As we commemorate the 147th anniversary of the arrival of the Leonidas with 463 Indian indentured labourers in Fiji, the importance of remembering and understanding the sacrifices of Girmit ancestors and their contribution to Fiji’s development is being highlighted.
Girmit researcher and Kirti Sharma who is a Human Resource Consultant by profession, says from 1899 to 1916, approximately 60,000 Indians were brought to Fiji as unemployed laborers under the Girmit system.
She says British recruiters known as arkathis lured poor and innocent Indians with promises of good pay and work on a nearby island, before taking them from places like Lucknow to Calcutta, where they signed or thumbprinted agreements before being sent overseas.
Indians from Fiji mostly came from Lucknow and its eastern districts. The names that come up again and again in immigration parcels are Gonda, Faizabad, Basti, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Banda and Raibareli, Mathura and Bharatpur in the Rajasthan region.
She says they travelled for three months and reached Fiji and along with the passage of the boat, they forgot the discrimination of caste and creed and accepted their motherland on the land of Fiji.
The researcher says in the years since the abolition of the Girmit system, Indo Fijians have lived together with the indigenous people and other castes where their nature and culture has had a positive impact.
She says today, Indo-Fijians have their own identity, culture, language called Fiji Hindi.
Sharma says many governments have been overthrown and military coups have taken place so many Indo-Fijians had to leave this country.
The researcher says wherever they are, whether they are in Australia, New Zealand, America, or any other country, they are still connected to Fiji.
She says the bond with Fiji is so strong that it cannot be broken, no matter what happens.
Sharma adds the Indo-Fijians today are the children of those ancestors who never lost hope.
INSERT: HINDI Sharma on history 14 may
Meanwhile, Girmit Day will be commemorated from 10am today at the Fiji Museum where Girmit descendants will be honoured, the 147th Girmit Commemoration Postal Stamps will be unveiled and the 50 Years Girmit Commemoration Time Capsule will be sealed. There will also be cultural performances and a tour of the museum.
