Timeline
The main dates of Pandit B.D. Lakshman's life, in order. Each date links to the page that tells that part of the story in full. PIM is Pacific Islands Monthly. Where a date rests on the 1981 first edition by D. Sharma alone, the source column says so.
- 1888
His parents, Cheta and Sampat, both born in India, come to Fiji under indenture; his father is indentured at the Nausori sugar mill. Family research, still being checked, links this to the Hereford voyage of 1888 (spelled Hareford in the 1981 first edition).
1981 first edition (family account); family birth certificate of B.D. Lakshman (family records); family history statement (2026); family research, not yet archive-verified · Early Life: Waila, Nausori →
- 17 September 1900
Brahma Dass Lakshman is born at Waila, near Nausori.
1981 first edition; Second Edition (see the note below) · Early Life: Waila, Nausori →
- 1916–1917
He works to qualify as a teacher; he later becomes headmaster of the Marist Brothers primary school in Suva.
1981 first edition · Early Life: Waila, Nausori →
- 1920
He takes part in the Indian strike; his future father-in-law, Gopal Sadhu, leads the march to the Samabula bridge. He is Troop Leader and Bugler of the First Toorak Scouts.
1981 first edition · Early Life: Waila, Nausori →
- February 1927
He sails for India on the SS Ganges.
1981 first edition · India: Student and Satyagrahi →
- 1929
He meets Jawaharlal Nehru at Mussoorie and attends the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress.
1981 first edition · India: Student and Satyagrahi →
- 1930
He takes part in the salt satyagraha and is imprisoned at Yerwada, later moving to Benares Central Prison (as told in 1981).
1981 first edition; four-month term also in PIM, December 1981 · India: Student and Satyagrahi →
- 1933
He completes his B.A. and B.T. at Benares Hindu University, and is declared a prohibited immigrant on his way home.
1981 first edition · India: Student and Satyagrahi →
- 1934
He returns to Fiji on the Niagara and starts a model high school at the Gurukul, Saweni.
1981 first edition; PIM obituary · Teacher and Schools →
- November 1937
The Kisan Sangh, the cane farmers' union, is formed at Ba. Accounts differ on his part in its founding.
Brij V. Lal, A Vision for Change, ch. 4; 1981 first edition · Trade Unions and the Cane Fields →
- 1940
He is elected to the Legislative Council for the North-Western Division (1,010 votes to 447).
PIM, 15 August 1940 · In the Legislative Council →
- 1942–1943
He is elected to the Indian community's Central War Committee (1942) and named to the Lautoka Fair Rents Board (1943).
PIM, 15 June 1942; 17 February 1943 · In the Legislative Council →
- 1944
He loses the North-Western seat to A.D. Patel.
PIM, 18 September 1944 · In the Legislative Council →
- 1949
He is principal of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College, Lautoka, and serves as president of the Kisan Sangh. His son Prince Gopal Lakshman is born in Lautoka on 26 February.
1981 first edition (1949 photograph); PIM obituary; family · Teacher and Schools →
- 1954
The Governor opens his pearl-button factory near Lautoka (June). As president of the Fiji Industrial Workers' Congress he welcomes Mr and Mrs C. Attlee at Nadi (18 September).
PIM, April and July 1954; 1981 first edition photographs · Business and Deuba →
- 24 June 1956
The family portrait of Mr and Mrs B.D. Lakshman and their children is taken.
1981 first edition caption · Family and Legacy →
- 1957
He is replaced as president of the Fiji Industrial Workers' Congress (August).
PIM, 1 September 1957 · Trade Unions and the Cane Fields →
- 1959
He leads the sugar workers' wage campaign; the Honeyman Board of Inquiry is appointed (23 April) and a new basic wage is accepted (27 August). He is elected to the Legislative Council again and becomes president of the Fiji Trades Union Congress.
PIM, May–October 1959; obituary · Trade Unions and the Cane Fields →
- 10 December 1959
He addresses the Albert Park meeting during the Suva riots.
PIM, December 1959 and January 1960; 1981 first edition · Trade Unions and the Cane Fields →
- 1960
Mr Julian Amery visits Lautoka (14 October); the sugar industry inquiry is announced (22 December).
1981 first edition photograph; PIM, 1 January 1961 · In the Legislative Council →
- 1961
He visits Australia, the United States and Britain.
PIM, 1 February 1961; 1961 consulate letter; 1981 first edition · In the Legislative Council →
- 1962
He is removed from the sugar workers' union (February), and buys a large tract of freehold land at Deuba.
PIM, March–April 1962; February 1963; December 1981 · Trade Unions and the Cane Fields →
- 1970
He turns the first sod of the Deuba Development.
1981 first edition photograph · Business and Deuba →
- 1974–1975
He and Mrs Rampiari Lakshman attend a convention in Suva (1974) and tour the world (1975).
1981 first edition photographs · Business and Deuba →
- 30 March 1981
D. Sharma's A Brief Life History, the first edition, is published in Suva.
The 1981 booklet · The Copper Plate and a Farewell →
- 15 May 1981
The India Fiji Girmit Council's "Fiji Ratana" gold medal is to be presented to him.
1981 first edition (the planned date; the booklet went to print before the ceremony) · The Copper Plate and a Farewell →
- 26 September 1981
Indira Gandhi presents India's copper plate award at Deuba to two of his sons, among them Prince Gopal Lakshman, on his behalf.
The Fiji Times, 27 September 2020; PIM, December 1981 · The Copper Plate and a Farewell →
- 5 October 1981
Pandit B.D. Lakshman dies in Brisbane, aged 81.
PIM, 1 December 1981, p. 74 · The Copper Plate and a Farewell →
- 2026
The Second Edition is published by his grandson.
Second Edition · Sources and the 1981 Booklet →
Election results
He served in the Legislative Council from 1940 to 1944, and again from his election in 1959 into the early 1960s.
| Year | Contest | Result | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Legislative Council, North-Western Division (Indian) | Elected | B.D. Lakshman 1,010; Sada Nand Maharaj 447 |
| 1944 | Legislative Council, North-Western Division (Indian) | Not elected | A.D. Patel 1,841; B.D. Lakshman 554 |
| 1953 | Lautoka Town Council | Not elected | — |
| 1956 | Legislative Council (Indian seat) | Not elected | B.D. Lakshman 109, fourth; won by Ayodhya Prasad, 2,718 |
| 1959 | Legislative Council, North-Western Division (Indian) | Elected | B.D. Lakshman 2,637; J. Madhavan 2,158; Ayodhya Prasad 2,075 |
Sources: Pacific Islands Monthly, 15 August 1940, 18 September 1944, 1 April 1953 and 1 October 1959; Fiji Elections blog (1956). The 1956 result follows the Second Edition.
A note on dates. The 15 May 1981 date is the date planned for the medal presentation, as recorded before the event. The family follows 17 September 1900, as in the 1981 booklet and the Second Edition. His birth certificate, registered late in Suva on 1 December 1925, records 1906.
Along the way
