Kisan Sangh (Fiji) - Formation of Kisan Sangh

Formation of Kisan Sangh

Well aware that there was great fear amongst the Fiji Indian cane farmers of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, he started organising the farmers union in secret and concentrated among the young members of the community because they were more passionate and were unlikely to be owners or lessees of property. At first, Ayodhya Prasad held meetings in secret but by 27 November 1937, he had enough support to hold a public meeting in Wailailai, Ba, to form the Kisan Sangh (Farmers’ Union). The first task for the new Union was to find an existing Fiji Indian to take up leadership of the new union. A number of people which included A.D. Patel, S. B. Patel and Swami Rudrananda, Chattur Singh and Vishnu Deo were approached, but all declined the invitation. Undeterred, Ayodhya Prasad decided that the best solution was to learn from Mahatma Gandhi and live amongst the farmers while he preached the virtues of the Union to them. He decided to set up tents on Company land in different settlements so that he and his helpers could preach from it. On 18 May 1938, with the help of his young volunteers, he set up on Company land starting from Nadroga which was at the Southern end of the North Western cane growing area of Viti Levu and moving along the coast to the Northern end of Viti Levu. Initially none of the local farmers approached the tent but as the farmers saw the sacrifice being made by Ayodhya Prasad and his young volunteers and the inability of the Company overseers to stop him, they gradually started to join up. Following the success of this grass-roots campaign, Ayodhya Prasad spent the next four months organising the Sangh. First village committees were formed. These committees then met and formed district committees which selected members for the Central Committee based on the membership of the district committee. There were six district committees.