FOR ALOK AGARWAL : MY UNKNOWN AND UNSEEN INDIAN FRIEND

                                    

                                     

                                         

For Alok Agarwal  : The First Name on the Stone, Hudson River Front

A face never seen, but a name known by heart :  Alok Agarwal.

I go for a walk every morning on the Hudson River front. The city is still waking up, the water is quiet, and there at the top of the black stone is that name, facing the new One World Trade Centre across the river , where the Towers once stood, where he once worked.

I must stop there. Every single morning, I must stop.

Thirty-six. Senior programmer at Cantor Fitzgerald. A brilliant career ahead, a promotion waiting. He had come from Delhi in 1997 carrying dreams, not knowing that four years later an ordinary Tuesday would take it all.

A cruel and barbaric act that  took 2977 innocent lives. All of them had harmed no one. Alok simply went to work, like people still do every morning : coffee in one hand, mobile in the other, laptop in the rucksack. He left his Jersey City apartment and never came back.

The Hudson keeps flowing. The river does not know, does not remember. The ferries still cross, the coffee is still hot, the phones still ring. On the promenade, joggers and runners weave skillfully through the crowd. The world does not pause. It cannot pause. It goes on, weaving around memory, as if nothing happened. And yet, everything happened.

In that crowd, one feels as if, he is still there , rushing for the 8:30 ferry, lost in thought, perhaps a little homesick.

When his wife left for India that August, he said, "When you go, I feel lonely in the house." A loneliness of weeks for him became a loneliness of twenty-five years for her. A little son waited in Delhi. November was Diwali , it was to be their family reunion. Alas, November never came.

Now his name is first on the stone. First to be touched by the morning sun. First to be read by anyone who passes. The city, without knowing, kept him closest.

I thank the citizens of Jersey City who raised this memorial so that memory never dies. Because of them, he is not a number. Against a river that forgets and a sky that does not answer, this stone insists , a small, stubborn human revolt that says: he was here, he mattered.

It is not only me, but every passing person who pauses here, moved, eyes moist, tracing names on cold granite. Some leave flowers, some whisper prayers. The salvaged steel feels warm with grief. Strangers become kin, united in quiet reverence before the river that carried survivors homeward that September day.And the mind aches for all the innocents who kissed their families goodbye that morning and never returned home after that day.

Be happy wherever you are, Alok. The world moves on because it must. But love refuses to move on. Those who knew you and loved you will carry you till their last breath. I am certain about this  May your friends, well-wishers and family always cherish your sweet memories. May you attain Sadgati and Moksha . Rest in peace, my unknown friend.

"Chhup gaye woh saaz-e-hasti chhed kar,

Ab toh bas awaaz hi awaaz hai..."

(He disappeared after striking the chords of existence,

Now there is nothing but the echo of his sound.)

( Avtar Mota)

PS

The Jersey City 9/11 Memorial stands on the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway at the foot of Grand Street in the Paulus Hook neighborhood near Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey, directly opposite the World Trade Center site across the Hudson River. The location itself is historically significant, having served as a triage site during the 9/11 boatlift that brought survivors to safety and later as a staging area for rescue operations. The memorial comprises three distinct components: a powerful sculpture made from six steel girders salvaged from the original World Trade Center joined together to form the letter A symbolizing America, an inscribed black granite stele bearing names, and a Makeshift Memorial that often holds personal tributes. The site is at sea level, wheelchair accessible, open year-round, and offers panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline. It honours thirty-eight individuals from Jersey City who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Surrounded by urban buildings, ferries, and PATH connections, it provides a solemn, contemplative space for remembrance along a popular walking and cycling route. Dark stone plaque detail and urban backdrop make it a poignant highlight for visitors seeking historical reflection and waterfront serenity. Nearby routes connect it to other landmarks, encouraging quiet strolls at any daylight hour daily.

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.

MINORITIES IN AFGHANISTAN : 1977 AND 2026

                                  

                                                             

MINORITIES  IN AFGHANISTAN:  1977 AND  2026

Apart from trade and commerce , Afghan Hindus and Sikhs were the educated urban class known as Hindki. They worked as Ayurvedic Tabibs and Hakims, running pharmacy shops, importing medicines from India and travelling as itinerant doctors to villages. They worked as accountants, scribes and bookkeepers for both the state and private bazaars, running the currency exchange system. As bankers in the 1800s, they financed Afghan kings and even the British army, and after getting full citizenship under Amanullah Khan, they entered civil service and the military, and by the 1960s-70s every hospital and university in Kabul, Jalalabad and Kandahar had Hindu and Sikh doctors and professors. They ran textile and dry-fruit factories, exported precious stones, and sat in Parliament and Loya Jirga. In short, they were the doctors, teachers, clerks and factory owners of Afghanistan, not just its shopkeepers.

KABUL 1977

Shor Bazaar smelled of Heeng and dry fruit. 

Mohan Lal Kapoor opened his cloth shop at 7 am under Asamai hill. Next to him, Gurbachan Singh opened his Kirana; next to him, Ismail the carpenter. Nobody said Hindu shop or Sikh shop. It was just Dukaan. Mohan Lal's family had been in Kabul for six generations since Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time. They spoke Pashto at the market, Dari at home, Punjabi at Gurdwara. In 1977, there were 700,000 Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan. Mohan Lal's son Sunil went to Lycee Esteqlal French school in trousers. His daughter Seema went to Malalai school. At sunset, Mohan Lal walked to Asamai Mandir, the oldest Hindu temple from the 3rd century, on Koh-e Asamai hill. The bell rang, and the Azaan from the Masjid across rang together. No one felt strange.

