Fiji’s Relationship with India: The Answer to or the Source of Fiji’s Problems?

Fiji is a nation constantly confronted by the difficult realities of having a multicultural population. One of these delicate situations is its relationship with India, the country of origin of Fiji’s largest and most controversial minority group, the Indo-Fijians. India has historically taken a great interest in Fiji because of its large population of overseas Indians, a result of the nations’ shared colonial heritage. This paper thoroughly examines the nations’ past at times rocky relationship in light of race relations, both Indo-Fijian and ethnic Fijian struggles, and decades of political instability from indigenous Fijian eugenics. India’s current global standing and the strong ethnic ties of India with Fiji indicate that there are complex costs and benefits to this relationship. In light of Fiji’s current need for new international partners, it is paramount to determine whether relations with India are the source of Fiji’s political, economic, and cultural problems or a step in the direction of reconciliation between Fiji’s two largest and most distinct ethnic groups