Fiji Girmit

Fiji Girmit Day is on 14th of May. Girmit comes from the word agreement and those that served were called Girmitiyas.
The ancestors of the majority of Fiji Indians (a thriving global community), were part of the 61,000 Indian men, women, children and infants tricked, trafficked, tormented, toiled and torn in Fiji, from their motherland India by the British Raj between 14th May, 1879 to 1920. They were part of the nearly two million Indians abused and displaced globally, by the colonial western empires from 1833 to 1920. It was slavery's replacement to ensure cheap labour continues to the colonies. Slavery was abolished by the British Parliament on 1st August, 1834.
 
Arthur Gordon, the first governor of Fiji, decided to utilize the Indian people to meet the labour shortage caused by the native Fijians' prohibition of commercial employment after Fiji's annexation to British in 1874 and by the increasing uncertainty and cost of the Polynesian labour trade.
 
Starting in 1987, endless coups and Fiji laws not allowing Indians legal ownership of 94% of land has pushed most Fiji Indians overseas who struggle with cultural and language preservation issues e.g. Teaching of Hindi in schools which they re-established in Fiji post Girmit but have now lost in the overseas countries where they have settled e.g. New Zealand, Australia, USA etc. The images below show how the ships were packed with the workers and the girl's photo on the left sums Girmit up very well. The anger in the eyes, the disgust in the nose, the sadness in the mouth and pain of the bent back.
 

Colonial Poverty led our ancestors in search of employment. They were ready to work in far away places, but had always intended of coming home. When they boarded those ships, they never went in thinking that they would be replacing the slaves. They had thumb stamped 'agreements' (Girmit) which was written in English and no they were not illiterate, they mostly spoke and wrote Hindi (like me and millions of others till today). They carried with them the Ram Charit Manas (2nd longest book after the Mahabharat, in the world!). It is a poetic book which I and millions of others read in public gatherings till today and it is listened to by millions, if not at least a billion people worldwide. This recital is always accompanied by music (Harmonium & Dholak). Most Fiji Indians are talented musicians. I also play a bit. Another evidence of them not being Illiterate was that one of the Girmitiyas (Pundit Totaram Sanadhya) spent 21 years in Fiji and then went to India to publish a book where he is documenting that there was a huge demand for Hindi publications from India. Illiterate people do not keep books. Those who were illiterate, they learnt from others. Most Girmitiyas came from the Gangetic plain. Around Ma Ganga. 25% were recruited in Madras. Pundit Totaram Sanadhya is the only Girmitiya ever to publish a book about his first hand Girmit experiences!
 
During the sea voyage Hundreds died at sea. They did not have proper funeral or post funeral rights as is required for Hindus or Sanatanis, who were the majority. Of these, most came from the Gangetic plain, near Ma Ganga and 25% were recruited in Madras. Once in Fiji, there are some documentation of the Girmitiyas being isolated, cleaned and "Sold to Farms". Fiji in particular had one of the highest rates of suicide. Infant mortality was high and so was rape, abuse, pregnant ladies were made to work. Many Children and babies died due to mums being in farms. Child labor was also practiced. Sugarcane farms require back breaking work. The sugarcane leaves are like razor blades and the canes are as hard as rocks. The tropical heat is unbearable. Imagine working 9-14 hours per day in such an environment among toads, mosquitoes, flies, rodents and supervisors with whips and bamboos to beat you. They were kept in Tiny 6 by 8 foot Huts & Lanes with insufficent food.
 
