Akhil Fiji Krishak Maha Sangh

A rival with a purpose. Founded in 1941 by A.D. Patel and Swami Rudrananda, Maha Sangh pushed a harder line on cane contracts—and politics.

Founding & key people

Established on 15 June 1941 as a rival to the Kisan Sangh, the Maha Sangh gathered cane farmers—especially from the South Indian community—behind A.D. Patel and Swami Rudrananda. Padri Mehar Singh helped consolidate village committees and meeting halls that later fed into formal bargaining.

Why it mattered

It kept farmer representation competitive and linked price disputes to questions of citizenship and constitutional reform—turning sugar from an industrial issue into a national one.

Flashpoints & campaigns

• 1943 sugar strike—the defining confrontation with CSR in the West; showcased organisational muscle and exposed rifts with Kisan Sangh.
• Harder lines in the 1950 and 1960 contract rounds on price, transport and cane quality deductions.

Today

Absorbed into wider farmer federations; through its leaders it influenced later party politics and the language of rights in rural Fiji.

Legacy

Laid tracks from cane sheds to constitutional debate—incubating leaders who would shape Fiji’s public life.

Gallery

Sources

• Brij V. Lal, Broken Waves; Historical Dictionary of Fiji (entries on sugar unions and A.D. Patel).
• Press and union memoir material on the 1943 strike and 1950/1960 contract rounds.
• Wikimedia Commons (Fiji sugar industry collections) for license-verified imagery.