- Bal Govinda, Head Teacher

           THE Fiji Islands are situated in the South-West Pacific Ocean where they occupy a central position. Fiji comprises 332 islands. The total land area of Fiji is 18, 333 square kilometers. The largest island, Viti Levu, is 10,429 square kilometers and the second largest Vanua Levu is 5,556 square kilometers.

           Fiji is between 15 degrees and 22 degrees south of equator and straddles the 180th meridian of longitude, or the International Dateline, and so becomes the gateway of a new day.

           POPULATION:-Fiji's population is 6,12,046 comprising Fijian 2,72477; Indians 3,06,957; Part Europeans 10,721; Europeans 3,393; Rotumans 7,619; Chinese 4,663, other Pacific Islanders 5,442 and others 804.

Cession Of Fiji To Great Britain
           Fiji was ceded to Brittanic Majesty – Queen Victoria by the Fijian Chiefs on 10th October, 1874. From then onwards under British administration Fiji commenced its march on a new road to progress and prosperity. The second governor of Fiji SIR ARTHUR GORDON who took up office in 1875 was a wise statesman. He foresaw that if Fiji was to develop its then struggling sugar industry the only course was to get labour supply from somewhere since native Fijians were taken unfit. Thus, India came into picture as a source of unending supply out of her teeming millions. Communications followed and as a result of Marquis of Salisbury's Despatch dated the 24th March, 1874 Government of India agreed to emigration of labour to work in Fiji on a scheme known as "INDENTURE SYSTEM' for 5 years.

           Mindful of dispatch the irst labour force of 481immigrants left Calcutta per sailing vessel Leonidas and arrived in Fiji on 15th of May 1879.

Arrivals Of South Indians To Fiji
           The first South Indian emigrants from Madras numbering 596 came in the vessel called ELBE in 1903. The ship left Madras on about 22nd May and arrived in Fiji on 5th August, 1903. The immigrants being landed at Nukulau Depot in Fiji on the following day.

           Of this first batch of South Indians the majority spoke Telugu or Tamil. The remainder spoke Malayalam, Canarese and Hindustani languages.

           Indian immigrant ships made 87 voyages to Fiji in the year 1879 to 1916, carrying 60,965 indentured emigrants 9including indentured re-emigrants and children), 60553 (includingbirths at sea) of whom arrived in the Colony.

           The Telugu people only knew their mother tongue. This presented a grave problem when they came in contact with a labourer or Sirdar from the North. This continued fro some years till they began to express in Hindustani in accordance with their own dialect and the situation eased to some extent.

           In India the whole method of recruitment was very unpopular. Lot of sacrifice was done by the leaders of India to waive this indenture system. The indenture system finally came to an end on 1st January, 1920. That day was a red letter day in the History of Indian labour.

Education At The Early Stage
           The Mission Societies took interest in educating the Fijians and later the Indians.

           Those Telugu people who came from India brought with them the inherited culture and religion of their great masters. The early Telugu speaking community adhered to much of their own way of life receiving to a certain extent the impact of European cultures. They retain their own language led to divisions between Indo-Fijian over the language of instruction to be used in schools.

           After the days work the Telugu people used to get to-gether and used to read "Bal Nagamma Katha", Bobbili Katha, "Maha Bharatam" and other books which they had in their possession. This led to the erection of small vernacular schools. Everyone who came from India took interest in their own mother tongue.