happy fiji girmit day: The stolen history of girmit and Why we remain ignorant of our Past

“The woman turns around in fear, and puts her hands in entreaty. the whip comes down upon her half naked back and legs. the child is struck also. both are crying and screaming and the mounted brute almost puts his horse’s hoofs upon her….” (The violence and atrocities of Girmit, from Rajendra Prasad's “Tears in Paradise.)

In his historic epic, “Tears in Paradise”, Rajendra Prasad adds:

Pain from the wounds of Girmit resided in the hearts and minds of its victims and their families, but it failed to find expression publicly or in history books. …the Indo Fijians, who were a significant part of fiji and had made an enormous contribution towards its economic, social, cultural and political development, had escaped the history books.

What that effectively means is that there is a vacuum as far as contribution on Fiji Indians to Fiji’s or Pacific’s History is concerned.

Those of you who came through Fiji’s education system would recall that in primary and secondary school history, you learnt about early history of indigenous Fijians, about provincial tribal wars and their legends. You would have also learnt about the prowess and courage of various White European explorers and the British Empire, the Royals family and so on.

14 May, 1879 when it all started. The first ship, Leonidas with first batch of Indian Girmitiyas, hit Levuka on 14 May, 1879, but could only dock on the 15th May, because of bad weather. That is why, Fiji Girmit Day could interchangeably be referred to as either on the 14th or 15th May. These both dates are factually correct.

However, as far as Fiji’s development history is concerned, apart from a few sentences about indentured labourers from India brought to work on cane farms, because the other migrants were unsuccessful, there is no account of what went on in the whipping, punching, kicking, suicide and raping cane fields of early Fiji. They were completely missed by history books – FIJI INDIAN hISTORy hAS BeeN STOLeN By The AXIS OF eVILS: BRITISh, AUSTRALIANS AND CSR.

I hope when we are gone, our children will remember the sacrifices our generation made for their brighter future.

To awaken the dead conscience of Fiji Indians towards their Girmitiyas, I quote the following powerful extract from the pages of Rajendra Prasad’s “Tears in Paradise” even in the stillness of cane stalks, one can almost feel the powerful presence a lamentation, composed under these traumatic circumstances by one of the Girmitiyas, reflects the depth of their suffering:

Professor Brij Lal (R), with former Founding Trustee of Fiji Girmit Foundation NZ, Pundit Devakar during Girmit Remembrance Day in Auckland in May 2014. The Foundation was behind continuous request to Fiji Government for Girmit Public Holiday but has not been acknowledged for their efforts.

"churi, kudaari ke sung, ab bitay din aur ratian, ganne ki hari hari patiya, jaane hamari dil ki batiyaan sacrifices and pay our tribute to our Girmitiya forebears, a generation that must remain exalted and very high above every other generation. vision of Fiji having a Girmit Public Holiday. Neither he nor Fiji Girmit Foundation NZ have been acknowledged for this feat. of the spirits of sorrow and grief exuding from these sugarcane fields. they are the spirits of our ancestors. the desperate cries of the Girmitiyas echoed from 1879 -1919 in the fields, but it was not until later that the outside world came to their rescue. when their white masters turned away their faces and the victims seethed in agony, the Girmitiyas found comfort in relating their anguish to the trees and plants around them. a folk song called Bidesia,

Front Cover of Rajendra Prasad’s epic, “TEARS IN PARADISE –Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji -1879-2004.” This book is highly recommended reading for anybody wishing to learn about the emotional account of Fiji’s Girmit History. While the print edition is out of stock, it is available at Amazon.com.

In these couplets, the lyricist tells of the widespread suffering of the Girmitiyas’ work in the sugarcane fields, saying that the knife and hoe are their companions day and night. atrocities against them are so blatant that even the green leaves of sugarcane bear witness to the flames of anguish that consume their heart.

May we be thankful to the sacrifices of our forebears. Let us remember them on 14 May, in some small way, as we mark Independence Day or Thanksgiving Day, Australia Day, ANZAC or Waitangi Day. Let us remember them by dedicating every 14 May as GIRMIT REMEMBRANCE DAY.

A salute to Sitiveni Rabuka for declaring GIRMIT DAY a Public Holiday from 2023.

And thanks to FIJI GIRMIT FOUNDATION NZ, which has been relentlessly seeking this recognition from Fiji Governments since