The girmitya succeeded in Fiji because of their unshakable principles of dignity, equality, justice and self-respect, said Deputy Prime Minister Prof Biman Prasad.
He made the comments while opening the 145TH Girmit Commemoration celebrations in Lautoka yesterday.
“One must understand the immeasurable and irreplaceable contribution that our forefathers and their descendants have made to the social, political and economic advancement of Fiji,” he said.
“Whether members of the Indo-Fijian diaspora are here or settled abroad, it is our patriotic duty to our motherland, the land of our birth to ensure that our beloved nation is a beacon of hope and land of opportunity,” he said.
“This is not celebrating indenture or slavery.
“It is a celebration of our forefathers’ determination to triumph over slavery or servitude and make Fiji their new home.”
Prof Prasad said the girmityas succeeded because of their “unshakable principles of dignity, equality, justice and self-respect.”
“They did not receive nor ever demanded any assistance from the colonial government for education, social security, pension, transport assistance or grants to increase sugarcane production.
“But they passed on knowledge and strength to their children and through them to future generations on how and when to peacefully seek solutions to the above issues.”
