Professor Brij Lal passes away in Brisbane

Renowned historian, author, and a passionate pro-democracy activist, Professor Brij Lal passed away yesterday morning in Brisbane.

He and his wife, Doctor, Padma Lal were expelled from Fiji in 2009.

Professor Lal was born in Tabia, Labasa and received his university education in Canada and Australia.

He was 69 years old.

He taught history at the University of the South Pacific, the University of Papua New Guinea, the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the Australian National University where he was Professor of Pacific and Asian History from 1990-2016.

Professor Lal’s many awards have included Fellowship of the Australian Humanities Academy, Pacific Distinguished Scholar Medal, Centenary Medal of the Government of Australia and Officer of the Order 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), the latter two recounting the history of the trials and triumphs of the Indo-Fijian community.

Funeral details will be revealed later.