Hinduism in Fiji

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Hinduism in Fiji has a following primarily among the Indo-Fijians. They are descendants of either indentured servants brought to Fiji by the British in 1800s, or descendants of immigrants who came to the island nation in the 1920s and 1930s. According to the Constitution of Fiji, citizens of the country are Indo-Fijians if they can trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent, but not necessarily India.

1 Demographics
2 Persecution
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Demographics

According to the Republic of the Fiji Islands' December 31, 2004 estimate, 38.1 percent of the population of Fiji is Indo-Fijian. Meanwhile, 76.7 percent of Indo-Fijians are Hindus (with the rest being Sikhs, Muslims, or Christians). Therefore, about 30 percent of the population of Fiji is Hindu.

Religion	Indigenous Fijian		Indo-Fijian		Others		TOTAL
Religion	393,575	%	338,818	%	42,684	%	775,077	%
Sanatan	551	0.1	193,061	57.0	315	0.7	193,927	25.0
Arya Samaj	44	0.0	9,493	2.8	27	0.1	9,564	1.2
Kabir Panthi	43	0.0	73	0.0	2	0.0	118	0.0
Satya Sai Baba	7	0.0	52	0.0	1	0.0	60	0.0
Other Hindu	219	0.1	57,096	16.9	113	0.3	57,428	7.4
All Hindus	864	0.2	259,775	76.7	458	1.1	261,097	33.7

[edit] Persecution

During the late 90's there were several riots against Hindus by radical elements in Fiji. In the spring of 2000, the democratically elected Fijian government led by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was held hostage by a group headed by George Speight. They were demanding a segregated state exclusively for the native Fijians, thereby legally abolishing any rights the Hindu inhabitants have. Several dozen Hindu temples have been vandalized or destroyed by arson or looting.

The Methodist Church of Fiji called for the creation of a Christian State and endorsed forceful conversion of Hindus after a coup d'etat in 1987.^[1]