Gurdwara Karte Parwan was full on Sundays. 25 Gurdwaras and 8 temples in Kabul alone. Hindu Mohalla in Jalalabad, Shor Bazaar, Ghazni, Helmand, Kunduz, all thriving. King Zahir Shah had given them seats in the Loya Jirga. Hindus were Afghan first, then Hindu.

Mohan Lal would close shop, counting Afghanis and say, "Kabul is our motherland ". Who will leave motherland?

KABUL:2026

The same Shor Bazaar lane, same stones. 

One light burns in Mahabeer Shiva Mandir. Inside sits Rajesh Kumar, 42, the last Hindu priest of Afghanistan. Rarely does any devotee step in. He is alone. His wife and three children live in Tilak Nagar, Delhi, as refugees since 2021. He stayed. He says, "This is my motherland; someone must light a Diya." His shop line is gone. All 18 shops that belong to the temple are closed or taken by others. He lives on rice and Daal sent by the only two Sikh families left in Karte Parwan.

Asamai Mandir still stands, but its doors open only on Shivratri for 20 minutes. The bell is silent. To pray at   Gurdwara Karte Parwan, 23 Sikhs are left in the whole country. They are old men guarding empty halls. They sweep, they do Ardas, they lock. Their children are in Surrey, Brampton, Rohini, Delhi.

Mohan Lal Kapoor's shop? Mohan Lal died in 1989 in the civil war. His son Sunil fled to Delhi in 1992 after a Mujahideen commander took his house in Shor Bazaar and wrote on the wall, "This property belongs to Mujahideen". Sunil's son now runs a small dry fruit shop in Lajpat Nagar and has an Indian Aadhaar Card. He has never seen Kabul.

In 1977, Hindu girls wore frocks to school in Kabul. In 2026, there is no Hindu girl left in school in Kabul. 

In October 2025, Afghan Foreign Minister Muttaqi came to Delhi and told Afghan Hindu Sikh leaders, Afghanistan is your home; return anytime". They told him, We were 700,000; now we are 2 Hindu families only. How to return when our temples are encroached upon and there is no security? Just protect our dead".

Rajesh Kumar closes the temple at 6 pm. He locks the big iron gate alone. He walks through Shor Bazaar where his grandfather had 4 shops. Nobody calls him Kapoor Sahib now. They call him Hindu.

He looks at Koh-e Asamai hill and says, In 1977 we lit this city. In 2026 I am trying to keep one Diya burning".

Here is the number collapse:  Hindu and Sikh together:

DIFFERENCE: 1977: 2026

Total Population : 1977 : 700,000 to 800,000 and 2026 : 40 to 50 people

Hindus alone : 1977: 200,000 and 2026: 2 families, about 8 people; priest Rajesh Kumar alone in Shor Bazaar temple

Sikhs alone : 1977: 500,000 20 and 2026: just  25 people

Temples in Kabul 1977: 8 Hindu temples active and 2026: 1 partly active: Asamai Mandir

Gurdwaras in Kabul : 1977: 25+ gurdwaras active, and 2026:  2 functional: Karte Parwan and Guru Har Rai Sahib.

In whole Afghanistan: Mandir + Gurdwara: 200+ shrines, and 2026: 3 functional, 12 abandoned or encroached.

 Shops / Business : 1977:  Controlled 60% of dry fruit, textiles, and banking in Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar and 2026 0no Afghan Hindu owned shop open. Temple owns 18 shops, all rented or encroached

Schools : 1977:  Hundreds of Hindu Sikh children in Esteqlal, Habibia, Malalai schools; 2026: no  Hindu Sikh child in Afghan school

Representation: 1977:  4 members in the Afghan Parliament / Loya Jirga under King Zahir Shah; 2026: no representation

Minority Community Houses in Kabul: 1977:  30,000+ properties in Shor Bazaar, Kart-e-Parwan, Bagh-e-Bala Almost all taken. In October  2025, a delegation of Afghan Hindu and Sikh refugees met  Taliban FM Muttaqi in Delhi. A member of the Sulaimankhel tribe, Muttaqi is a veteran member of the Taliban, serving both as the minister of education and a representative in U.N.-led talks under the first Taliban regime from the 1990s until 2001.

“We discussed the land associated with our gurdwaras and various shops. We want that the land that has been seized be given back to us. We also want that our gurdwaras, which are closed, be reopened. The way ‘bhajan-kirtan’ used to take place, they be done the same way again; we have applied for it,” Partap Singh, a delegation member, told PTI Videos.

Where Are the Minorities Now

Hindus and Sikhs have lived in Afghanistan for 1,000 years since the Shahi dynasty. Over 90% in India:  Delhi Majnu Ka Tila, Tilak Nagar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Canada ( Brampton, Toronto), UK (Southall) and  Germany. A few families are in France and Australia as refugees.

Timeline of fall

1977: 700000 Hindus and Sikhs live peacefully in Afghanistan.

1992 : After the Mujahideen civil war starts: 2,20,000 are left.People start leaving .

1996: Taliban first rule: 15,000 are left .

