External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is currently on a visit to three Caribbean countries–Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Announcing the visit the Ministry of External Affairs stated: “External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar (EAM) will pay an official visit to Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago from 2-10 May 2026. These countries share a special connection with India owing to the presence of Girmitiya communities”. Jaishankar’s visit provides a context and an opportunity to recall the tale of the girmitiyas.

The term ‘Girimitya communities’ evokes memories of how British colonialists took Indians to their other colonies to work in sub-human conditions. This process got a great impetus when Britain abolished slavery in the early 1830s. Consequently, the ‘supply’ of slave labour for the plantations dried up. As labour was essential, the colonial state devised the Girimitiya or the indentured system in the place of slavery.

The word ‘Girimitya’ was used by the Indian labour for the ‘Agreement’ or ‘Girmit’ to which they put their thumb impressions and which, unknown to them, bound them to a lifetime of servitude. The word Girmitiya was derived from ‘Girmit’. It meant a person who became part of the system of ‘Girmits’. These agreements were completely one-sided, in favour of the employer and against the girmitiya. Under them the........

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