This year, Girmit Diwas celebration goes virtual amid Covid-19 pandemic

The driving force behind the virtual memorial was to keep alive the memories of those first Indian indentured labourers who by their sacrifices and hardships, paved the way for the success and adulation enjoyed by their descendants

Girmit Diwas, which is an important annual celebration held on May 14 by the Fijian Indians living in Queensland, could not be organised with its usual gaiety this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in order to keep the spirit of the celebration alive, a virtual memorial service in honour of the first Indians to arrive on Fiji Islands was organised on Facebook live platform by the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Queensland, in collaboration with Australian Indian Radio.

Sponsored by Austec Services, Cornerstone Law Offices, Globenet Realty and RS Enterprises Qld Ltd, the virtual memorial was hosted by OAM Umesh Chandra and Pravinita Singh of Cornerstone Law Offices. Chandra and his wife are familiar faces across the Queensland community because of their selfless commitment to serving the local community. He also happens to be the publisher and editor of Brisbane Indian Times as well as the Founding President of the GOPIO Queensland chapter.

Video messages keep the spirit up

The show, which was slated to feature key note video messages, snippets of past years’ programmes and video presentation of Kolkata Memorial (inaugurated in 2011), commenced with the lighting of lamps and candles in front of a plaque bearing a brief written account of the history of Girmityas. Chandra was accompanied by his wife Usha, Pravinita Singh and Rakesh Sharma, the current President of GOPIO’s Queensland Chapter for this ceremony. This was followed by a slide show of images capturing the painful yet glorious past of the Girmityas who braved adversities and despite a harsh beginning went on to embrace Fiji as their home away from their motherland. Both the hosts kept on reiterating the significance of narrating the history of the Girmityas ----indentured labourers who signed agreements with atrocious clauses hampering their individual rights to work on sugarcane plants in British colonies lest their progeny should forget their sacrifices. They emphatically endorsed the fact that though it was a dark beginning for an otherwise renowned community which is as much an integral part of Fiji and Queensland as any other community, instead of harbouring shame their current descendants should draw inspiration and strength from them which should in turn make them feel proud of their lineage and heritage.

Rakesh Sharma, who was at the studio, gave a brief insight into the history of GOPIO which has 76 chapters across the globe with the Queensland chapter coming to existence in 2008. Paying homage to the sacrifices and ordeals of the Girmitiyas, he also highlighted GO- PIO’s role in celebrating the Girmit Diwas every year and in order to continue with the yearly tradition, this memorial service had been organised on a virtual platform.

Video messages talk about Girmityas’ history

Among the past years’ snippets of key note speeches played on the show, one of the most noteworthy ones was by the Honorary Counsel for India in Queensland Mrs Archana Singh, which was delivered by her on the occasion of the 2014 Girmit Diwas Remembrance. She had recounted the brief history of the Girmityas and how their mass exodus, albeit one shrouded in deception by their colonial masters who made them sign away their freedom, began when the first ship Leonidas arrived at the Levuka harbour bearing the first set of indentured labourers on May 14, 1879. She praised the buoyant spirits of these early Indians who were subjected to unimaginable atrocities while working on the sugarcane plantations and how some who were able to return home after serving their period of indenture managed to bring to light the deplorable conditions of the Girmityas. With the help of freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu and a Christian Missionary, CF Andrews who fought for their rights, the horrific indentured labour system came to an end on December 31, 1919. She urged everyone to honour the memory of the Girmityas and to remember their story of struggle amid harsh circumstances with pride.

Girmitiyas at Rarawai Mill

Another speech from the same celebration played on the show was by the former editor of Fiji Times, Vijendra Kumar. He narrated how the birth of the abhorrent indentured labour system was a result of the banning of the slavery system. He also threw light on the Australian connection with the history of Indo-Fijians who were exploited by the setting up of the sugar industry by the sugar giants, Australian Colonial Sugar Refining Company in 1882. This company reaped benefits from the indentured labourers who worked on the sugarcane plantations.

Among the other videos of keynote speakers from past years were those of Vinita Khushal, former president of GOPIO Queensland; HariRaniga, Honorary Counsel for Fiji in Queensland; and Bob Pillay, one of the partners of Cornerstone Law Offices.

Kriti Lata Ram, President of GO- PIO Triolet of Mauritius, also paid tribute to the Girmityas through a video message by giving an account of their tragic history and acknowledged their contribution and that of their descendants to the political, economic and social development of Fiji.

The hosts also shared a very enlightening and informative clipping of Rajendra Prasad, a third generation Indo-Fijian, a descendant of Indian indentured labourers to Fiji who has authored the book “Tears in Paradise” which traces the tragic story of the Girmitiyas .

A video grab of Girmit Diwas celebration being inaugurated by (extreme Left) OAM Umesh Chandra, accompanied by his wife Mrs Usha Chandra, Rakesh Sharma, President of GOPIO’s Queensland Chapter, and Pravinita Singh of Cornerstone Law Offices. The plaque in the middle bears a brief written account of the history of Girmityas

Umesh Chandra concluded the show by sharing a clip of the Indian Arrival Day celebrations, which is an equivalent of Fiji’s Girmit Diwas, in Trinidad and Tobago that featured a stage item where a folk song was being performed with paintings of various ships, one of them being the Leonidas, carrying indentured labourers to imperial colonies such as Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius and other such places.

A video grab of OAM Umesh Chandra and Pravinita Singh of Cornerstone Law Offices hosting the virtual memorial at Australian Indian Radio on the occasion of Girmit Diwas celebrations

This year despite the global crisis brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been no dampening effect on the spirit of the Girmit Remembrance Day for this virtual memorial has ensured that the thread of continuity is not broken.

By Deepika Banerji