Brahmanand Raghvanand MBE was an Indo-Fijian civil servant. He served as a member of the Legislative Council in the 1950s.
Brahmanand Raghvanand | |
|---|---|
| Nominated Member of the Legislative Council | |
| In office 1953–1955 | |
| Personal details | |
| Profession | Civil servant |
Biography edit
Raghvanand was the son of Badri Maharaj, the first Indo-Fijian member of the Legislative Council.[1] He was educated in Fiji and New Zealand.[2] He became a leader of the Arya Samaj in the 1920s,[3] but was forced to resign from the organisation by the Governor and Colonial Secretary and closely monitored for several years afterwards.[4] During World War II he was one of the Indian members elected to the Central War Committee.[5]
Raghvanand worked in the colonial civil service and became Assistant to the Native Lands Commissioner Lala Sukuna,[1] the first non-European to hold principal office.[6] In 1944 he was elected to the council of the Fiji Public Servants' Association.[7] In the 1952 Birthday Honours he was made an MBE for his service. In 1953 Raghvanand was appointed to the Legislative Council by the Governor as one of the 'official' members.[1] He retired in 1955.[8]
In 1963 he was made a Justice of the Peace.[9] He died at the age of 87.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b c New Fiji Legislative Council Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1953, p19
- ^ a b Deaths of Islands People Pacific Islands Monthly, February 1980, p73
- ^ John D. Kelly (1991) A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji, University of Chicago Press, p137
- ^ Kelly, p163
- ^ Fiji Indians and war Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1942, p6
- ^ Jacqueline Leckie (1997) To Labour with the State: The Fiji Public Service Association, University of Otago Press, p42
- ^ Item Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1944, p7
- ^ Mr B. Raghvanand Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1955, p162
- ^ Fiji Royal Gazette 1963, p16