Tears In Paradise: Suffering And Struggles Of Indians In Fiji, 1879-2004

by Rajendra Prasad

A powerful book on Girmit in Fiji (1879-1919) that will leave the reader in awe, wonder and tears. Conditions were so horrific that Fiji had the highest rate of suicide in the world. The Girmitiyas bore the brutality of the Girmit with courage, resilience and fortitude and Tears in Paradise eloquently echoes their struggles, pain and suffering that will take the reader ask – “Was it really that brutal?” Yes, it was! The second part of the book (1920-2004) reflects on the contemporary history of Indo-Fijians, expounding on the theme “An Uncertain Future.”

Genres: Nonfiction, History

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Rajendra Prasad is a descendant of the Girmitiyas (Indian indentured labourers) that were recruited by the British (1879-1919) to work in the sugarcane plantations, including contemporary history of Fiji 1920-2004.

Reviews

[Lilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This the the type of book that is hard to review. Initially my biggest issue with is was the race essentialism, which interestingly was applied to celebrate the character of the Indian people, but of course this type of argument always has an ugly foundation which was confirmed by the author's inability to totally hide his negative feelings about certain castes, nationalities, and Indigenous Pacific Islanders. These attitudes are shared by all of the Indo-Fijians I have spoken to at length here, except for one. So, on the other hand, this is a way more truthful account than if the author tried to PC everything which I suppose I appreciate? I also thought the framing the narrative around the strength of the oppressed instead of the actions of the oppressors was great, just wish he hadn't constantly been saying stuff like “Few other races could match the way the Indians bore the indenture system” including the Fijians, Japanese, Solomon Islanders, Chinese etc who rioted or didn't want to work.

The other issue I had while reading but did completely resolve was that many (many!) anecdotes are recounted that all prove the same points. It felt repetitive, almost like reading court proceedings. I stopped being a little bitch and realised that these are stories that really do need to be shared, all of them available. England tricked and pretty much enslaved 1,000,000 Indians after slavery was officially abolished, and there was nearly no oversight in these far away colonies or anyone to tell these stories to for years. There is still very little public awareness about this system outside of Indian diasporic communities, and Prasad is the only one to document many of these stories.

[Jonathan Morrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about the Indian experience in Fiji. It is well-written, and thankfully does not get too bogged down in details that you lose the power of the narrative. And that narrative is powerful. I had absolutely no knowledge of the people and history this book describes, so I feel like a richer person having read it. If a book does that for me, I say it was worth the read.

[Jasleen Mohem · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is rare to find books accounting the struggle of Indian immigrants to Fiji. This may be due to lack of recorded history that was not possible during the colonial era. An emotional account of the sufferance is worth focussing on with consideration why the immigrants being a mere cosmetic slavery. Tears In Paradise by Rajendra Prasad is about the Indenture period for the Indo - Fijians not only financially and economically but also in politics. Tears In Paradise is a great book for any person who would like to know about Indo - Fijians and about the history of Fiji. It is also great for any person who is moving to fiji and wants to know what history and government of Fiji before moving. This book should be read more as it spreads awareness about the environment in Fiji for Indo - Fijians in the past and in the present.
The emotion in Tears In Paradise is very intense, as the book talks about slavery, torture, racism, and poverty. The author writes about these subject throughout the book and in heavy details that will leave goosebumps on anyone who decides to read this book. In some sections of the book, the author writes about how the Indo - Fijians were tricked and kidnapped only to be used as slaves and labourers. In another section the author writes about the racism that the Indo - Fijians have to endure from the Fijians. Due to the considerable amount of scarring topics, it is recommended that a certain age group that is less than 14 years old should not be reading this as it could not only leave mental scars but it could also be quite difficult for this age group to comprehend and understand what the author is saying. The emotional aspect of this book is really what makes the readers understand the amount of pain and rage the Indo - Fijians must be going through and what really draws their attention.
The writing style in Tears In Paradise is very unique, as it separates the direct quotes from other books or people, from the rest of the story. The direct quotes are separated into different paragraphs and the words are bolded. This writing style is uncommon to see in books, hence why it is very unique. It also accelerates the interest in book and it enhances the writing style in the book. Furthermore, the writing is very detailed and persuasive in the way that it gets the readers to feel pity for the Indo - Fijians and it really makes the readers think about there opinion about the story. The details of exactly what takes place in the story and the amount of evidence provided for each event, really does excel one's emotion and it really does excel the greatness of the writing style used in this book.
Overall, Tears in Paradise was very fascinating as well as heart wrenching at the same time. It is a great book that should be read by anyone who is interested in reading it. In conclusion, Tears in Paradise is an amazing and rare book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I read introducing the history of Indians in Fiji. It has been very useful in helping me to understand the culture of Indo-Fijians and the source of political conflicts between them and Fijians, but disturbing as well since it is non-fiction and contains: violence, slavery, unfairness, misunderstandings, deception, and real enemies who get away scott-free. The personal journey in the first half of the book was great; the second half was much more about the larger picture, politics, and today, so it was not as fun to read.