ANI
14 May 2022, 23:55 GMT+10
Suva [Fiji], May 14 (ANI): As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), celebrating 75 years of India's Independence, the Indian High Commission in Fiji, in association with Post Fiji Limited, brought out a set of commemorative postage stamps to mark the 143rd year of the arrival of indentured labourers from the country arriving in the Pacific island.
The arrival of Indian indentured labourers in Fiji during the British rule is marked as Girmit Day in Fiji. During the colonial period, the first Girmits or indentured labourers from India were brought to Fiji on board the Ship "Leonidas" on 14 May 1879. For another 37 years, till the system was abolished, more than 60,000 indentured labourers were brought from India to work in the Sugarcane plantations.
The commemorative stamps and a first-day cover to mark 'Girmit Day' were released by the Prime Minister of Fiji Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama with the High Commissioner of India to Fiji, PS Karthigeyan, at a grand function held at the Suva Civic Centre to mark the 143rd Girmit Day in Fiji.
Fiji's Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Premila Kumar, Minister for Infrastructure and Meteorological Services, Lands and Mineral Resources, Jone Usamate were among the dignitaries present at the function apart from Assistant Ministers, senior Government officers, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Business Leaders, prominent members of the Indian Diaspora and a large number of the general public.
Speaking on the occasion, the Fijian Prime Minister recounted the enormous hardship faced by the indentured labourers who continued to struggle against racial discrimination even after the end of the colonial period in Fiji and underlined the need to make sure that the country does not revert back to such a state again.
He further talked about the importance of a better understanding of the history, heritage and contribution of the Girmitiyas and their descendants to Fiji among the wider sections of the society.
An exhibition of the commemorative stamps was also displayed at the event along with the archive material on Girmit History and Indian tourism. (ANI)
Get a daily dose of Northern Ireland News news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Northern Ireland News.
More InformationDUBAI, UAE: After stating that it was looking to expand into new markets and related sectors, such as financial technology, ...
LONDON, England: London's newest train, the east-west Elizabeth Line subway, is set to open on 24th May.According to Andy Byford, ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: A British man has been charged with hacking into email servers and computers belonging to ...
Boston (Massachusetts) [US], May 19 (ANI): The US' Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday confirmed a single case of ...
Beijing [China], May 19 (ANI): China's 'One China' Principle and its policy, 'One Country, Two Systems' are ironic to each ...
London [UK], May 19 (ANI): Telangana minister KT Rama Rao met British International Trade Minister Ranil Jayawardena in London and ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: A new poll released this week indicated that Indonesian President Joko Widodo's approval rating has hit a six-year ...
EAST JAVA, Indonesia: A tourist bus crashed into a billboard on a highway on Indonesia's main island of Java this ...
BELGRADE, Serbia: Belgrade was paralyzed this week by a series of bomb threats, including against schools, bridges, restaurants and a ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a tweet this week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos criticized President Joe Biden for the second time in ...
TEHRAN, Iran: According to social media posts, protests that began last week across Iran over a reduction in state subsidies ...
BEIJING, China: China's Foreign Ministry rebuked the U.S. for changing the wording about Taiwan on the State Department website, stressing ...