2001: About 9000 Hindus and Sikhs still live in Afghanistan.

2020: After Sikh Gurudwara bombing in Kabul - 25 killed; 400 people left. Hindus and Sikhs start leaving by any and every mode .

Aug 2021: Taliban return: 250 people airlifted to India on IAF flights. People leave using any and every mode.

June 2025: Almost all families of Hindus and Sikhs have left Afghanistan.

October 2025: A Report says, "2 Hindu families live in Afghanistan; Sikhs numbering 25 live in Afghanistan. They are mostly alone and elderly and living in and around their places of worship."

May 2026: 1 priest, Rajesh Kumar, is the last full-time Hindu priest in Afghanistan. He lives alone. Rarely does he see any devotee stepping inside the temple .Just 23 Sikhs , mostly elderly and alone, live in Afghanistan .

Ground  Realities of Return 

The present  Afghan Government has only rhetoric of return for the Hindu-Sikh minority, with no real effort to return grabbed properties. Of 30,000 Hindu-Sikh houses and 200 shrines in 1977, 99% remain encroached. The community fell from 700,000 to 40 people, and none wants to return because property, security and schools are absent. Minorities are forgotten in practice. There is zero Hindu-Sikh representation in government, zero restitution commission. They are remembered only in speeches to claim that present Afghanistan rule is an inclusive government. This is for international recognition . When foreign dignitaries visit Kabul, ministers go to Karte Parwan Gurdwara for photos; after they leave, one old man guards it without electricity.

( Avtar Mota)

 PS

 The Hindu and Sikh population of Afghanistan has now fallen to an extraordinarily small number. There is no reliable current census. The US State Department reported that at the end of 2023, only about six Sikh and Hindu individuals were known to remain in Afghanistan. They were reportedly living at the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul and had stayed principally to safeguard Sikh and Hindu shrines, scriptures and relics. More recent USCIRF reports for 2025 and 2026 do not provide a precise separate total, saying only that “small numbers” of Hindus and Sikhs remain

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.

POET SAHIR AND GEET GOVIND

                                      

                                           

                                         

Poet Sahir Ludhianvi and Geet Govind 

Geet Govind is a collection of musical Shlokas dedicated to Sri Krishna (Govinda) and Radha. This romantic lyrical drama by Jayadeva in the 12th century represents the tradition of Vasanta Utsava.

If one reads the translation of Geet Govind, one gets to know a different philosophy of universal love and compassion, somewhat different from what is generally understood by looking at Geet Govind illustrations. The text is not mere Shringara; it is Jivatma meeting Paramatma. That is why Geet Govind is very popular in Odisha and Bengal, sung every night as Seva in Puri Jagannath Temple.  Indian classical dances: Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, Kathakali and Manipuri are incomplete without Geet Govind. Choreographers have composed hundreds of pieces on its 24 Prabandhas and 72 Ashtapadis.

Geet Govind lives visually because of Pahari miniatures, especially Manaku's 1775-1780 Kangra series of 120 paintings now in the National Museum, Delhi,  in Basohli's bold red-yellow style and Kangra's soft lapis-blue and gold wash. Pahari miniature painters illustrated every Ashtapadi with the Sanskrit Shloka written in the margin, showing Jayadeva's 8 Nayikas: Radha as Vipralabdha throwing away her heavy garland (Stana-vinihitam api haram), as Abhisarika crossing a dark, rainy forest with lightning to meet Sri Krishna, as Khandita angry, and finally in Milan or meeting, saying 'Tvam asi mama jivanam' or 'You are my ornament, my life '.

Ashta-Nayika of Bharata Muni's Natyashastra: 8 states of Radha: 1 Vasakasajja (decorates herself for union: Akshnor nikshipad-anjanam),  2. Virahotkanthita (distressed in separation: Nindati chandanam), 3. Svadhinabhartruka (has her beloved under control: Tvam asi mama bhushanam tvam asi mama jivanam), 4. Kalahantarita (repents after quarrel), 5. Khandita (enraged seeing other woman's marks on  Sri Krishna: Yahi Madhava ma vada kaitava-vadam), 6. Vipralabdha  (waited all night but he didn't come: Viracita-vicitra-talpe), 7. Proshitabhartruka (lover gone far, emaciated: Stana-vinihitam api haram udaram sa manute bharam and  Dishi dishi kirati sajala-kana-jalam), 8. Abhisarika (braves dark rainy night to meet him: Meghair meduram ambaram vana-bhuvah shyamas-tamala-drumair).

Poet Sahir Ludhianvi was an admirer of Geet Govind. After Sahir's death, when his Juhu bungalow was sold to a builder, his old books and papers went to a Kabadi's shop. From there, a film journalist retrieved an English translation of Geet Govind which Sahir had kept with annotations.

This was not surprising to those who knew Sahir closely. Sahir knew much of Gurbani by heart. Born Abdul Hayee in Ludhiana and raised in the composite culture of Punjab, he had heard the Shabads of Guru Granth Sahib, which include Jayadeva's two Ashtapadis: Nandini Chandanam Indu- Kirana and Chandana Charchita. Gurbani preserved Jayadeva long before modern translations. 

