History o f Fiji's Indian Migration

What exactly were the steps leading up to the introduction of the Indian population to Fiji—the steps taken to establish them in the Colony and encourage them to make their home there?

THESE are facts which must speak for themselves—and which unquestionably will speak out in a loud voice in the next year or two, when the future government of Fiji is being shaped. The facts are available in a timely new book, Fiji's Indian Migrants, by Dr. K. L. Gillion, who is on the staff of the University of Western Australia.

Fiji in common with the rest of the British Colonial Empire, is undergoing a far-reaching political change Already there are signs of conflict between the Fijians, who have inalienable rights to the land, and the Indians, who claim certain fundamental rights as human beings settled in Fiji.

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The argument extends backs into history Did the Indians acquire any special rights in relation to residence in Fiji when they were brought in as labourers?

Dr. Gillion’s book is the result of

close research, extending from the beginning of Indian immigration in 1879 up to modern times. He makes no attempt to discuss the political significance of present-day conditions; but he does supply chapter and verse covering the steps leading up to to day.

For example, a good deal has been heard about the “Salisbury Despatch”, which was written in the 1870’s and which—it has been argued—gave certain privileges to the Indian emigrants in Fiji. In Dr.

Gillion’s book the circumstances sur rounding the Salisbury Despatch, and the rejection of it by the Govern ment of India, are set out in detail, with complete references back to the various official records concerned.

This book could fill effectively what has been an awkward gap in the official history of Fiji. (Fiji’s Indian migrants, oxford University Press, Melbourne. 52/6.)