Girmitiyalogy.com A Proposal for the Recognition of 10 September as International Girmitiya Bharatiya Divas,
By Professor Dr. Shardhanand H. Singh, CEO, GGLASC & Leader of Global Girmitiyalogy.
Abstract
This paper analyses the historical, conceptual, and policy foundations of the proposal to
recognise 10 September as International Girmitiya Bharatiya Divas, beginning in 2027. Initiated
by the Global Girmitiya Lineage Archive & Searching Centre (GGLASC) and the academic field of
Girmitiyalogy in Mithila (Bishanpur, Bihar), the proposal seeks to establish an internationally
shared day of remembrance for descendants of Indian indentured labourers. The article situates
the proposal within the broader discourse on migration, diaspora, post-colonial justice,
linguistic heritage, and civilisational continuity, and argues that formal recognition would
contribute to historical redress, scholarly clarity, and sustainable transnational reconnection.
Quote: Pravási Bharatiya Divas does not cover the reality of the Global Girmitiya Community.
- Historical foundation of the proposed date
The selection of 10 September is based on a verifiable historical milestone. On 10 September
1834, thirty-six Indian labourers—described in colonial records as “coolies” or “Dhangars”—
signed five-year labour contracts with George Charles Arbuthnot of Hunter-Arbuthnot &
Company in Mauritius (The Telegraph Online, My Kolkata, 2023). This event constitutes the
earliest documented contractual foundation of the global system of Indian indentured labour
migration to European colonies across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
This system emerged in the aftermath of the formal abolition of African slavery and aimed to
replace enslaved labour with bonded Indian workers. Recruitment was frequently conducted
under misleading conditions, and migrants were transported far from their homeland to work
under severe economic and legal constraints. All were compelled to cross the kala pani, an act
that not only symbolised social rupture but also carried deep religious and cultural
consequences within nineteenth-century Indian society.
While immigration dates differ across receiving colonies, the contractual origin of the system
provides a shared civilisational reference point. The proposed commemoration therefore does
not negate national migration anniversaries but establishes a common historical denominator
for all communities of Girmitiya descent.
- Academic context: the Lucknow University symposium (2026)
The contemporary relevance of this proposal was reinforced during the International
Symposium hosted by Lucknow University on 9–10 January 2026, which focused on the linguistic
heritage of global Girmitiya communities. The keynote address, delivered by Professor Dr
Shardhanand Harinandan Singh, examined the evolution of Bhojpuri into Sarnami (Suriname),
Mauritian Bhojpuri, and Fiji Baat between 1834 and 2025.
The analysis raised a central question: why were Indian languages preserved and transformed
successfully in some colonial contexts while they declined or disappeared in others? The
address highlighted the role of community density, religious institutions, intergenerational
transmission, educational exclusion, and colonial language policies. It also identified significant
research gaps suitable for postgraduate and doctoral scholarship, thereby positioning
Girmitiyalogy as an emerging interdisciplinary field bridging history, linguistics, migration
studies, and archival science. - Conceptual clarification: Diaspora, Pravasi, and Girmitiya
A recurring problem in academic and policy discourse is the interchangeable use of the terms
Diaspora, Pravasi, a-Parvasi, and Girmitiya. Such conceptual ambiguity weakens both research
precision and policy design. In the Indian administrative and cultural context, the following
distinctions are relevant:
- Pravasi Bharatiyas (प्रवासी भारतीय): Overseas Indians who retain Indian nationality.
*Indians living outside India (भारत के बाहर रहने वाले भारतीय लोग): descriptive category. - Indian Diaspora (भारतीय प्रवासी समुदाय): a broader sociological term encompassing.
*Girmitiyas: descendants of indentured labourers who, in most cases, no longer possess
Indian nationality, having no connection with ancestral village, and no right of election.
This distinction is fundamental. Members of the Indian Diaspora often maintain formal political
and legal ties with India, whereas Girmitiya descendants are citizens of their countries of
settlement and relate to India primarily through cultural memory, language, ritual, and
genealogy.
The academic discipline of Girmitiyalogy (गगरममटियालॉजी) has emerged to study precisely this
historically specific population and its long-term consequences as an Anurasi category.
- Social structure and the problem of ancestral reconnection
A central analytical issue concerns the structural difficulty faced by Girmitiya descendants in
reconnecting with ancestral villages in India. Unlike voluntary migrants who preserved family
documentation and legal continuity, indentured migrants were frequently registered under
altered names, inaccurate locations, or incomplete records. This produced a genealogical
rupture that persists across generations.
At the Lucknow symposium, it was therefore recommended that the Government of India
establish an international task force to coordinate historical, legal, and archival research on this
matter. Such a body could integrate shipping registers, colonial contracts, land records, and oral
histories to facilitate systematic reconnection.
Among younger generations within global Girmitiya communities, a renewed emotional and
cultural orientation toward ancestral origins has become increasingly visible. This phenomenon
is often described as Anurasi: a deep affective inclination toward origin, belonging, and
civilisational continuity. It represents not only nostalgia, but also a search for historical dignity
and symbolic repair. - Girmitiya Bharatiya Divas as post-colonial recognition
The proposal to observe Girmitiya Bharatiya Divas annually on 10 September must be
understood within the broader framework of post-colonial justice. While post-independence
India institutionalised the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to honour overseas citizens and contributors
to national development, Girmitiya communities remained largely excluded from this symbolic
recognition. Because 10 september 1834 was the day when the first group of 38 Girmitiyas
signed a 5-year employment agreement to be shipped.
This omission reflects structural blind spots inherited from colonial categorisations, in which
indentured labourers were defined as expendable labour units rather than as bearers of
civilisational identity. The proposed commemoration seeks to correct this imbalance by
acknowledging:
- The coercive foundations of the indenture system.
- The survival of Indian civilisation through community organisation, religious
institutions, and linguistic resilience. - The need for systematic documentation and academic integration of Girmitiya history.
*The importance of global scholarly networks to preserve endangered languages and
cultural forms.
- Digital archiving and heritage diplomacy
From a policy perspective, the proposed observance offers more than symbolic recognition. It
provides a framework for institutional collaboration in digital archiving, curriculum development,
and heritage diplomacy. Platforms such as GGLASC demonstrate how lineage reconstruction
and archival accessibility can become instruments of cultural reconciliation rather than mere
historical cataloguing.
International recognition of this day would strengthen India’s cultural diplomacy by engaging
millions of citizens of Girmitiya origin as civilisational partners rather than marginal historical
remnants. It would also contribute to the global ethics of memory, aligning with UNESCO
principles concerning intangible cultural heritage, multilingualism, and inclusive historiography. - Conclusion
The recognition of 10 September as International Girmitiya Bharatiya Divas represents a
convergence of historical accuracy, conceptual clarity, academic responsibility, and ethical
redress. It acknowledges that the indenture system was not a peripheral episode but a
foundational chapter in the global transformation of Indian civilisation.
By institutionalizing remembrance, supporting scholarly research, and facilitating genealogical
reconnection, such recognition would transform a legacy of displacement into a platform for
dignity, knowledge, and sustainable transnational belonging.