Girmitunited.org has been established to primarily focus on providing information for anyone who is interested in the history of the Indentured Labourers, the "Girmitiyas" who were transported to Fiji by the British under the System of Indenture or GIRMIT which was the term used by the Indian Indenturers.

The British and other European colonial powers started the Indian indenture system in 1838, as a cheap source of labour to their colonies after African slavery was abolished in 1833. Under this system some 1.2 million Indians were transported to the colonies between 1838 and 1916. Some 60,500 Indians were transported to Fiji between 1879 and 1916, when the transportation of indentured Indian laborers was stopped.

The indenture system itself was abolished in 1921.The contracts of the indentured labourers, which they called GIRMIT or agreements, required them to work in Fiji for a certain period of time as specified in their agreements. After 5 years of girmit they were free to return to India on their own expense. After 10 years of girmit, the colonial government was compelled to provide free passage back to India to every girmitiya and their children. In the case of Fiji 25,000 girmitiyas returned to India, many even before 5 years of indenture. However,the majority of the remaining 35,000 Fiji girmitiyas remained in Fiji and it is argued that they were prevented from returning to India by the colonial government of Fiji and the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) of Australia. This was done to ensure continued supply of Indian labour to Fiji's sugar industry, on which Fiji's economy depended at that time. The majority of the Indo-Fijians are direct descendants of these exiled girmitiyas of Fiji. This website is a homage to these girmitiyas and their children.

It is our duty to document and preserve the experiences of the Girmitiyas for the current and future generations before it is too late.  We need to see more literature on this topic as opposed to more academic writing full of statistics.  These writing need to be simple, easy to read, supported by good quality pictures which in my view will catch the attention of the new generation. All Fiji Indians have a moral responsibility to assist each other as much as possible in documenting these works. This is very easily said but in practical terms, this has been one of major weaknesses among us. 

~ Dr Kamlesh Sharma 
Author & Publisher 
KPS Publications 

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