It appears Sahir had deep familiarity with the Rasa concept of Sanskrit poetry, particularly Vipralambha, Karuna, Vatsalya and Bhakti. Jayadeva's entire work is built on Rasa theory, the nayika-bheda, the Ashta-nayika: Khandita, Vipralabdha, Abhisarika, Vasakasajja. Sahir's songs of longing use exactly that vocabulary:  Sakhi, Sajan, Ang, Ritu, Birha, which is not Urdu; it is Sanskrit Kavya Shastra transposed into Hindi film.

Sahir grasped the essence of dance, music, and art beyond poetry. His knowledge of the Saguna poetry of Mira, Tulsidas, Ravi Das and many more is evident in his verses. His knowledge of Nirguna verses of Kabir is evident in his song,"Laaga chunri mein daag". He would discuss dance forms with Sitara Devi and also discuss Pahari miniature art with his friend Dr M S Randhawa. This is recorded.

The Sanskrit poetic Rasa in Sahir's songs is possibly the Geet Govind effect. Four songs lead one to this conclusion. In all these songs, it appears as if Radha is speaking to her Sakhi about the pangs of longing and separation and a desire for final Milan or meeting Sri Krishna.

1. Sakhi Ri Mora Man Uljhe Tan Dole - Chitralekha (1964)

Sakhi ri mora man uljhe tan dole, ab chain mile tab hi jab unse milan ho le

Influences 

Jayadeva - Sarga 3:

"Stana-vinihitam api haram udaram / Sa manute krisha-tanur iva bharam / Radhika virahe tava Keshava"

(O Keshava, in separation from you, Radha is so emaciated that even her beautiful necklace feels like a burden.)

This is Vipralabdha - tan dole, man uljhe.

2. Aey Ri Jaane Na Doongi / Aaj Sakhi Pee Daloongi Chitralekha (1964)

Aaj sakhi pee daloongi main darshan jal ki boondh boondh, nainon mein rakh loongi palkein moondh moondh.

Influence

Jayadeva - Sarga 3:

"Dishi dishi kirati sajala-kana-jalam

Nayana-nalinam iva vigalita-nalam

Radhika virahe tava Keshava"

( O Keshava, in separation from you, Radha 

 scatters in every direction showers of tears 

 from her lotus-like eyes, 

as if the lotus flower is shedding water 

through its broken stem.)

3. Maang Mein Bhar Le Rang Sakhi Ri

Aanchal bhar le taare... Milan Ritu aa gayi

Influences

Jayadeva - Sarga 11, Abhisarika:

"Akshnor nikshipad-anjanam shravanayos-taapiccha-gucchavalim / Murdhnni shyama-saroja-dama" 

(The sakhi decorates her eyes with anjana, her ears with dark flowers, her head with blue lotus garlands for abhisara.)

This is Vasakasajja - Radha's shringara for milan ri?Ritu. Sahir's ..maang mein rang is Jayadeva's Vasanta Utsava.

4. Aaj Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Lo - Pyaasa (1957)

"Sakhi ri birha ke dukhde sah sah kar jab Raadhe besudh ho li, to ik din apne manmohan se jaa kar yoon boli - Aaj sajan mohe ang laga lo janam safal ho jaaye, hriday ki peeda deh ki agni sab sheetal ho jaaye"

Influence

Jayadeva - Sarga 10:

"Tvam asi mama bhushanam / Tvam asi mama jivanam / Tvam asi mama bhava-jaladhi-ratnam"

(You are my ornament, you are my life, you are the jewel of the ocean of my existence.)

"Priye charusheele muncha mayi maanam anidanam / Sapadi madanam mano-hara dehi me anukampam"

( O graceful beloved, abandon your pride, O enchanter of my heart, show me compassion now.)

This is extreme desire for the final meeting after a long Viraha: janam safal ho jaaye. 

Again , the  song 'Aan Milo aan milo'  penned by Sahir is again influenced by Geet Govind. Just like Jayadeva showed Radha waiting alone in Vrindavan ,'Bhramati bhavane' , Sahir shows ,' Brija mein akeli Radhe khoi khoi phire'. Both are Vipralambha Shringara ,  love in separation.

In Geet Govind it is called 'Madhura Bhakti' or Ujjvala Rasa, where human love becomes divine longing. Sahir uses the same device 'Jiyra na laage, vyakul naina bhaage' the restless eyes, the empty lanes of Brindavan, the unplayed flute on Jamuna teer. It is Viraha, and that Viraha itself becomes prayer.

Thus Sahir, an Urdu poet, a student of Gurbani and a lover of Sanskrit Rasa, carried Jayadeva into Bombay cinema. Geet Govind lived again in his songs.

( Avtar Mota)

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.

INDIANS IN FIJI : THE GIRMITIYA STORY

                                    

                      ( PM Modi's Visit to Fiji )                 

        ( Mrs Gandhi visits Girmit Centre during her visit to Fiji in 1981)

Indians in Fiji - The Girmitiya Story

Fiji is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, in the region of Melanesia, part of Oceania. It lies about 2,000 km northeast of New Zealand*, and 3,000 km east of Australia*. It is located just west of the International Date Line, between latitudes 15° to 22° South and longitudes 174° East to 178° West.

Fiji is an archipelago of 332 islands  and 522 small islets, of which only about 110 are permanently inhabited. Total land area is 18,274 sq km, while its Exclusive Economic Zone covers 1.29 million sq km of ocean. The two main islands are Viti Levu , where the capital Suva and Nadi International Airport are located, and Vanua Lev in the north. Viti Levu alone contains 57% of the land and 70% of the population. Other important islands are Taveuni, Kadavu, and the Mamanuca and Yasawa groups, famous for tourism.

