https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Hari_PunjaHari Punja - Revision history2026-07-31T23:55:49ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Hari_Punja&diff=129878&oldid=prev>Ser Amantio di Nicolao at 13:10, 13 September 20182018-09-13T13:10:55Z<p></p>
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'''Hari Punja''', [[Fijian honours system|OF]], [[OBE]] (born 1936) is an [[Indians in Fiji|Indo-Fijian]] [[Business magnate|businessman]] and Chairman of [[Hari Punja Group of Companies]]. [[Hari Punja and Sons Limited]] is a very diversified (and probably the largest) company in [[Fiji]].<ref>{{cite news<br />
|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=55844<br />
|accessdate=2010-07-20<br />
|title=Be rich to help poor: Punja<br />
|date=January 25, 2007<br />
|newspaper=[[Fiji Times]]<br />
}}</ref><br />
<br />
Hari Punja was born in Cuvu, [[Sigatoka]], Fiji and received his education in Fiji and [[Australia]]. He trained as a [[chemical engineer]]. Punja joined the business in 1960. He has served as a mayor of [[Lautoka]]<ref name='tcf'/> and on a number of prestigious boards such as [[Fiji Broadcasting Corporation|Fiji Broadcasting Commission]] and [[Fiji Sugar Corporation]].<ref name='tcf'/> He served as a [[Senate of Fiji|Senator]]<ref name=tcf/> from 1996 to 1999.<br />
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Punja has been married to Tara for about fifty years and has five children: Rohit, Ajai, Sanjay, Deepa, Leena.<br />
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==Honors==<br />
Punja has been bestowed with many credentials and honors. Some of these include:<br />
<br />
* [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE)<ref name='tcf'>{{cite book<br />
|title=Twentieth century Fiji<br />
|author=Stewart Firth, Daryl Tarte, University of the South Pacific<br />
|publisher=USP Solutions, University of the South Pacific<br />
|year=2001<br />
|page=198<br />
|url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=UaJGTNGBN43msQOc3oDcAg&ct=result&id=qFNzAAAAMAAJ&dq=order+british++%22hari+punja%22&q=order+british++#search_anchor<br />
|accessdate=2010-07-21<br />
}}</ref><br />
* Justice of the Peace (JP)<br />
* [[Order of Fiji#Order of Fiji Division|Order of Fiji]]: Bestowed by the [[President of Fiji]], [[Kamisese Mara|Ratu Sir Kaisese Mara]]<br />
* The Fiji National Millennium Committee recognized Hari Punja as an outstanding contributor in shaping the nation of Fiji during the 20th Century<br />
* He was named as one of the 10 most successful businessmen living outside India in "The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora" (2006) by Professor Dr. Brij Lal ([[Australian National University]])<br />
* Punja was rated the 6th most influential person in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] region through a poll carried out by the Australian-based [[Pacific Magazine]].<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Punja, Hari}}<br />
[[Category:Fijian businesspeople]]<br />
[[Category:Chemical engineers]]<br />
[[Category:1936 births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Fiji]]<br />
[[Category:Indian members of the Senate (Fiji)]]<br />
[[Category:Fijian engineers]]<br />
[[Category:Fijian people of Indian descent]]<br />
[[Category:Politicians from Lautoka]]<br />
[[Category:Politicians from Sigatoka]]</div>>Ser Amantio di Nicolao