Riya Mala 
More than 140 years after thousands of Indians arrived in Fiji under the harsh Girmit system, efforts are now underway to preserve their stories and reconnect descendants with their ancestral roots.
Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs, Culture, Heritage and Arts Charan Jeath Singh says the sacrifices and struggles of the Girmitiyas played a major role in shaping modern Fiji and must never be forgotten.
Speaking ahead of this year’s Girmit Day commemoration, Singh said over 66,000 men, women and children were brought to Fiji under indenture through false promises of a better life.
Instead, many endured years of hardship and labour on plantations, helping build farming communities, tramline networks and the sugar industry that later became the backbone of Fiji’s economy.
Now, Government has begun digitizing fragile Girmit records stored at the national archives, a move Singh says will allow future generations to trace their ancestral history with the click of a button.
“A person will just punch a button and it will take them all the way to where their ancestors came from.”
The digitization project is expected to help descendants identify the villages their ancestors came from in India and even the ships they arrived on.
This year’s Girmit Day commemoration at the Fiji Museum will focus on remembrance and reflection, featuring multi-faith prayers, cultural performances, commemorative stamps and the unveiling of a 50-year Girmit time capsule containing historical records and memories from the celebration.
