World Girmit Day 2026: The Hostility Hindu Girmitiyas Endured from Fiji Missionaries and Colonial Press

By Vishaarad 

On this World Girmit Day, celebrated annually on May 24, let’s have a look at the treatment Hindus faced when they initially arrived in Fiji. 

Missionaries in Fiji expressed deep anxiety at the arrival of Hindu indentured laborers, fearing the spread of “idolatry” and the erosion of Christian influence. Primary sources reveal their alarm at the persistence of Hindu rituals, temples, and resistance to conversion.

Reactions of the people of influence in those times in Fiji i.e missionaries, newspapers prove the xenophobia faced by the Hindus. 

Methodist missionary Rev. Joseph Waterhouse, writing in 1879 after the arrival of the Leonidas, warned: “The influx of Hindoo coolies threatens to flood these islands with heathenism. Their idols, their caste prejudices, and their heathen festivals will corrupt the natives and undo the work of the Gospel.”  The Fiji Times (May 1879), reflecting missionary sentiment, reported: “The arrival of the Indian coolies is a matter of grave concern. They bring with them strange gods and customs which may imperil the moral fabric of our Christian colony.”  Methodist Missionary Conference minutes (1880) noted: “We must guard against the spread of Hindoo superstition. Already temples are being erected, and sacrifices offered. Unless checked, this heathen influx will rival our mission work.” 

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Rajendra Prasad, in Tears in Paradise, cites missionary correspondence: “The missionaries feared that the Girmitiyas, with their gods and rituals, would contaminate the Fijians, undoing decades of Christianization.” 

Why did missionaries fear influx of Hindus on the Island?

There were many reasons Hindus were seen with suspicion. Missionary fear was twofold: 1) Religious contamination – Hindus were seen as bringing “idolatry” and “superstition”, 2) Cultural resilience – Despite indenture hardships, Girmitiyas maintained temples, festivals (e.g., Ram Naumi, Holi), and caste practices, which missionaries viewed as a direct challenge to Christian dominance.

In addition, Colonial authorities often sided with missionaries, restricting Hindu religious expression in plantations, yet Girmitiyas continued clandestine worship and later built temples openly in Navua, Nausori, and Labasa.

North-South Hindu divide

The construction of a North-South Hindu divide during the indenture period in Fiji (1879–1916) was not a naturally occurring friction, but rather a byproduct of colonial administrative logic, linguistic barriers, and missionary interventions. While both groups shared a foundational faith, the British "divide and rule" strategy codified regional differences into rigid social categories.

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Colonial Administrative Categorization:

The British colonial government in Fiji viewed the indentured laborers (Girmityas) through a lens of bureaucratic efficiency. This led to the formal separation of "Calcuttyas" (those embarking from Calcutta, largely from North India) and "Madrasis" (those embarking from Madras, largely from South India).

Linguistic Isolation: The administration promoted Fiji Hindi (derived from Awadhi and Bhojpuri) as the lingua franca of the plantations. South Indians, arriving in larger numbers later in the period (1903 onwards), often spoke Tamil, Telugu, or Malayalam. Their inability to communicate fluently in the North Indian dialects led to social isolation and the colonial label of being "difficult" or "uncooperative."

Settlement Patterns: Colonial authorities often settled laborers based on their port of origin to simplify management, which inadvertently created geographic enclaves that mirrored the North-South divide of the subcontinent.

Missionary Activity and the "Dravidian" Narrative

Missionaries and early ethnographers played a significant role in applying European racial theories to the Indian population in Fiji.

The Aryan vs. Dravidian Myth: Evangelists influenced by 19th-century philology often categorized North Indians as "Aryans" and South Indians as "Dravidians." This was not merely a linguistic distinction but was framed as a racial and cultural hierarchy.

Targeted Proselytization: Missionaries sometimes found greater success or focused more intensely on South Indian communities, perceiving them as more "oppressed" by the Brahmanical structures of the North. This created a secondary layer of tension, as conversion to Christianity occasionally became a flashpoint between the two groups.

Cultural and Ritual Divergence

While both groups identified as Hindu, the colonial environment stripped away the nuance of their practices, forcing them into a binary comparison.

 The Impact of the "Madrasi" Stigma

Colonial records often reflect a systemic bias against South Indians.

The colonial state utilized these differences to prevent a unified "Indian" identity from forming, which would have posed a greater threat to the plantation economy. By highlighting the "clannishness" of the Madrasis or the "orthodoxy" of the Calcuttyas, the missionary and colonial apparatus ensured that the Hindu community remained preoccupied with internal boundary-maintenance rather than collective resistance.

