Family novels usually involve generations of self-discovery and relevance in the present. Ajay Singh’s spans four generations separated by a timeless ocean and two nations enjoined by the narrative of freedom and homecoming. In 1885, like so many others, Singh’s grandfather sailed from Calcutta to the Fiji Islands to work as an indentured labourer.
Britain had abolished slavery in 1833. To replace the slaves who worked on its lucrative sugar plantations, Britain invented the notorious ‘indentured labour system’ in 1837 under which, rural Indians were taken to distant colonies such as Guyana, Mauritius and Fiji to work for a minimum of five years. After that they could return to India or continue living in the colony as free citizens.
Trinidad-born novelist, VS Naipaul, is one of the most distinguished descendants of an indentured labourer. Ajay Singh’s ancestor came from a village near Agra, and stayed in Fiji with his wife for five years, and returned to India in 1901 with their Fiji-born son, Bere Singh. But four generations of the family maintained close bonds with Fiji. Ram Chander’s grandson, Bhagwan Singh was free India’s first High Commissioner to Fiji which attained independence in 1970. His great grandson, Ajay Singh, married Shiromani, a third generation Indian of Fijian origin.
The author has adopted a clear, uncomplicated style to describe complex images with wry humour. He writes, “In late December 1976, I brought my Fiji born wife Shiromani Tiwari Singh to my ancestral village, Jaingara. Her forefathers had gone to Fiji, two generations back, from a village named Dhakaiya in nearby Faizabad District. The excitedly curious women of the village exclaimed Are yeh to bilkul hamare jaisi hai. They were expecting to see the foreigner looking different.”
Ajay Singh died two years ago before he could complete the manuscript. His trusted friend, Prof Mahavir Singh, completed it from the notes he left behind. It is a fascinating tale of a distinguished career, first as a journalist, then as a politician and finally as a diplomat. When Indira Gandhi rode back to power in 1980, the Prime Minister she overthrew Chaudhri Charan Singh, set up the All India Kisan Trust to protect the interests of farmers. The trust included leaders such as George Fernandes, Biju Patnaik and Sharad Yadav. Charan Singh offered Ajay the post of its Managing Trustee. Ajay was a journalism graduate from University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He took the post and his rise in politics was rapid. He was elected to UP’s Legislative Council in 1986 and on the death of Charan Singh the following year he took over as Chairman of the Trust.
Karma has its own whims and fancies; in 1989, Ajay Singh won the Agra parliamentary seat and was made Deputy Minister of Railways in VP Singh’s short-lived Janta Dal Government. In 2005, he was appointed India’s High Commissioner to Fiji—a political appointment by the Congress Government based on his talent and reputation, just like his father was.