Members of Shree Sanatan Dharm Prathinidhi Sabha of Fiji have been reminded to cherish the seeds that helped define contemporary Fiji today.

This was Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development, Waterways and Environment Hon. Dr. Mahendra Reddy's message while officiating at the 60th Sanatan Annual Convention at Tuva Primary School in Sigatoka today.

"We have to cherish the seeds of Sanatan Dharm that our forefathers have inculcated amongst us by establishing various formal, non-formal and religious institutions that define contemporary Fiji today.

"We're here to reflect on what specific “karmas” that we as Sanatani’s have to undertake to protect the ethos and founding values of that Sanatan organization and how we can map out a brighter future for our children going forward," he said.

“Our success today, in all spheres of life, can be attributed to the sacrifices our forefathers made to establish these institutions when legal framework for such establishment was not clearly articulated,” Minister Reddy added.

He added that the ethos of the organization had to be maintained to make it stronger in order to develop structures to deal with contemporary and future challenges that increased globalization posed to current and future generations.

“Status quo is certainly not an option albeit, we will not do justice to our children. I sincerely hope that the organization will develop a separate advisory body of intellectuals to help steer the organization in the right direction and make it relevant for future generations,” said Dr Reddy.

He said Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha is the largest Hindu religious body and its roots could be traced back to their forefathers who arrived in Fiji to work on the plantations from India.

“The emigration of Indians over the past two centuries was in response to demands for their services and skills that resulted in their settlement in all parts of the globe," he said.

“Direct recruit from India began in 1879 where first lot of 463 landed on our shores on 14th May and this emigration continued for the next 37 years resulting in the arrival of over 61,000 Indian’s to Fiji," Hon. Reddy added.

He said it was not just a physical movement of people but they carried with them sociocultural beliefs and practices namely a predefined social identity; a set of religious beliefs and practices; a framework of norms and values governing family and societal relationships and food habits; and a distinct language.

The Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji has 28 local branches, hundreds of temples and mandalies linked to it either directly or indirectly, a number of Primary and Secondary Schools and campuses of Technical Colleges with its network of mandalis and temples continuing to grow in Fiji.

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