India and Trinidad sign archival agreement to help diaspora trace Girmitiya roots
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar signed an archival cooperation agreement with Trinidad and Tobago to help members of the Indo-Caribbean diaspora trace their ancestral roots. The Government of India is creating a comprehensive global Girmitiya database.
India and Trinidad and Tobago have signed an archival cooperation agreement designed to help members of the Indo-Caribbean diaspora trace their ancestral roots, The Daily Pioneer reports.
The agreement was one of eight Memoranda of Understanding signed during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's recent visit to Trinidad and Tobago — the first major Indian ministerial visit to the country in several years.
In remarks at the National Council of Indian Culture Heritage Centre, Jaishankar recalled the arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers in Trinidad and Tobago 180 years ago and paid tribute to their "fortitude, determination and resolve" in building new lives under the conditions of the indenture system.
The archival cooperation has practical dimensions:
- A Quick Impact Project for the upgradation of cultural heritage facilities at Nelson Island — the first arrival point for indentured labourers — including a memorial monument, a digital hub of historical archives, and an audio-visual experience.
- Work is ongoing on a comprehensive global database of the Girmitiya community — extending across Mauritius, South Africa, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad, Fiji, and the smaller Indo-Caribbean and Indian Ocean diaspora communities.
- A working relationship with the Global Girmit Institute in Fiji that produced the 2023 Global Indian Diaspora Conference and continues to host the annual Girmitiya-country rotating conference.
For the long-tail diaspora — the descendants of indentured labour now in their fourth, fifth, and sixth generations — the archival agreement is the closest thing yet to a concerted effort by the Government of India to maintain the historical record.
Source: The Daily Pioneer — Jaishankar Highlights Girmitiya Heritage in Trinidad.
