Girmit Photo Gallery

Fiji Girmit and Other Girmit Countries Included.

A living Girmitiya! Mrs Khaushilia was born in 1918 when Fiji was still under Girmit!

I had the opportunity to meet Mrs Kaushilia from Tavueni in May 2023 as part of my Girmit Research Project. I did not put the post as I waited for her to make to 105 years old. It was a delight to have met her and her family and grandson Salesh Reddy. I was told by her and Salesh that she was one of the best copra cutters on island of Tavueni and later on she got married and moved to Lautoka. She was born in August 1918 in Nalele Tavueni and commenced work on the copra plantations at the age of thirteen. She still has very good memory and the only health issue is she can no longer walk by herself. It was late in the afternoon that I met Salesh Reddy at Sun City Supermarket and asked him if he knew a 104 year old lady in Taveuni. He replied she is my grandmother and I need to rush since she goes to bed at 5.30 pm . My tour guide then rushed to Salesh’s house. She was very polite in having a conversation with me and told me after the passing away of her husband in Lautoka she she returned to Tavueni. Though Salesh and his family survive on a day to day basis with no luxury it was an experience for me how well he cared for his grandmother. To Salesh and his family may Lord Krishna bless you. -Pravind Kumar

Bechu Prasad was born in Rakiraki, Fiji on 10th May 1900. His parents were originally from Punjab, India and moved to Fiji during the Girmit days. Prasad died in Sabeto, Nadi, Fiji on 6th September 2005 at the age of 105 years, 116 days. He was a recipient of the Member of the British Empire and several other awards for his service to the community. He was also an advisory councilor for many years. Bechu Prasad is currently the oldest known man ever from Fiji.

Shri Hanuman Chalisa with English translation published and distributed free by the Late Ram Narayan ji (More on him a bit later). Ram Narayan's parents Girmitiya Mr. and Mrs. Sukhee, came to Fiji in 1915 from a village called Karma in Basti, Uttar Pradesh, India. They both were simple, nice, hard working, considerate, friendly and cultured individuals. They were devotees of Shri Hanuman ji hence this publication which will live forever.

Mr. and Mrs. Sukhee came on board the Sutlej 5 which was the last ship that arrived in Fiji on November 11th, 1916.

Fijian independence celebrations, 1970. Fiji's new flag is raised during independence celebrations on 10 October 1970. Unlike many other Pacific peoples who were eager to cut colonial ties, many in Fiji were reluctant. By the mid-1950s the Indo-Fijian population was larger than that of indigenous Fijians. Facing the possibility that Indo-Fijians might come to dominate the government, ethnic Fijian leaders demanded that the majority of parliamentarians and the prime minister should always be indigenous Fijians. Although this did not eventuate, an electoral system was put in place that ensured that indigenous Fijian representatives, if allied with Europeans and part-Europeans, would outnumber Indo-Fijian representatives.

Loading sugar cane, 1884. Large sugar cane plantations were established in Fiji in the late 19th century by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. This sugar cane has been harvested on the island of Mango.

The Colonial Sugar Company's Mills. Rewa River, Fiji.

Letter to the editor. Jelal Kalyanji Natali was a New Zealand Indian community leader who often spoke publicly on issues of racial inequality. In this letter of 3 July 1922 to the editor of the Auckland Star he attempts to convey the plight of Indian indentured labourers in Fiji.

Jelal Kalyanji Natali with his wife, Kate.

https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5n1/natali-jelal-kalyanji

Songs written by Indian labourers. The words to these two songs describe the dire living conditions endured by Indian indentured labourers working on sugar plantations in Fiji in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

New Zealand involvement in Fiji's politics. In 1920 British authorities in Fiji requested New Zealand's help in restoring order during a strike and riots by Indian labourers and sugar cane farmers. Prime Minister William Massey responded by sending 60 soldiers (pictured) as members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

Fiji High Commission occupied. A group calling itself the Fiji Freedom Fighters briefly occupied the Fijian High Commission in Wellington in May 1987 after the first coup in Fiji. Many Indo-Fijians left Fiji after the coup. New Zealand was one of four countries (along with Australia, Canada and the US) to which 96% of those leaving went.

News of the 2000 Fiji coup. Here Aucklanders Jioji Tikodei (left), an ethnic Fijian, and Krishna Lal, an Indo-Fijian, read about the 2000 coup in Fiji. The news of another coup in 2000 (there had been two in 1987) caused many Fijians living in New Zealand to react with dismay. The coup was given detailed coverage in the New Zealand media.