The stamps which were issued in 2012 to commemorate 100 years of the arrival of Indians on the Island of Fiji come in four different denominations. The 4cent stamp depicts Indian women playing devotional songs, while 15 cent stamp exhibits Indian as well as local men. The 30 cent stamp shows an elderly man wearing a traditional headgear seen on a background of a sugarcane field. On the other hand, the 40 cent stamp shows a ship in the memory of Indian immigrants.
In 17th and 18th century, the Dutch and British arrived on the island of Fiji. Because of the abundance natural resources, Fiji was one of the richest colonies of British Commonwealth.
In 1879, the Leonidas, a ship carrying the first group of indentured servants from Calcutta, dropped anchor near Fiji. After the British Empire annexed Fiji in 1874, the new governor banned the exploitation of native workers, particularly on sugar plantations. He instead decided to import workers from India, which had initiated the system of indentured servitude after slavery ended in 1833. From 1879 to 1916, 63,000 Indians were transferred to Fiji. (Fiji’s population today is around 850,000.) They were given free passage in exchange for an agreement to work for five years.
Coups in 1987, 2000, and 2006 all related to conflicts – both religious and economic – between native Fijians and Indians.
