Kallu Dhani Ram
Kallu Dhani Ram (born 6 July 1923) is the General Secretary of the oldest farmers union in Fiji, the Fiji Kisan Sangh. He has been one of the few people who has been involved with the Sangh since being inspired to join it by its founder, Ayodhya Prasad, in 1939. He has made valuable contribution to the sugar industry in Fiji.
Early life
Ram was born into a family of seven on 6 July 1923 at Vunisamaloa, in
Association with Fiji Kisan Sangh
Ram's desire and inspiration to fight for the rights of farmers began in 1939 when he first came in contact with the founder and first general secretary of Fiji Kisan Sangh, the late Pandit Ajodhya Prasad. It was during one of Pandit Prasad's pocket meetings that Ram attended as a 16-year-old where he was inspired to fight for the rights of farmers. Any one caught attending these meetings were given seven days notice by Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) to vacate their farms and people were afraid to join the union. He has been the general secretary of the Fiji Kisan Sangh since 1979.[1]
Opponent of amnesty to coup plotters
Ram opposed the Reconciliation and Unity Commission, established in Fiji to grant amnesty to perpetrators of the Fiji coup of 2000, and compensation to victims of it from 19 May 2000 through 15 March 2001. He joined the Yellow Ribbon campaign opposing the legislation which he called an "abuse of power." He said that while the proposed Commission would be empowered to compensate coup victims for personal assault and loss of property, there was no provision to compensate people for the emotional trauma they had suffered. Moreover, he disagreed with the use of taxpayers' money to compensate victims of the coup. "It is most unfair to compensate the victims of wrongs done by the offender from taxpayers money because it amounts to compensating the victim from his own money," he said. The Kisan Sangh reiterated its opposition to the legislation on 7 July and again on 17 August, with Ram saying on both occasions that the bill would only aggravate tensions between the races, and would be a recipe for further coups in future. Even a wholly indigenous Fijian government would not be safe, he said.
In 2006, before the military coup, Ram supported plans by the Fiji military to clean up the Fiji government.[2]
Later life
Ram's wife, Shiv Dulari, died in 1996. As of November 2016, he was living in Drasa with his sons.[3]
References
- ^ "Always a man who fought for the sugar cane farmers". Fiji Times. 14 October 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ Hindu group backs Fiji army clean up
- ^ Ram recalls the early years of his life