Physically, Fiji is volcanic in origin, with rugged mountains, dense tropical rainforests, and fringed by coral reefs. Mount Tomanivi at 1,324 m on Viti Levu is the highest peak. The climate is tropical marine - hot, humid with a rainy season from November to April and risk of cyclones. It neighbours Vanuatu to the west, Tonga to the east, and Samoa to the northeast, sitting at a strategic crossroads of the Pacific.

Fiji is extremely far from India, which explains why the Girmitiyas called the journey Kala Pani. The straight-line distance from New Delhi to Suva is approximately *11,600 km* and from Kolkata, where most ships left, it is about *10,800 km*. There is no direct flight. Modern travel is via Singapore, Hong Kong or Australia and takes 18-22 hours. In 1879, the sailing ships like Leonidas took 70 to 90 days to cover the same distance, sailing across the Indian Ocean, past Australia, into the Pacific.

Fiji's Indians are one of the most remarkable examples of Indian cultural survival outside India. They call themselves Girmitiyas,  from the word Girmit, a corruption of the English word Agreement, the indenture contract they signed. Unlike Indians in Honduras or Panama where numbers are in tens, in Fiji they form the backbone of the nation.

Original Inhabitants of Fiji

The original inhabitants of Fiji are the iTaukei, meaning landowners, a Melanesian-Polynesian people who first arrived from Southeast Asia via Vanuatu around 1500-1000 BC, later mixing with Melanesians. They are not Indians, who came only in 1879. Their society is clan-based, organized into Mataqali, the land-owning clan, Yavusa, the tribe of related clans sharing an ancestor, and  Vanua, the confederation of tribes. Fiji has 14 provinces grouped into three major confederacies: Kubuna, Burebasaga, and Tovata. Other original groups include Rotumans of Rotuma Island, who are Polynesian, and Lauans of the Lau Islands with mixed Fijian-Tongan blood due to Tongan invasions. The iTaukei are 56.8% of the population today, 99% Christian Methodist since conversion in the 1830s, speak Bauan Fijian, and by law own 87% of Fiji's land which cannot be sold and is only leased to Indians. Their paramount chief was Ratu Cakobau who ceded Fiji to Britain in 1874.

Arrival  of Indians

The story does not start in 1879. The first recorded Indian in Fiji was a lascar, an Indian seaman who survived a shipwreck in 1813 and lived among Fijians. Mass migration started after Fiji became a British colony in 1874. The first British Governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, had previously served in Trinidad and Mauritius and had seen Indian indenture work. He also banned sale of Fijian native land to Europeans to protect iTaukei Fijians, so he needed another labour force for sugar plantations. His solution was Indian indentured labour.

( Five old photos of Indians in Fiji )

The Leonidas, the first ship, left Calcutta and arrived in Levuka on 14 May 1879 with 463 Indians :  273 men, 146 women, 44 children. The day is now Girmit Day in Fiji. From 1879 to 1916, 42 ships made 87 voyages. A total of 60,965 indentured labourers arrived. The indenture system was legally abolished in 1916, but the last contract ended only in 1920. A second smaller stream came as  free migrants after 1900 - Gujarati traders from Surat and Porbandar who control retail in Suva today, Punjabi farmers and Sikhs, and South Indian teachers.

The contract was for 5 years of work on plantations with very low wages, living in barracks of 10ft x 7ft lines, called  Narak or hell. After 5 years they got a Certificate of Residence, after 10 years they could claim a free passage back to India. Only 39,261 (64.8%) returned, the rest stayed. Those who stayed got small leases of native land and started growing cane themselves.

 Routes - The Kala Pani Journey

Recruitment was done through depots in Calcutta and Madras.

North India Route: Calcutta depot -> Hooghly River -> Indian Ocean -> across the Pacific via Australian coast -> Suva. Took about 70-80 days.

South India Route: Madras depot -> similar route.

Recruiters, called Arkatis, promised Fiji as a land of easy money. Many came because of famine in UP and Bihar in 1870s, family disputes, or deception. Law required 40% women to preserve family, but in reality only 30.4% were women as per 1911 census. That led to social problems, breakdown of traditional norms, and eventually complete intermixing.

 Where From Did They Come in India?

This is crucial to understanding Fiji Hindi culture.

 North Indian Belt - About 75%:

From United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) and Bihar, specifically districts of Bhojpur and Awadh region: Basti, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Bahraich, Sultanpur, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Faizabad, Ballia, Ghazipur, Arrah in Bihar. Language: Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Magahi dialects. These form the base of Fiji Hindi.

 South Indian Belt - About 24%:

From Madras Presidency ,  now Tamil Nadu (North Arcot, Salem), Andhra Pradesh (Godavari, Vizag). They were Tamil, Telugu speakers. Today most have assimilated into Hindi-speaking north Indian culture, but you can still find Mariamman temples in Nadi.

Free Migrants:

Gujarat (Khatris), Punjab (Sikhs who came to farm), Sindhis who arrived after Partition in 1947. On the plantations, caste was systematically destroyed. Everyone ate together, worked together. Brahmins shared lines with Chamars. This is why Fiji today has virtually no caste discrimination unlike India or even Trinidad. A new identity - Girmitiya - was born.

