HINDI has been spoken in Fiji for the past 140 years and today it has been recognised as one of the three official languages in Fiji.
This was highlighted by the Office of the Prime Minister’s permanent secretary Yogesh Karan while officiating at the Regional Hindi Conference at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva yesterday.
He said the journey of how the Hindi language was brought to Fiji was truly remarkable.
“In 1879 until 1916, over 16,000 men and women, and children were brought from British-India to Fiji under the system of indentured labour or you can say slavery in short,” he said.
“Hundreds of thousands of Fijians today can trace their linkage back to those indentured labourers who arrived in Fiji during the period.
“This time I feel very proud that we have kept the tradition, we have kept the culture and we will continue to do so.”
He said the journey of the girmitiya to Fiji was no mean feat. “The indentured labourers known in Fiji as girmitiya travelled in very harsh conditions and often sometimes inhumane conditions. Some did not survive the long months at sea and those who did, backbreaking labour was demanded from them by the colonial government. “They toiled in the cane farm, they cleared roads, and they did whatever was necessary to support the budding colonial economy.”
