In a bid to promote diversity, Fiji’s police force approved changes to their uniform. Navjeath Singh Sohata became the first Sikh police officer to don a turban with the official Fiji Police crown. Recognizing that respect for diversity and inclusivity are integral to the success of policing efforts, Acting Commissioner of Police Juki Fong Chew approved the wearing of a turban with the official Fiji Police crown. Police Constable Sohata, 20, is a member of Batch 66 undergoing the Basic Recruits Course Training in Nasova. Sahota joins over a century-long tradition of Sikhs serving in the police force. In 1900, the British brought Sikh policemen to Fiji from Hong Kong and Shanghai. While Fiji had a period of indentured labor system 1879-1916, according to records kept by the Lautoka Gurudwara, Sikhs arrived in Fiji as free immigrants in 1904. More Sikhs came in 1905 when the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand began a regular service from Calcutta to Fiji. The Sikhs mostly established themselves as farmers, policemen, and teachers. In The History of the Fiji Police Force, Stanley Brown writes that the first Sikh constables were locally recruited from the 1910s. The Samabula Gurdwara, near Suva, built in 1922, is the oldest Fijian Gurdwara. The first school built by Sikhs in Fiji to expressly teach Panjabi in the Gurmukhi script was the Khalsa High School in Ba district in 1958. According to the 2007 census, 2,577 individuals listed their religion as Sikh.
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