C. A. Shah

Chirag Ali Shah
Member of Legislative Council (Fiji) Indian nominated member
In office 1963–1966
Member for Tavua - Rakiraki Indian Communal Constituency
In office 1966–1972
Personal details
Profession	Farmer
Religion	Muslim

Chirag Ali Shah was a Fiji Indian farmer and politician,^[1][2] who served in the Legislative Council both as a nominated and an elected member.

Since 1937, the Government of Fiji had followed a policy of nominating a Muslim to one of the two seats reserved for nominated Indian members in the Legislative Council. In 1963, although a Muslim, Sidiq Koya, was elected, the Government continued with its policy and nominated Ra farmer, Shah, also a Muslim, to the Legislative Council. In the past, those nominated by the Governor had tended to be pro-Government but Shah aligned himself with the group opposed to Government policies. This group, known as the Citizens Federation, and including farmers union representatives A. D. Patel, Sidiq Koya, and James Madhavan, later formed the first political party in Fiji, the Federation Party.

Shah's inclusion in the new political party provided diversity to the hierarchy of the party which was dominated by lawyers, businessmen and academics. He took part in the 1965 Constitutional Conference in London^[3] with his other colleagues in the Federation Party. In the 1966 elections he won the Tavua/Ra seat for the Federation Party in a three-way contest with 58% of the vote. He had a tougher fight in the 1968 by-election when his opponent was a former member of the Federation Party in the Legislative Council (who had defected to the Alliance Party) and lawyer, M. T. Khan, but again he won with grass-roots support.

References

1. "English translations of political speeches in Fiji, 1965-1968". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
2. "Minutes - Monday 10 May 2004". Parliament of Fiji Hansard. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
3. "Report of the Fiji Constitutional Conference" (PDF). p. 12. Retrieved 8 August 2011.