Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Prof. Biman Prasad, has slammed Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu for blaming the Coalition Government and the National Federation Party (NFP) for the declining Indo-Fijian population, calling the remarks “non-sensical and ludicrous.”
Prof. Prasad, who also leads the NFP, said demographic data clearly shows that the Indo-Fijian population growth rate began falling as early as 1975, primarily due to a lower birth rate — not government policies.
“The declining population is why there are fewer Indo-Fijian students in schools and tertiary institutions,” he explained in a statement on social media.
“This has nothing to do with the policies of the Coalition Government or NFP.”
Citing census data, Prof. Prasad noted that the 2007 Census recorded Fiji’s population at 837,271, with indigenous Fijians becoming the majority (56.8%) compared to Indo-Fijians (37.5%). By 2017, the Indo-Fijian proportion was believed to have fallen further to around 33%.
Prof. Prasad accused the former FijiFirst government, in which Seruiratu was a senior member, of concealing ethnic data by classifying all citizens simply as “Fijian” — despite a United Nations recommendation to retain disaggregated statistics.
Prof. Prasad also reminded Seruiratu of what he called “the biggest insult” to the Indo-Fijian community under the previous administration — the exile of renowned historian Prof. Brij Lal and his wife, Dr Padma Lal.
“They were denied the right to return to their homeland, and even after Professor Lal’s death in exile, the FijiFirst government refused to allow his ashes to be interred in Tabia,” he said.
“Mr Seruiratu remained silent while this atrocity took place.”
He praised Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for overturning the ban soon after taking office in December 2022 and for declaring Girmit Day as a public holiday to honour the legacy of the Girmitiya since 2023.
Prof. Prasad accused the Opposition leader of “clutching at straws” and warned that his “gutter-level politics” could backfire.
“If Mr Seruiratu continues on this journey, he risks drowning in his own political buffoonery.”
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