Population Against Total Population

At independence in 1970: Indo-Fijians were 51%, iTaukei Fijians were 42%.. 1986 Census: 46% Indo-Fijian.  2007 Census: 37.5% Indo-Fijian - *313,798 people* out of 837,271. 2022 Census: Total population 908,012. iTaukei 56.8%, Indo-Fijian 37.5%. 2024 MEA Report: PIOs 313,798 + NRIs 2,283 = 316,081 Indians  in Fiji.

Why decline? Two military coups in 1987 by Sitiveni Rabuka, targeted against Indian dominance, and coup in 2000. About 90,000 Indo-Fijians emigrated  to Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada between 1987 and 2007. Birth rate of Indo-Fijians also fell sharply, below replacement. Today they are concentrated in Ba, Lautoka, Nadi, Labasa - the Sugar Belt.

 Religious Break-up and Religious Affiliation

Religion is what saved the community. Unlike in Caribbean where many converted to Christianity, Fiji Girmitiyas fiercely preserved their faiths.Overall Fiji religion: Christians 64.5%, Hindus 27.9%, Muslims 6.3%, others 1.3% (2007 census).

Within Indo-Fijian community

Hindus -:76.7% of Indians:

Majority are Sanatanis (Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha). They worship Ram, Krishna, Hanuman, Shiva. 15% are Arya Samaj, brought by Indian missionaries like Shri Krishna Sharma in 1900s, who oppose idol worship and emphasize Vedas. There are small Kabir Panthis and others.

Muslims : 15.9% of Indians:

Among original girmitiyas, 7,635 or 14.3% were Muslims. Mostly Sunni from UP/Bihar. They built mosques early - Jame Masjid in Suva (1926). They speak Fiji Hindi like Hindus. Sunni + some Ahmadiyya.

Christians -:6.1% of Indians:

Mostly Methodists, some Catholic conversions during indenture through missions.

Sikhs -:0.9%:

 Gurudwara in Samabula is the largest in Pacific Islands.

Temples And Mosques In Fiji

There is no official total, but Fiji has hundreds of Hindu temples : TISI Sangam alone runs 19 temples including the Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple in Nadi, and with Sanatan, Arya Samaj, Sai, Swaminarayan and countless small family village shrines across Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, estimates put the total at 200 to 300+, while about 30 to 40 are large public temples.

Islam arrived in 1879 and mosques are central to community life. The Jame Mosque in Suva, built in 1922, is the oldest, while the Toorak Mosque is among the largest. Both temples and mosques remain symbols of faith, culture and unity in multicultural Fiji.

Sikhism in Fiji

( Lakhvinder Singh owns a business dealing in sale and repair of automobiles in Fiji )

Sikhism in Fiji began in early 1900s with free Punjabi migrants, mainly from Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, who came as policemen, farmers and tradesmen under British rule, not as girmitiyas. Today there are about  3,000 Sikhs. The centre is Samabula Gurudwara in Suva, built in 1922, the largest in the Pacific, plus gurudwaras in Lautoka, Ba and Labasa. Sikhs preserved Punjabi and Gurmukhi through weekend classes. They are prominent in transport and business. Though small, they joined Girmitiya Hindus and Muslims in cane farming and in resisting coups. Langar during Gurpurabs is open to all Fijians, showing the community's integration.

Arya Samaj in Fiji

What is Arya Samaj ?

Arya Samaj was founded by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati on 10 April 1875 in Bombay. Dayanand was a Vedic scholar from Gujarat who saw that Hindu society had become burdened with idol worship, caste determined by birth, child marriage, untouchability and superstition. His call was 'Back to the Vedas' .

The Mool Mantra of Arya Samaj is Om and Gayatri Mantra. Dayanand taught that the ultimate, eternal and private name of God is Om, as stated in Yajur Veda 40.17 Om Kham Brahma. Om is formless, almighty and creator. The mantra which contains the essence of all four Vedas is Gayatri Mantra from Rig Veda 3.62.10, Yajur Veda 36.3 and Sama Veda.

Om Bhur Bhuvah Swah

Tat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi

Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat

It means we meditate on the most excellent light of Savitur, the Sun of Knowledge, may he inspire our intellect. In Arya Sama, j every child, boy or girl, of any caste receives Gayatri as Guru Mantra at the age of eight or at any later age through Shuddhi. Unlike orthodox tradition , Arya Samaj gives it to all. Every daily Sandhya and every Havan starts and ends with Om and Gayatri Mantra .

The Ten Principles of Arya Samaj are its constitution and were laid down by Dayanand himself.

1 God is the primary cause of all true knowledge and of all that is known.

2 God is existent, conscious, all blissful, formless, almighty, just, merciful, unborn, infinite, unchangeable, incomparable, support of all, lord of all, omnipresent, omniscient, imperishable and creator. To him alone worship is due.

3 The Vedas are the books of all true knowledge. It is the duty of all Aryas to read them, teach them and recite them.

4 We should always be ready to accept truth and renounce untruth.

5 All actions should be done according to Dharma after judging what is right and wrong.

6 The primary aim of Arya Samaj is to do good for the whole world, to promote physical, spiritual and social welfare of all.

