pn965. Raj Prasads' Submission to the Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Essential reading

My submissions seek to illuminate aspects of Fiji’s history that have long remained obscured or deliberately omitted from mainstream narratives. These omissions have had serious consequences. They have fostered profound misconceptions about our past, allowed racial injustice to take root and contributed directly to the erosion of Fiji’s fragile democratic foundations.

 

Over many years, I have undertaken extensive independent research into Fiji’s history, including the Girmit period, the post-Girmit era, and the evolution of political leadership and governance. This work culminated in two published books: Tears in Paradise – Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji 1879–2004 and Enslaved in Paradise – A History of Mammoth Betrayals of Fijians by the British, Chiefs and Leaders of Fiji 1876–2006. I am not an academic historian; however, my research was conducted rigorously and conscientiously, with the objective of recovering suppressed histories and explaining why racism became embedded at the core of Fiji’s political life and why Indo-Fijians were systematically marginalised and treated as second-class citizens for generations.

 

The history presented in my work differs markedly from that taught in Fiji’s schools and universities. Much of the official curriculum reflects a colonial narrative that sanitises colonial rule while excluding the brutal realities endured by Indian indentured labourers, the subsequent exploitation of Indo-Fijian farmers and the systematic subjugation of iTaukei communities through communal controls enforced under colonial authority. These distortions denied generations their historical truth and obscured accountability.

 

A recurring theme in my submissions is the role of a particular institution—created and empowered under British colonial rule—which, in my considered view, has caused enduring harm to Fiji’s democratic development. Genuine democracy, racial harmony and national unity cannot flourish while this legacy remains entrenched in governance.

 

I regret that I am unable to appear before the Commission due to a terminal medical diagnosis and specialist advice against travel or undue mental and physical strain. Nevertheless, I wish to assure the Commission that my submissions are supported by extensive documentary evidence and verifiable references, capable of withstanding rigorous scrutiny.

 

I submit this material in good faith, not to inflame division, but to assist the Commission in confronting truth honestly. Only through such reckoning can Fiji hope to secure a just, united, and democratic future for all its people.

 

The Chairperson, Dr Marcus Brand, Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 78 Berkeley Crescent, Suva, Fiji. 

Honourable Chairperson, 

I respectfully submit this written statement to the Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission in support of its mandate to promote admission, establish truth and advance genuine national reconciliation. This submission is intended to assist the Commission in examining the historical and structural causes of enduring political, social and economic injustices in Fiji.

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