Hinduism in Fiji

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Hinduism in Fiji has a following primarily among the Indo-Fijians, who are descendants of indentured servants brought to Fiji by the British in the 19th century or 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. Most of the Hindus in Fiji although, are Indian descent (Descendants of the Girmits that came from India to Fiji).

Demographics

According to the Republic of the Fiji Islands' 31 December 2004 estimate, 38.1 percent of the population of Fiji is Indo-Fijian, and 79.8 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.

Persecution

During the late 1990s, 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'état in 1987.^[1]

See also

• Demographics of Fiji

References

1. ↑ .

• Website of the government of Fiji