7 We should treat all people with love, justice and according to Dharma.

8 We should aim to dispel ignorance and promote knowledge.

9 No one should be content with his own welfare only, but should seek his welfare in the welfare of all.

10 In matters which affect the general good the individual should subordinate his personal interest, but in personal matters he is free to act.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a teaching of Arya Samaj. Its direct origin is not from the four Vedas. It appears in Maha Upanishad Chapter 6 Verse 72:

"Ayam bandhur ayam na iti ganana laghu chetasam

Udaracharitanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam"

This is my relative and that is not, this calculation is for small minded people. For large hearted people the whole earth itself is family. The same verse appears in Hitopadesha 1.3.71 and Panchatantra.

Arya Samaj fully accepts the spirit of this verse because it matches Vedic ideals. The Rig Veda says Krinvanto Vishwam Aryam, make the whole world noble, and Mitrasya Chakshusha Samiksham, look at all beings with friendly eye, and Manur Bhav, be human. Principle 6, 7 and 9 of Arya Samaj are exactly Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam in action, welfare of whole world, love for all and seeking your good in good of all.

That is why in Arya Samaj Satsangs, Hawans and Schools, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is taught as the social message . It explains why Arya Samaj rejects caste by birth, supports widow remarriage and women education, performs Havan without need of a birth based priest and believes in one fatherhood of God for all humanity. Its Mool Mantra is Om and Gayatri, its path is Ten Principles, and its world vision is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, One Earth One Family.

Arya Samaj was established in Fiji in 1904 by followers of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, brought by Indian missionaries to reform Hinduism among Girmitiyas.

Its founder in Fiji was Behari Lal, and it was strengthened by the arrival of Shri Krishna Sharma in 1927, a Vedic scholar from India, who became its main preacher. Arya Samajis in Fiji encouraged belief in the Vedas, rejected caste system and child marriage, and promoted widow remarriage and education.

In Fiji, Arya Samaj played a revolutionary role. At a time when some People discouraged education for lower castes, Arya Samaj opened over 100 schools, including DAV Primary and Secondary Schools in Suva, Ba, and Labasa, which gave English education to poor Girmitiya children of all castes, including Chamar and Pasi. It started the first girls' education movement.

( Swami Rudranand with Hindu leaders in Fiji )

Arya Samaj largely made Fiji Hindu society casteless. When indentured Indians arrived, ship and barrack life broke caste physically, but Arya Samaj gave it ideological death. Teaching that Vedas reject birth-based caste, Swamis like Rudrananda opened temples where anyone could be priest, schools where all castes studied together, and actively promoted inter-caste marriages from the 1930s. In Fiji today most Hindus don't know their caste, surnames don't matter for marriage, and there are no separate Dalit temples. Fiji is arguably the world's most casteless Hindu society, and that is Arya Samaj's greatest achievement in Fiji.

Festivals

Fiji is one of few countries where Diwali, Holi, Eid are national holidays.

Diwali: The biggest. Fiji declares it a public holiday. Houses are decorated, fireworks in Nadi and Suva look like Lucknow.

Holi (Phagwa): Played with colours in sugar cane fields.

Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Shivratri:* All night Jagarans.

Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha: Huge gatherings at Albert Park.

Girmit Day - 14 May: Official holiday since 2023. Commemoration of ancestors.

Muharram: Celebrated by both Hindus and Muslims in early years.

 Ram Leela and Mahabharat

No community outside India has preserved Ram Leela so authentically.  In Fiji it is not a stage show. It is a 10-night village ritual. In places like Nadroga, Ba, Tavua, entire settlements become Ayodhya, Janakpur, Lanka. Boys from the village play Ram, Sita (often by a boy), Hanuman. Dialogues are in Fiji Hindi verse from Ramcharitmanas. The Ravan Dahan effigy can be 30 feet high. Crowds of 5,000-10,000 attend in Nadi. It is performed by Mandalis - Ramayana Mandali, which meet weekly.

Mahabharat: While Ramayana is emotional devotion, Mahabharat is Katha tradition. Pandits recite Mahabharat for 7 nights. Bhagavad Gita classes are held by Hare Krishna movement, which is strong in Fiji. Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas is the real religious book for most Fiji Hindus, more than Sanskrit scriptures. It was the one book girmitiyas carried.

Tourism in Fiji

Tourism is the backbone of the Fiji economy and its largest foreign exchange earner. Famous for turquoise lagoons, white sand beaches and coral reefs, Fiji welcomes over nine hundred thousand visitors yearly from Australia, New Zealand and America.

Most resorts are centred around Nadi and the Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands, offering luxury stays, diving, snorkelling, surfing and island hopping. Visitors also enjoy river rafting, rainforest treks in Taveuni and cultural village visits with kava ceremonies.

With its warm bula spirit, tropical climate and world class hospitality, Fiji remains a top South Pacific destination.

 Cultural Continuity

This is the most amazing part.

Language: Fiji Hindi is an official language of Fiji, alongside English and iTaukei. It is not standard Hindi but a koiné of Awadhi and Bhojpuri with Fijian and English words  e.g., tempu for time. Children learn it at home. However, younger generation in Australia is losing it.

Food: Dal-bhat, Roti, curry, Saag, Bhujia are daily food. Sweets like Barfi, Gulab Jamun, Jalebi during Diwali.

Joint Family to Nuclear:  Originally joint, now nuclear due to land leases expiring.

