I will be profiling some of the interesting "Indians from the Diaspora" that I meet. This would be an interesting way to learn more of the "less spoken of" but very accomplished members of the Indian Diaspora. Move over Lakshmi Mittal...

I met with Prof. Brij V. Lal briefly, a very interesting, insightful and humorous speaker.I wanted to know more and here is what I found:

Prof.Brij, the grandson of a girmitiya (indentured laborer) who migrated from India in 1908.


Brij lal 


He was awarded the Order if Fiji for his distinguished contribution, as a sole representative of the Fiji Indian community on the Fiji constitution Review Commission whose reports forms the basis of the country's internationally praised constitution.

He is currently editor of the in-progress "Encyclopedia of Indians Overseas", a project based at the National University of Singapore.

In his book Mr Tulsi's store he examines the misunderstandings and mistrust between native Fijians and Indo-Fijians which continue to trouble the country today, and expresses his hopes for its democratic resolution.

Works

Girmitiyas : the Origins of the Fiji Indians (1983)
Problems and methods of enquiry in South Asian history (1984)
Politics in Fiji : studies in contemporary history (1986)
Broken Waves (1992)
Tides of history : the Pacific Islands in the twentieth century (1994)
Fiji Before the Storm : elections and the politics of development (2000)
The Pacific Islands : an Encyclopedia (2000)
Coup : Reflections on the political crisis in Fiji (2001)
Mr Tulsi's store : a Fijian journey (2001)
Bitter Sweet: The Indo-Fijian experience (2004)