Non-Resistance in Fiji

Abstract

Throughout the entire period of indentured labour from India (1879-1920) to Fiji, it acquired an unenviable reputation and attracted odious comparisons with other Indian labour-importing colonies. The paradox is that during the 40 years of indenture, in Fiji the Indian indentured labourers mounted few organized protests against the plantation authorities and the oppressive conditions under which they lived and worked. The paucity of collective resistance, however, does not mean that the Indian labourers were indifferent to their plight. On the contrary, this chapter argues that, the near-absence of strikes and other forms of resistance reflected the indentured labourers' appreciation of the realities of the plantation system and the structure of power in the larger colonial society, which allowed them little room for manoeuvre.