Music: Bhajans, Qawwali, and Bollywood. Local artists sing chutney music.

Mandir as School: Before government schools, Brahmin Pandits taught Ramayana in mandirs. That is why literacy among Indians was higher than iTaukei early on.

Key Persons

Ahmad Ali: First Indian-born academic historian.

Professor Brij V. Lal (1952-2021): World's leading Girmit historian, ANU professor, wrote Girmitiyas and Chalo Jahaji. Banished from Fiji by government.

Brij V Lal was banned in 2015 by Bainimarama government for criticizing coups. As leading girmit historian and critic of 1987, 2000, 2006 coups, he called 2013 Constitution authoritarian and defended Indo-Fijian rights. Government declared him prohibited immigrant without charge. Ban was lifted in 2024 after regime change finally ended.

( Mahendra Chowdhary, former Prime Minister)

A.D. Patel (1905-1969): Gujarati lawyer who led cane farmers, founded National Federation Party.

Mahendra Chaudhry: Trade unionist, first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister in 1999, overthrown in coup 2000.

Jai Ram Reddy: Politician and judge at International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

( Justice Jay Ram Reddy )

( Hari Punja)

Hari Punja is Fiji's richest businessman, born 1936 in Lautoka to Gujarati parents. Founder of Hari Punja and Sons and FMF Foods, he built Fiji's largest flour, biscuit and noodle empire. A self made icon, he dominates retail, manufacturing and food industries across Fiji and the wider Pacific region today.

( Politician Harish Sharma from Fiji )

( Golfer Vijay Singh from Fiji )

Vijay Singh: Indo-Fijian world famous golfer.

Contribution to Fiji

The contribution of Indo-Fijians to the economic, professional, and cultural life of modern Fiji is not a footnote to the girmit story. It is the point of the girmit story. The descendants of indentured labourers built the sugar industry that was, for most of the twentieth century, Fiji’s largest export earner. They established the commercial networks — the shops, the trading companies, the service businesses — that form the backbone of Fiji’s private sector. They staffed the professions: law, medicine, engineering, education, and the civil service.

Indians built Fiji's entire sugar industry from nothing. Between 1879 and 1916, over 60,000 indentured labourers called girmitiyas were brought from India to work cane fields under harsh conditions. After indenture, they leased land, cleared forests, and became small cane farmers. By the 1920s, Indo-Fijians produced most of Fiji's sugar. Colonial Sugar Refining Company depended entirely on their labour and farming skills. Towns like Ba, Lautoka and Labasa grew around Indian cane settlements. Sugar became Fiji's economic backbone, earning most export income for a century, and that lasting foundation was laid completely by Indian sweat, sacrifice and perseverance across generations.

                                    

           ( The Vallabh family at their tailoring shop in Fiji )

                                                   

 ( Lakhvinder Singh's Jhajj Motors is a leading Automobile sales and sevice establishment in Fiji )
                                                             
                                       

Fiji's Indo-Fijian doctors and educationists have shaped the nation profoundly. Pioneering doctors like Mohd Haniff, Chura Chandulal, Samson Deoki and James Jhinku in 1927 broke barriers as the first Indian medical practitioners, while Dr Kantha Soni became Fiji's first Indian woman medical graduate in 1960 and inspired generations. Dr Parma Nand, Labasa-born cardiac surgeon based in New Zealand, returns yearly since 2006 to perform free heart surgeries and train local surgeons at CWM Hospital. Dr Krupali Tappoo leads the free Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children's Heart Hospital in Suva, delivering hundreds of life-saving surgeries and screening thousands of children across islands. Alongside them, educationists transformed learning. Pandit Ami Chandra, founder of TISI Sangam, Pandit Vishnu Deo who championed Hindi education and political rights, and Dr K C Ramrakha fought for universal schooling and equality. Arya Samaj leaders Swami Rudrananda and Dr Raghunanda established numerous schools and Gurukuls across Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. The Sangam organisation today runs twenty one primary and five secondary schools, a nursing school and nineteen temples nationwide. Together these dedicated doctors and teachers built hospitals, schools and cultural institutions, uplifting both Indo-Fijian and iTaukei communities and creating Fiji's modern health and education foundations for generations.

( Lala family runs a chain of stores in Fiji. The sell readymade garments as well )

Indians turned Fiji's cane settlements into modern cities. Lautoka, known as Fiji's Indian city, grew around the sugar mill through Gujarati traders and Indo-Fijian farmers who built shops and markets. Ba and Labasa developed entirely as Indian farming towns. Nadi was jungle until Indian farmers and hoteliers transformed it into Fiji's tourism gateway around the Subramaniya Temple. Suva's retail, transport and wholesale trade has been established by Indian businesses like MH, Tappoo, RB Patel and Punja since the 1920s, while Nausori became a bustling market hub built by Indian market gardeners. Every city's commercial backbone was built by Indian enterprise.

                                               

                                        

The story is now at a crossroads. Land leases under ALTA have not been renewed for many Indians, pushing them to cities. Sugar is dying. Yet the Girmitiya identity remains. As Brij Lal wrote: "They came as coolies, they left as citizens of the world, but they remain forever children of Girmitjya.

( Avtar Mota)

PS

Some inputs for the story were developed from what was narrated to me by Jojo Patel and Santosh Reddy in New York My sincere thanks to them

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.