Arya Samaj in Fiji

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Contents 1 The Beginning of Arya Samaj in Fiji 2 Educational and Religious Activities 3 Providing Educational and Political Leadership in Fiji 4 Educational Institutions managed by the Arya Samaj in Fiji 5 Arya Samaj of Fiji spreads Overseas 6 External links

The Arya Samaj was formed in Fiji on 25 December 1904 because of the desire of the Indo-Fijians to maintain their heritage and provide a platform for lifting their living standard. Inspired by the teaching of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, a small group of Indo-Fijians, who included Mangal Singh, Gaji Pratap Singh, Nanku Sonar, Bihari Lal, Shiu Datt Sharma, Basdeo Rai, Inayat Hussein, Indra Narayan and Tikaram Verma, met in Samabula on 25 December 1904 to form the Arya Samaj of Fiji.

[edit] The Beginning of Arya Samaj in Fiji

As far back as 1893, learning centres had been established by small groups of people who had organised themselves into Samajs. With the arrival of Shiu Datt Sharma from India, in 1902, a temple was established in Samabula. This also acted as a school attended by some 60 boys and girls. Sharma’s work was later taken over by another Arya Samaj Missionary from India, Swami Ram Manoharanand Saraswati , who arrived in Fiji from Burma in 1913. Totaram Sanadhya, although himself a Sanatani, has written about the early contribution of Arya Samaj to providing education and religious education in Fiji and asked for them to send more educators to Fiji. The Arya Samaj appealed to those who wanted to build a revitalised Hinduism in Fiji suitable to the local conditions. Badri Maharaj, who built the first school for Indians in Fiji in 1898 was an Arya Samaji and so was the first Indian Lawyer to arrive in Fiji, Manilal Doctor, who had been involved in Arya Samaj in Mauritius and believed that Arya Samaj was the best sect for the individualized Indians in Fiji. The first school was built by Arya Samaj in Fiji was the Gurukul School in Saweni, Lautoka in 1918.

[edit] Educational and Religious Activities

Following the establishment of this school a great renaissance took place amongst Indo-Fijians to educate their children. This was supported by the arrival from India of a number of teachers, some of whom were Ami Chandra, Kundan Singh Kush and Kunwar Bachint Singh. Between 1926 and 1929 more than 100 Indo-Fijian boys and girls were sent to India to study at various Arya Samaj institutions. In the early thirties, Arya Samaj was the best organised of any Indo-Fijian organisation. It also had as its leader, Vishnu Deo and the only Hindi language newspaper in Fiji, Fiji Samachar. The Arya Samaj aggressively promoted its teaching and openly attempted to gain converts from Muslims. Arya Samaj activities in Fiji reached a peak with the arrival of another missionary, Srikrishna Sharma from India. Conflict soon developed with Indian Christians, Muslims, South Indians and even Sanatanis who had initially supported the Arya Samaj through Hindu Sangsthans. There were debates on religious issues, but when Vishnu Deo was convicted and fined for an article in the Fiji Samachar, things quietened down.

[edit] Providing Educational and Political Leadership in Fiji

The Arya Samaj, henceforth, concentrated on its educational activities and built numerous educational institutions. Arya Samajis continued to provide leadership to the Indo-Fijians and until the 1960s most Indo-Fijian leaders were either Arya Samajis or those with close links to the Arya Samaj in Fiji. Some who served on the Legislative Council were Badri Maharaj, Vishnu Deo, Parmanand Singh, Chattur Singh, Ayodhya Prasad, Ami Chandra, K.B. Singh and Vijay R. Singh. Some Arya Samaji members of Parliament since independence have been Vijay R. Singh, Kamlesh Kumar Arya, Surendra Prasad, Anand Singh and Davendra Singh.

[edit] Educational Institutions managed by the Arya Samaj in Fiji

[edit] Arya Samaj of Fiji spreads Overseas

As Indo-Fijians have migrated overseas, they have taken their religion and culture with them Consequently, Arya Samajs have been established in a number of countries by former Indo-Fijians. The following are links to the Web Sites of some of these:

• Auckland Arya Samaj
• Arya Samaj of Australia
• Victoria Arya Samaj (Australia)
• Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji

[edit] External links

• 1904:The Year Arya Samaj was born

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