Ujagar Singh

Ujagar Singh (22/06/1924 - 31/07/2021) (alias: Ujagar Singh Aujla) was a teacher, politician and union leader, who made significant contribution to education and unionism in Fiji and was a founding member of the National Federation Party. 

He was born in Nasinu and educated at Marist Brothers High School. He then went to India and graduated from Punjab University as a Civil Engineer and a teacher. He was also a member of the India Society of Engineers. He lived in India for a while before returning to Fiji in 1959.

Singh was involved in the administration of Khasla High School and became one of its first teachers in 1960. His teaching career led him to be Principal at Ba Sangam High School and Lautoka Muslim High School. He retired from teaching in 1968 to enter politics.

In 1959, when the Federation of Cane Growers was formed to negotiate cane contract with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, Singh was chosen as its Assistant Secretary and played a significant role in the sugarcane growers strike of 1960. In 1962 he was chosen as a member of the Fiji Sugar Advisory Council when it was first established. In 1963 the farmers unions remaining in the Cane Growers Federation formed the Citizens Federation to contest the General Election and Ujagar Singh became its Assistant Secretary. 

Singh campaigned for S. M. Koya in the contest against well-known local, James Shankar Singh for the  North Viti Levu Constituency, that included the districts of Ba, Tavua and Rakiraki. Koya won the election narrowly and Singh's contribution to the Party was recognised by the Leader of the National Federation Party as he was chosen as candidate in the 1968 by-election for the South-Central Viti Levu (Nasinu/Vinidawa) seat vacated by M. T. Khan who had defected to the Alliance Party. He won easily and became a member of the Legislative Council. In the first elections of independent Fiji in 1972 he was elected to the House of Representatives from Ba/Lautoka Rural Indian communal Constituency. His close association with Koya resulted him not being selected as a candidate by NFP for the March 1977 election. His candidature as a NFP-Dove Faction in the September 1977 election ended his political career.

In 1966 he was elected unopposed to be a member of the Ba Township Board. He was general secretary of the Fiji Municipal Workers Union and in 1976 was fined for influencing workers employed in essential services for taking part in an illegal strike.

In 1968,Singh had joined the insurance industry as a Consulting Agent for the Life Insurance Corporation of India. In 1999 he was one of the first agents to join the Sun Insurance, the only locally owned insurance company in Fiji. He retired from insurance industry in 2018.

He lived his last years in Auckland, New Zealand.


Comments

  1. anirudhfjFebruary 6, 2022 at 5:05 PM

    Its good to know that Ujagar Singh's personal history and service to the communities of Ba and Fiji generally is being recorded via this blog. He was a great orator and motivator and political leader.

    ReplyDelete

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