The Surprising History of Fijian Indians
I recently returned from a beautiful and enriching holiday in Fiji, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. While the natural beauty of the place nourished my soul, I could not but help think about the unique history of its Indian population.
East India Company’s slave trade from India to Fiji
In the late 1800s, the British administration of unified India (present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) sent hundreds of farmers from the villages of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and parts of South India which grew sugarcane, as indentured labourers to work on sugarcane plantations in other British colonies such as Trinidad, Jamaica, and Fiji. Often very poor, these farmers were young men, desperate to earn a better living for their families. As such, the conditions under which they sailed, and the conditions on the ships that carried them and their immediate families to distant lands, were questionable from a human rights standpoint.
In effect, this was slave trade disguised as economic migration. It was clear right from the start that none of these “migrants” would return to their hometowns again since the journey was expensive, could take several months on a ship, and shipwrecks were common. They were leaving their life as they knew it, families and homes for good to make a new life in bondage in a distant, foreign land. Cruel, don’t you think?
The arc of history is very long
And yet, Fiji awakened me to the possibility that I may be looking at these historical events in a narrow and isolated way. The flow of life (once again) amazed me during my stay on this island.
As we drove from the airport in the city of Nadi, to our faraway seaside resort, I could not help but notice the simple but rich life that local Fijians live. Including and especially, the descendants of Indian labourers who were brought to work on sugarcane plantations for the East India Company. The countryside was peppered with large (not posh, but well-maintained) primary and secondary schools, well-constructed houses with courtyards, temples and large swathes of greenery. Fijian Indians, who are fifth and sixth-generation direct descendants of Indian migrant labourers, seemed laid-back, happy, simple and living a life of true well-being. They have completely embraced their Fijian identity while keeping their traditional culture and customs alive. I doubt any of them know about or even have the curiosity to find out about their roots or their ancestral origins. They may simply not feel the need to. In their new home of Fiji, they have all that they desire.
On the contrary, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the states in India where the majority of sugarcane labourers came from, have become some of the worst-performing states in the Republic of India, for human development indicators. There is wide income inequality, they are notorious for corruption, crime and red tape, and the quality of life for farmers, labourers and women is poor. What would have happened if the Indian ancestors of present-day Fijians were not brought in on ships to work for the East India Company’s plantations here? What kind of a life would these cheerful girls who deftly braided my hair in the lucrative hair salon they run in this premium resort, making comfortable conversation in Fijian Hindi with me, have had back in their ancestral towns in India?
There is no way to know for sure. Like thousands of others in post-independence India, their families could have emerged out of poverty through sheer will and hard work. Perhaps, these ladies would be living an affluent life in Patna, Lucknow or some other decent city in India. Yet, chances are, in small villages of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or Orissa, they would have had no such opportunities.
An unsung debt
I did not directly ask any of them what they thought of the conditions under which their forefathers came to Fiji. It was evident that they are happy where they are, even grateful to be who they are, now. The intentions of the East India Company in sailing ships full of Indian labourers along treacherous sea routes were undoubtedly self-serving. And yet, in the larger scheme of things, they were playing the very role that they were meant to. Perhaps, the suffering and human rights violations that these farmers in 19th century India were subject to had a greater purpose unknown to them at the time. Their risky migration was a crucial link in the chain of events that many generations later would bring their future generations a life of calm well-being and simple prosperity on a distant island.
The Universe had greater plans in mind for these families, that no one could have foreseen in the 1800s. Their forefathers may have been reluctant migrants bound by circumstance, but present-day Fijian Indians are delightful citizens of their current home — Fiji. A privilege they will forever owe to their unsung ancestors from rural India.
