Kreetika Kumar 
It is critical for us to develop a collective memory for Fiji so that more knowledge is available about the Girmitiya and the changes that came with them.
Speaking during the Girmit Day celebrations, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says young people from all communities need a greater awareness of the Girmitiyas experience and other seminal events of the past.
Rabuka says when Girmityas came ashore, Fiji’s future slowly began to take shape.
He adds that the commemoration is linked to healing, rebuilding, and restoration in Fiji.
Rabuka says Girmit descendants made careers in the civil service, the trades, professions, academia, and politics and also attained prominence in many areas of social and political life.
“The Girmityas gave Fiji the gift of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that became one of the most loved annual celebrations. It is a truly national spectacle, bringing all our peoples together.”
According to Rabuka, from 1879 to 1916, 60,000 people from India crossed the vast seas to our shores to become indentured labourers on Fiji’s sugar cane plantations.
He adds that the words “girmit” and “girmitiya” stem from the Indian pronunciation of the employment agreements signed by these new workers.
Agreement became Girmit.
The four day national event comes to an end today.
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