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Suva: The 146th Girmit Day festivities in Fiji included Union Minister Pabitra Margherita as the honored guest. The Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Textiles discussed several events he participated in during his visit to Fiji on Monday via a series of postings on X.

During his speech during the 146th Girmit Day festivities, Margherita honored the Girmitiyas’ lasting heritage, whose fortitude, selflessness, and spirit established the groundwork for a thriving and welcoming Fiji.

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We are honored to be the Guest of Honor at the 146th Girmit Day festivities in Fiji, joining Chief Guest H.E. @slrabuka and Hon. @FijianPM. During my speech, I honored the Girmitiyas’ lasting legacy, whose fortitude, selflessness, and spirit established the groundwork for a thriving and welcoming Fiji.

During his engagements, he presented honors to the descendants of Girmityas with Fiji’s Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka. When the Government of Fiji recognized their achievements by making Girmit Day a National Holiday, MoS Margherita praised them.

“It was an honor to assist Hon. @FijianPM and H.E. @slrabuka in giving honors to the proud Girmitiyas descendants. My sincere gratitude to the @FijiGovernment for instituting Girmit Day as a National Holiday in recognition of their priceless contributions.

I’m very happy to hear that the festivities were enhanced by the ICCR-sponsored cultural troupe’s mesmerizing performances.

He took part digitally in the opening of the Yoga Center in Seaqaqa on Monday. The center will support holistic health and well-being while symbolizing the close historical and cultural links between Fiji and India.

“Virtually launching the Yoga Center in Seaqaqa alongside Hon. Agni Deo Singh, Fiji’s Minister for Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations, was also a pleasure,” the MoS stated on X. The center will support holistic health and well-being while reflecting our deep historical and cultural roots.

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Additionally, he had communicated with the Indian diaspora. “Interacted with the vibrant Indian Diaspora and Friends of India in Nadi,” MoS Margherita said in his post on X. The Indian diaspora is still essential to bolstering the relationship between India and Fiji. From May 8–12, MoS Margherita traveled to Fiji and New Zealand.

When Indian laborers were sent to Fiji in 1879 to work on sugarcane plantations under the indenture system, India’s relations with Fiji began. Approximately 60,553 Indians were sent to Fiji between 1879 and 1916. Indian merchants and other visitors began coming to Fiji in the early 20th century. The indenture system was eliminated in 1920. India had a Commissioner from 1948 until Fiji’s independence in 1970; upon independence, the Commissioner was promoted to High Commissioner.