Mother India Day Passes

Un-Noticed In Fiji!

From Our Own Correspondent

Suva, Jan. 19.

UNLESS someone has muddled the date, yesterday was Mother India Day (Bharat Mata).

Last year’s celebration saw masses of Indian schoolboys, looking like little Pandit Nehrus in white tunics and caps, all waving Congress flags in street pro cessions. Some of the processions sang songs, and one of the most popular songs consisted of Indian politics set to the tune of the Fijians’ own “Isa Lei.”

It was the Indianised “Isa Lei” that on that occasion sent Suva’s indefati gable newspaper correspondents rushing for their fountain pens. The Indian reply was: “Well, as Fijians, we have every right to do what we like with Tsa Lei’.” Nevertheless, the howl of protest was sufficient to divorce “Isa Lei” per manently from New Delhi politics.

Mother India Day, 1947, was also the occasion for a special front-page for an Indian weekly publication: an illustration depicting a typical little Pandit Nehru, with his feet firmly planted on a map of Viti Levu, and flourishing a Congress (now Dominion of India) flag.

MOTHER India Day, 1948, however, was different. No processions, no poli tical songs; no aggressive flag-wav ing and no advance publicity.

Non-Indians would not have known it was Mother India Day at all, if an In dian hadn’t written to the “Fiji Times” to say that he couldn’t understand why the day was to be celebrated “under the auspices of an individual” and not, like the famous Independence Day splash, under the auspices of the Indian Associa tion of Fiji.

Something seems to have gone amiss— because wherever and however the cele brating was done it was not before the somewhat critical Fijian-European public.

Mr. Gerald Smith has gone to Port Moresby to manage the hotels there for the owners, during the manager’s absence on leave.