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'''Brij V. Lal''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|sep=,|AM|FAHA}} is an [[Indians in Fiji|Indo-Fijian]] [[historian]]. He was born in [[Labasa]], on the northern island of [[Vanua Levu]]. He was educated at the [[University of the South Pacific]], the [[University of British Columbia]] and the [[Australian National University]]. A harsh critic of the [[Frank Bainimarama|Bainimarama government]], which originated in the [[2006 Fijian coup d'état|military coup]] of 2006 and retained power in the [[2014 Fijian general election|2014 elections]], he is currently living in exile in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vuibau|first1=Tevita|title=Lal remains in exile|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|website=The Fiji Times Online|accessdate=3 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704154517/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|archive-date=4 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Academic career ==
Lal is currently Emeritus Professor of Pacific and Asian History at the [[School of Culture, History and Language]] at [[Australian National University]]. He has previously lectured at [[University of the South Pacific]] in [[Suva]], the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa]], and at the [[University of Papua New Guinea]]. He is also a Visiting Professor at University of the South Pacific and, simultaneously, head of the Centre for Diasporic Studies at the [[University of Fiji]].

Among his many books are an autobiography, ''Mr Tulsi's Store: A Fijian Journey'' (2001), which won the [[San Francisco]]-based [[Kiriyama Prize]] in 2002. He is also the author of ''Chalo Jahaji: On a journey through indenture in Fiji'' (2000) and editor of ''Bittersweet: The Indo-Fijian Experience'' (2004),<ref>{{cite book|editor=Brij V. Lal |others=photographs by Peter Hendrie|title=Bittersweet: the Indo-Fijian experience|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9433226?versionId=23864211+45877044|year=2004|publisher=Pandanus Books|location= Canberra|isbn=1740761170|page=407}}</ref> the latter two recounting the history of the trials and triumphs of the [[Indians in Fiji|Indo-Fijian]] community. He is the present Editor of the ''[[Journal of Pacific History]]'' and the Founding Editor of the literary journal, ''[[Conversations (journal)|Conversations]]''.

== Honours ==

Lal was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA) in 1996.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brij Lal|url=https://www.humanities.org.au/our-fellows/fellows/?find_contact_id=3123&ffc_page=3&section_select=113&fellowType_select=0&bio_search&name_search&year_election&country_search=0&state_search=0|website=Australian Academy of the Humanities|accessdate=2 March 2018}}</ref> On 1 January 2001 he was awarded a Centenary Medal "for service to Australian society and the humanities in the study of Pacific history".<ref>{{cite web|title=LAL, Brij Vilash|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1126641|website=Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of Prime Minister & Cabinet|accessdate=2 March 2018}}</ref>

On 3 November 2005, it was announced that Lal had been awarded the inaugural [[Distinguished Pacific Scholar Award]] by the [[UNESCO]]-sponsored [[International Council for the Study of the Pacific Islands]], in recognition of his research into Fijian and Pacific history. He has also written widely about the [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian Diaspora]], including the history of [[Indian indenture system|indentured service]].

Lal was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the [[2015 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia)]] "for significant service to education, through the preservation and teaching of Pacific history, as a scholar, author and commentator".<ref>{{cite web|title=LAL, Brij Vilash|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1151860|website=Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of Prime Minister & Cabinet|accessdate=2 March 2018}}</ref>

Lal has been honoured by the Fiji Millennium Committee for distinguished scholarship. He has also been named as one of the seventy people who have helped shape [[History of Fiji|Fiji's history]] in the 20th century.

== Pro-democracy activities ==
In the 1990s, Lal served as the nominee of the Leader of the opposition, [[Jai Ram Reddy]] on the three-member [[Constitutional Review Commission (Fiji)|Constitutional Review Commission]], whose work culminated in the adoption of the [[1997 Constitution of Fiji|present constitution]] in 1997-1998.