Despite these constructed divisions, the shared trauma of the Kulli (Coolie) experience eventually birthed a unique Indo-Fijian identity that, in the post-indenture era, sought to bridge these gaps through consolidated religious bodies like the Sanatan Dharm and the Then India Sanmarga Ikya (TISI) Sangam.

During the Indenture period in Fiji (1879–1920), many infants, sick, and elderly Girmitiyas in Navua and other plantation areas were buried without proper Hindu rituals due to harsh plantation conditions, lack of priests, and restrictions imposed by colonial authorities. The Vancouver-based Colonial Sugar Refinery (CSR) company oversaw these plantations, and records show that deaths were frequent, with burials often carried out hastily and without the traditional rites.

Hindu Burials Under Indenture

Indenture hardships: Girmitiyas faced poor living conditions, disease, and malnutrition. Infant and elderly deaths were common.

Absence of ritual specialists: Hindu priests were scarce, and plantation managers discouraged elaborate rituals.

Navua plantations: CSR’s Navua mill was one of the sites where Indo-Fijians worked under indenture. Burials here were often without cremation or full rites.

Cultural trauma: The lack of proper samskaras (funeral rites) was deeply distressing, as Hindu tradition emphasizes cremation and ritual purity.

How discrimination led to cultural sabotage of Hindus? 

1. Loss of ritual continuity: Cremation, mantras, and shraddha rites were often impossible.

2. Diaspora memory: Indo-Fijian oral histories recall the pain of “unritualized” burials.

3. CSR’s role: As a Vancouver-based company, CSR prioritized profit over cultural needs, leaving Girmitiyas spiritually bereft.

Burial Sites in Navua

CSR Navua Mill Cemetery: Archival records and oral histories note that Girmitiyas who died on plantations were buried in unmarked graves near the mill. Infants and elderly were often interred without cremation.

Lack of cremation grounds: Hindu tradition requires cremation by riversides, but CSR restricted access to land and firewood. Navua’s riverbanks were often off-limits.

Oral testimony: Descendants recall “mass burials” where plantation overseers ordered quick interments without mantras or priests.

Reference / Bibliography

1. Totaram Sanadhya, My Twenty-One Years in Fiji – First-hand account of Girmitiya life, including descriptions of improper burials.

2. Hinduism under Indenture: Totaram Sanadhya’s Account of Fiji (JSTOR) – Analysis of Sanadhya’s writings on disrupted rituals. 

3. Hinduism in Fiji – Wikipedia – Overview of Hindu practices among Indo-Fijians, noting indenture disruptions. 

4. New Girmit.org  – Arrival of Indians to Fiji – Documents living conditions and deaths during indenture. 

5. K.L. Gillion, Fiji’s Indian Migrants: A History to the End of Indenture – Classic scholarly work on indenture, including burial practices.

6. Brij V. Lal, Chalo Jahaji: On a Journey Through Indenture in Fiji – Detailed account of Girmitiya experiences, including death and burial.

7. Adrian Mayer, Indians in Fiji – Ethnographic study noting cultural loss and burial practices.

8. John Kelly, A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji – Discusses ritual disruptions under CSR.

9. CSR Company Records (Vancouver/Colonial Sugar Refinery Archives) – Administrative records on plantation deaths and burials.

10. Ashwin Raj, “Girmit and the Politics of Memory” (Fiji Studies Journal) – Notes trauma of improper burials in Navua and other sites.

11. Totaram Sanadhya, My Twenty-One Years in Fiji (1914).

12. “Hinduism under Indenture: Totaram Sanadhya’s Account of Fiji.” JSTOR.

13. “Hinduism in Fiji.” Wikipedia.

14. “The Arrival of Indians to Fiji during the Indenture System.” NewGirmit.org..

15. Gillion, K.L. Fiji’s Indian Migrants: A History to the End of Indenture. Oxford University Press, 1962.

16. Lal, Brij V. Chalo Jahaji: On a Journey Through Indenture in Fiji. ANU Press, 2000.

17. Mayer, Adrian. Indians in Fiji. Oxford University Press, 1963.

18. Kelly, John. A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji. University of Chicago Press, 1991.

19. Colonial Sugar Refinery Company Records, Vancouver Archives.

20. Raj, Ashwin. “Girmit and the Politics of Memory.” Fiji Studies Journal, 2004.

(Author is a 4th generation Fiji Indian)