Forgotten or forgiven?

Ravikesh Prasad, Sabeto

In the movie ‘Udham Singh’, a radio announcement is being heard saying “like their elephants, the Indians never forget their enemy. They strike them down even after 20 years”.

I do not agree with the above because some Indo-Fijians have forgotten the actions of Sitiveni Rabuka, and the chain of events that followed including the burning of Hindu places of worship by the 18 members of the Methodist Youth Fellowship in Lautoka in 1989. They have joined the same man who had caused so much pain and suffering to Indo-Fijians at the time.

There can be no comparison between the two coups of 1987 to the one in 2006, as claimed by the two failed politicians of yester-years in most of their rallies.

The 1987 coups brought this country to its knees and the division between the two major ethnic groups, which remains to this day. People of Fiji, especially Indo-Fijians, have forgotten the circumstances that led to the 2006 coup.

There was an under-representation of the second major ethnic group in Parliament, there was an ethnically based electoral system, introduction of the ‘qoliqoli’ and indigenous tribunal bills, and ethnically based scholarship system just to name a few of the policies to marginalise Indo-Fijians.

This year, it has been 143 years since the first Indians were brought to Fiji under the indenture system.

We did not have a name, apart from ‘kaidia’ and Indo-Fijian. This Government gave us a name.

This Government made education a level playing field and access to education is not racially biased. I can still remember the days when iTaukei students, with much lower marks, were able to secure Fijian Affairs Board scholarships to study abroad while Indo-Fijians did not have such access.

This mentality of birth-right and handovers by previous Governments created the education divide and caused the marginalised group to work even harder.

Mr Rabuka, in his ‘TikTok’ video, uses the same old term and says he will look after the Indo-Fijians. I wonder who is looking after him and helped him fund his new ambitious political party?

The choice is as simple as 234.