In search of an identity
Identity is the core substance of an individual. Being Fijian-Indian, it is a somewhat overwhelming realisation on the fact that this minority ethnicity would not be significant without European expansion in the Pacific and colonisation.
It further astounds me that, considering the significance and controversy colonisation in Fiji has weighted, Europe is barely considered by its populace.
In contrast with New Zealand, the influence of European expansion is obvious considering this nation to be one largely inhabited by immigrants, Europeans being dominant and indigenous Maori a minority. Fewer Europeans actually migrated to Fiji.
After Britain colonised Fiji, it moved to expand sugar plantations there. Britain brought over Indians as indentured labourers (also known as the modern day slave) to work on these plantations. As the decades passed by, Indian culture fused to adapt to its Fijian and European environment, thus giving birth to the unique Fijian-Indian.
The sugar cane industry has an enormous impact on Fiji’s economy, and approximately 200,000 people depend on it for their livelihood. There was a time in Fiji when Indians were the majority; this has changed drastically due to the coup culture of Fiji.
In fact, my family would not have migrated to New Zealand if it wasn’t for the 1987 coup. Arguably, without European expansion in the Pacific, there would have been no coups.
More recently, the European Union has threatened to remove the $500 million worth of subsidies placed on the sugar cane industry, undoubtedly presenting a catastrophic impact on the economy, in attempts to persuade Fiji to return to democracy.
Another crucial aspect of Fiji today is the influence of the church, introduced also by the Europeans. Clearly the influence of Europe is still prominent, although physically it is perceived as weak.
Without colonisation, I would not be. As Shakespeare beckoned, I also ask, “What’s in a name?” I ask why: although no one in my family has been to India for the past 130 years, and culturally I am different to an Indian, do I have to label myself Indian?
Why that although I come from the Pacific Islands, I cannot say I am a Pacific Islander?
When am I Kiwi? The first three coups of Fiji expressed a rejection of Indo-Fijians.
Now Vorege Bainimarama aims to abolish the use of the terms Indo-Fijian or Fijian-Indian, and create a sense of unification by having all people of Fiji known as “Fijians”.
What is there to hold on to? Although European colonisation is today a significant embodiment of my substance, it is also ironically a source of great uncertainty as the question of my identity is so often invalidated.
- 18-year-old Varsha Anjali Kumar is a Politics/Law student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand
Identity is the core substance of an individual. Being Fijian-Indian, it is a somewhat overwhelming realisation on the fact that this minority ethnicity would not be significant without European expansion in the Pacific and colonisation. It further astounds me that, considering the significance...
Identity is the core substance of an individual. Being Fijian-Indian, it is a somewhat overwhelming realisation on the fact that this minority ethnicity would not be significant without European expansion in the Pacific and colonisation.
It further astounds me that, considering the significance and controversy colonisation in Fiji has weighted, Europe is barely considered by its populace.
In contrast with New Zealand, the influence of European expansion is obvious considering this nation to be one largely inhabited by immigrants, Europeans being dominant and indigenous Maori a minority. Fewer Europeans actually migrated to Fiji.
After Britain colonised Fiji, it moved to expand sugar plantations there. Britain brought over Indians as indentured labourers (also known as the modern day slave) to work on these plantations. As the decades passed by, Indian culture fused to adapt to its Fijian and European environment, thus giving birth to the unique Fijian-Indian.
The sugar cane industry has an enormous impact on Fiji’s economy, and approximately 200,000 people depend on it for their livelihood. There was a time in Fiji when Indians were the majority; this has changed drastically due to the coup culture of Fiji.
In fact, my family would not have migrated to New Zealand if it wasn’t for the 1987 coup. Arguably, without European expansion in the Pacific, there would have been no coups.
More recently, the European Union has threatened to remove the $500 million worth of subsidies placed on the sugar cane industry, undoubtedly presenting a catastrophic impact on the economy, in attempts to persuade Fiji to return to democracy.
Another crucial aspect of Fiji today is the influence of the church, introduced also by the Europeans. Clearly the influence of Europe is still prominent, although physically it is perceived as weak.
Without colonisation, I would not be. As Shakespeare beckoned, I also ask, “What’s in a name?” I ask why: although no one in my family has been to India for the past 130 years, and culturally I am different to an Indian, do I have to label myself Indian?
Why that although I come from the Pacific Islands, I cannot say I am a Pacific Islander?
When am I Kiwi? The first three coups of Fiji expressed a rejection of Indo-Fijians.
Now Vorege Bainimarama aims to abolish the use of the terms Indo-Fijian or Fijian-Indian, and create a sense of unification by having all people of Fiji known as “Fijians”.
What is there to hold on to? Although European colonisation is today a significant embodiment of my substance, it is also ironically a source of great uncertainty as the question of my identity is so often invalidated.
- 18-year-old Varsha Anjali Kumar is a Politics/Law student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand
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