Lal condemned the [[Republic of Fiji Military Forces|Military]] [[2006 Fijian coup d'état|coup d'état]] which deposed the government of [[Prime Minister of Fiji|Prime Minister]] [[Laisenia Qarase]] on 5 December 2006. [[Fiji Live]] quoted him as saying on 7 December that the coup was not different in essence from the [[1987 Fijian coups d'état|two coups]] staged by [[Sitiveni Rabuka]] in 1987, or [[George Speight]]'s [[2000 Fijian coup d'état|coup of 2000]]. This time, however, race was not seen to be a factor, he said, unlike the previous occasions when ethnic issues were used, he claimed, as a scapegoat for other interests.<ref>http://www.fijilive.com/news/show/news/2006/12/07/07Fijilive31.html</ref>

In November 2009, Lal discussed the ongoing political situation in Fiji after the expulsion of the Australian and New Zealand high commissioners, in an interview with [[Radio New Zealand]]. Shortly afterwards he was taken into custody and questioned about his comments. During the questioning, Lal reported that he was subjected to foul language and advised to leave the country within 24 hours, which he did. Lal has subsequently clarified that he was expelled rather than being deported.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/200911/s2734985.htm |title='I have no reason to lie on this' says Brij Lal |date=November 6, 2009 |publisher=[[Radio Australia]] }}</ref>

== Forced exile ==
In March 2015, Defence Minister [[Timoci Natuva]] announced that Lal was prohibited indefinitely from returning to Fiji because his actions were "prejudicial to the peace, defence, public safety, public order and security of Government of Fiji". This decision was reiterated in late June or early July 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vuibau|first1=Tevita|title=Lal remains in exile|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|website=The Fiji Times Online|accessdate=3 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704154517/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|archive-date=4 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lal reacted angrily to the ban on his return.
{{quote|The original decision was based on the false premise that I opposed Fiji's return to democracy after the coup of 2006," he said. "That is a travesty of the truth and of the historical record. I did nothing of the sort. And it is ludicrous to assert that my wife and I are a threat to the security of Fiji. The decision is nothing short of petty vindictiveness. We are disappointed but the Government is diminished by it. For our part, we will continue to stand up for the principles and values we believe in," he told the [[Fiji Times]] by e-mail on 2 July 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vuibau|first1=Tevita|title=Lal remains in exile|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|website=The Fiji Times Online|accessdate=3 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704154517/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|archive-date=4 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

== Personal life ==
Lal is married to fellow-academic [[Padma Lal]]. She, too, has been prohibited from returning to Fiji.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vuibau|first1=Tevita|title=Lal remains in exile|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|website=The Fiji Times Online|accessdate=3 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704154517/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=312006|archive-date=4 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* Doug Munro, "Brij V. Lal—Journeys and transformations", ''The Ivory Tower and Beyond : Participant Historians of the Pacific'', Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, pp. 243–309.

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110408151452/http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/people/personal/lalxb_pah.php Lal] at Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University (2011)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080309204553/http://www.liswa.wa.gov.au/piaf/writers/jlwriters.html Writer biography], [[Perth International Arts Festival]]
* {{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s253606.htm|title=Political uncertainty reigns in Fiji - Tony Jones & Brij Lal|date=1 March 2001|work=[[Lateline]]|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|accessdate=6 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918000355/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s253606.htm|archive-date=18 September 2012|url-status=dead}}
* [http://www.fijianstudies.org/ Fiji Institute of Applied Studies]
* [http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A2zQ Brij Lal] at [[Austlit]], The Resource for Australian Literature
* ''[[The Contemporary Pacific]]'' [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/contemporary_pacific/v014/14.1hereniko.html 14.1 (2002) 168-184]{{subscription needed}}
* ''Bittersweet: the Indo-Fijian experience'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110706111010/http://www.pandanusbooks.com.au/excerpts/PB51B.pdf (Lal's Chapter One: "Girmit, History, Memory")]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060220203942/http://www.unifiji.ac.fj/news.htm The University of Fiji]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lal, Brij}}
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indo-Fijian writers]]
[[Category:People from Labasa]]
[[Category:Fijian Hindus]]
[[Category:University of the South Pacific alumni]]
[[Category:Fijian historians]]
[[Category:Historians of the Pacific]]
[[Category:Fijian expatriates in Australia]]
[[Category:University of the South Pacific faculty]]
[[Category:University of Fiji faculty]]
[[Category:University of Hawaii faculty]]
[[Category:University of Papua New Guinea faculty]]
[[Category:Australian National University faculty]]
[[Category:Fijian exiles]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:20th-century Fijian writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Fijian writers]]

Brij Lal (historian) - Revision history

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