Medical Neglect and Systematic Racism was practiced. Unsuccessful conversion attempts were also made. There were no schools. Infact, the Government only started building schools when people started moving back to India after Girmit finished. Low Female Education participation was a huge issue. The images below illustrates how Girmit was Slavery's Replacement. Concrete and steel was used to cage them. Aapra Vasi Ghat in Mauritius (middle of the image below) is the only surviving facility in the world which shows what the conditions were like. It is similar to Ghana's 'Door of No Return' as seen in the Netflix movie Sankofa which is very similar to what the Girmitiyas would have faced. They were just number. In Fiji, all such structures on the Main Islands have been dismantled, Girmit Day is not promoted to the level that is should be, it was not promoted in the 1990s and early 2000s when I was schooling there. It appears as if all memories of Girmit is attempted to be wiped out from the memories of the children of these Girmitiyas who have made Fiji what it is today. But nevertheless, there is a huge regeneration of interest in the subject in the age of Social Media. Numerous movements across the world have started.
 

 
After 5 years of Girmit, the Girmitiyas were free to return to India at their own expense but this hardly happened as hungry people buy food first, not save for a boat fare. Those who could by working extra hours got hit with fake prosecutions and court fines. The government was supposed to provide a free return passage after 10 years - 40% returned home to India, the rest did not because although the fare was free, not many ships were made available for the journey back to India. They still had to pay for the resettlement in India and as stated previously, hungry people buy food first, not save for relocation expenses.
These images below show how the children got hoes instead of toys. The schools made by the Indians when the Government did not have now had the Indian word wiped out, across Fiji by the previous government who came to power after the 2006 coup, even though these schools have taught countless students of all backgrounds. These images also show old thatched roofs which still exist in parts of Fiji today but a vast majority live under basic corrugated iron constructions. Insecurity of land tenure does not warrant proper house constructions, nor does it allow for taking mortgages or insurance. There have been cases of overnight evictions and even people dismantling their homes and taking it to settle somewhere else. My own house was overtaken because it could not be legally sold when we moved to New Zealand. The current state of Fiji is that a lot of people live in poverty and squatter settlements are a common sight. The only Hindi publication which I learnt alot from. the Shanti Dut is no longer running. Hundreds of temples have been desecrated and most are under deprived state due to the land and migration issue. Endless Coups has driven a lot of Fiji Indians overseas.
 
The Indian media in New Zealand and most other places is obsessed with Bollywood songs which is what led me to open Manukau Indian FM - a 24/7 online radio which only plays Indian cultural songs and I talk about Indian festivals and current affairs on Facebook live sessions and YouTube videos. In other past colonies we have observed that Indians are the majority and in Government in Mauritius, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. In Fiji they have been made a forced minority. Nearly 200,000 Indians have reportedly migrated. In Suriname, Indians are the majority but have faced coups and migration. They are a minority in Malaysia where they also faced Institutional racism, In Natal/South Africa, Jamaica, East Africa (Kenya), Reunion (France), Seychelles, St Lucia, Grenada, Singapore, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Kitts, Indians are also in a minority which raises similar issues which we see in New Zealand e.g. Hindi not being taught in schools and lack of cultural awareness due to being uprooted all the time. In Uganda, which was not a colony but where a lot of Indians settled from Kenya, Indians were expelled among Non Indian Asians in 1972 by the dictator Idi Amin.
 

 

Slavery By Another Name

The Planters paid a price of 210 for each Coolie to the Immigration Department in advance. They were instructed by the Agent General to come and collect their Coolies from the Nukulau Depo!
- Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dweep Me Mere 21 Varsh (My 21 Years In Fiji Islands), Bhaarti Bhawan - Agra, Early 1900s, pp. 14.Downloaded from: https://manukauindianfm.nz/girmit-books.html
 
Pundit Totaram Sanadhya ji was the only Girmitiya ever to write a book on his experiences in Fiji. His book and activism helped to end this Slavery.

Colonial Sugar Refinery - CSR's history in Fiji, New Zealand and Australia is written in detail here https://manukauindianfm.nz/girmit-csr-auck.html.

Praneil's personal Girmit story is written in detail here https://manukauindianfm.nz/girmit-praneil-story.html

Identity, Language and Culture of a Fiji Indian Hindu Sanatani Girmitiya Descendent is described in an article by Praneil here https://manukauindianfm.nz/girmit-identity-language.html