about 13 million
Girmitiya descendants, re-anchored to their roots
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is commended for his historic commitment to honouring the global Girmitiya community, and for recognising their contributions to their adopted lands, to India and to the preservation of Indian culture. By highlighting the resilience, grit and cultural preservation of indentured labourers in addresses in Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Seychelles, Kenya and Uganda, by engaging Girmitiya communities in Holland, the USA, the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand, and through two Presidential visits to Suriname (by President Murmu and President Ram Nath Kovind), he has given a voice to a historical narrative long overlooked. In every Girmitiya country he visited, he spoke of their importance to their homeland and to India as matri bhoomi.
His words have been backed by action:
- A global mapping database connecting descendants with their ancestral villages
- OCI card eligibility extended to the sixth and seventh generations
- Girmitiya conferences
- Preservation of heritage sites, including Apravasi Ghat in Mauritius, and sites in Fiji, Guyana and Suriname
- Consideration of requests to help digitise documents on the pioneering Girmitiyas and early descendants, including those scattered across India
- Consideration of a virtual museum or digital library of Girmitiya materials
Together, these initiatives turn a painful colonial legacy into a bond of shared heritage and pride, and draw the diaspora closer to India as an enduring bridge, strengthening ties with Bharat.
