Diaspora and Girmitiya are two different terms. Diaspora includes Girmitiya as it represents the huge numbers of Indians who have been successfully established in European, Latin American, Caribbean, and African countries or Europe. But here there is a very remarkable difference between Girmitiya and Diaspora. Diaspora includes everybody, but Girmitiya is an exclusive body which includes the descendants of those who went on a contract to work in nations like Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad, and Tobago. Girmitiya are different in the way that they are the descendants of the indentured labourers who were taken outside India by the European masters, and they were treated or ill-treated in many ways. That is a different story. So Diaspora should not be used in the same way that Girmitiya is used to indicate the indentured labourers’ descendants.
- 12 Sep
- 2025