Kreetika Kumar 
Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad says Girmitya’s legacy must live on.
The National Girmit Day celebration will be remembered for its vibrancy, colour, and inclusivity.
Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad says Girmitya’s legacy must live on.
Prasad says the historic and immeasurable role the Girmityas played in the transition of Fiji from 96 years of colonial rule to independence in 1970 is applauded and recognised.
He says the descendants of the Girmitiyas have also done the nation proud both locally and internationally in the fields of economy, education, politics, and law.
Prasad says that the founding of schools, the building of temples, mosques, and churches, and the preservation of languages, culture, and tradition are hallmarks of the principles of self-dignity and respect inculcated by the girmitiya in their descendants and passed on from one generation to another.
“One way of ensuring this is through the education of our children about the sacrifices and struggle for dignity and justice for our Girmityas. But that is one small step towards protecting the legacy of the Girmitya.”
The DPM has also acknowledged Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for his decision to declare Girmit Day a national public holiday.
In his address, Rabuka says the new National Holiday honors the Girmit pioneers from India as well as their descendants who live in Fiji.
It has become more than a tribute and a commemoration as the story if Girmit is at the centre of a new national movement on peace and reconciliation.
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