Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Creation Plan of God | Al-Risala April 1988
Fiji, a small country made up of a number of Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, has a population which is only half Fijian, the other half being made up of settlers of Indian origin, who took up their abode there during British rule. When, after the elections on April 11, 1987, a new government was formed under the Prime Ministership of Timoci-Bavadra, with an Indian majority, the Fijian half of the population protested against it on the grounds that this was tantamount to setting up a ‘little India’ in Fiji. Fully confident of his position, the new Prime Minister retorted: “I am in control. I will remain in control.” (The Times of India, May 15, 1987). But within just a few days of his saying this, there was a military coup on May 14, 1987. Entering parliament house along with ten armed soldiers, Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka arrested the newly elected Prime Minister and twenty-seven of his colleagues, then, forcing them to board a truck, he sent them off to some unknown destination. Colonel Rabuka’s next step was to revoke the 17 year-old constitution, and announce that his rule over Fiji would be according to a constitution of his own devising.
The story of this ousted Prime Minister is the story of all mankind. Those who have been quick to benefit from the opportunities which have come their way, and have risen to eminence, begin to feel that whatever position they hold is totally unassailable. They feel, once the reins of power are in their hands, that they are in complete control of their own and others’ destinies. But, sooner or later, God’s will is made manifest, and if He does not will that they should remain in that position, they are removed from the scene like so many straws blown away by the wind. Such events take place with amazing regularity, but all men think, in their heart of hearts, that they can only happen to others - never to themselves. Everyone imagines that he will remain unscathed even when it is God’s will that he should be cast down.