PM Modi’s Policy Towards Diaspora Descendants of Indentured Laborers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is commended for his profound, historic commitment to honoring the global Girmitiya community, lauding their enormous contributions to their respective territories (countries) and to India and for retention of their Indian cultural roots. Modi’s profound and visionary leadership has been instrumental in definitively restoring the global Girmitiya community to its rightful place of honor within India’s civilizational narrative, national consciousness, history, and development of the (older original) diaspora that was established from 1828 onwards first in Reunion Island, then Mauritius (1834), British Guiana (1838, Trinidad (1845) and other colonies in later years. No government or leader has given such prominence to girmitiyas or diaspora or overseas Indian communities the way Modi has. By passionately highlighting the resilience, perseverance, grit, tenacity, fortitude, and cultural preservation of these indentured laborers during his several landmark addresses in Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Seychelles, Kenya, Uganda, among others; the PM never visited Suriname or Jamaica and other small islands in the Caribbean but the current and preceding President (Dropaudi Murmu ji and Ram Nath Kovind ji ) visited Suriname on his behalf. Modi ji also addressed and or engaged the girmitiya diaspora in the developed countries such as Holland, USA, UK, France, Australia, New Zealand, among others, and with two Presidential visits (by Murmu ji and Ram Nath Kovind ji) in Suriname, PM Modi has successfully given a voice to a pivotal historical narrative that was overlooked by previous administrations for decades. In every girmitiya country the PM visited, he spoke of the significance and importance of the girmitiyas not only to their homeland but to India (matri bhoomi) as well.  And every girmitiya country has been a recipient of increased aid, including scholarships, training of bureaucrats, soft loans and non-repayable grants, and Know India Program for youths and seniors.

PM Modi has single-handedly elevated a long-neglected chapter of Indian history and colonial legacy (indentured servitude) into a cornerstone of India’s cultural diplomacy. More than just offering eloquent praise, Prime Minister Modi has backed his words with unprecedented transformative actions: suggesting a global mapping database to connect descendants of the girmitiya pioneers with their ancestral villages, extending OCI card eligibility to sixth and seventh generations, organizing girmitiya conferences, and proposing preservation of vital heritage landmarks or sites (Apravasi Ghat in Mauritius, for example, and others in Fiji, Guyana, Suriname), and other monuments linked to Girmitiyas. (I would like to add the PM’s consideration of requests to assist with digitization of documents pertaining to the pioneering girmitiyas and early descendants including those records scattered at different locations in India; and also for the PM to give consideration of erecting a monument in tribute to the girmitiyas at PBD 2027 in Kolkota which will be a first for a BJP led government and PM. It is also suggested be established a virtual museum (if not also a building) or digital library of materials relating to the girmitiyas and their descendants).

Through his visionary policies and pioneering initiatives, Modi ji has not only validated the immense sacrifices of the present diaspora’s ancestors (indentured laborers) but has also beautifully re-anchored the millions (estimated at around 13 million) of Girmitiya descendants back to their civilizational roots, transforming a painful colonial legacy into a powerful bond of shared heritage and pride and connection with India. Inevitably, the PM’s interest in the girmitiyas and initiatives will help to draw the diaspora closer to India into an enduring, unbreakable bridge, strengthening ties with Bharat.

The PM’s policy towards the girmitiya diaspora can be described as follows:

·         Civilizational / Heritage-driven, as a “civilizational anchor,” treating the diaspora not merely as citizens of foreign countries, but as an indispensable branch of India’s extended cultural and historical family.

·         Proactive / Interventionist: Instead of maintaining a passive stance toward far-flung descendant populations, his policy is marked by direct, systematic outreach — such as expanding Overseas Citizen card.

·         Reverent / Honorific, focusing heavily on elevating the historical memory of indentured laborers. He is described as shifting the narrative from one of historical trauma or neglect to one of resilience, celebrating how they preserved Indian culture and retaining connections with Bharat against immense odds.

·         Strategic / Pragmatic, viewing the diaspora through a practical lens, treating them as structural “force multipliers” and diplomatic bridges who can help project Indian soft power, build trade, and elevate India’s voice in regions like the Indo-Pacific, southern and eastern Africa, and the Caribbean as well as in the developed countries of North America, Europe, and Oceania.

·         Reconstructive / Archival, championing initiatives like creating extensive ancestral databases and mapping migration routes that will enable estranged girmitiyas to reconnect with ancestral relatives in the villages of India. The PM’s approach is viewed as a conscious effort to piece back together fractured historical lineages.

·         Non-intrusive / Inclusive, framing India as the “moral guarantor” of their identity and ensuring that they feel connected by blood and belonging without asking them to choose between their civilizational roots and their current national sovereignty (nationality) and or giving up passports of the countries where they reside.

Under the transformative governance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last twelve years, India has positively altered how it historically viewed the girmitiya (PIO) diaspora as well as the NRI diaspora. Modi-ji has radically re-engineered its geopolitical framework to embrace the global Girmitiya diaspora. Supporters of the BJP and Modi and nationalists like myself as well as countless Indians welcome the PM’s fresh perspective and policy on the girmitiyas , a policy framework that is very different and distinct from his predecessors. It is a profound paradigm shift — transitioning from ‘a policy of relative abandonment’ by Nehru at independence to policy indifferences from others until PM Vajpayee’s Prime Ministership in the late 1990s when government began to court the diaspora. Vajpayee conceived the PBD that began in January 2003 after Singhvi report that was developed from visits by a team from India that engaged the diaspora in several countries.

Unlike his predecessors, with the exception of Vajpayee, Modi reasserts India’s standing and status as the civilizational home, sentinel, and protector of the girmitiya diaspora’s enduring culture, identity, and dignity. By introducing comprehensive institutional measures, such as extending Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI Passport) benefits to the seventh generation of girmitiya descendants (many living in the developed world) and executing a massive global mapping database project, Prime Minister Modi has dismantled decades of bureaucratic isolation of the girmitiyas. Currently, it is very difficult for girmitiyas to trace roots. The proposed database project, when completed, will help to connect the diaspora with ancestral relatives.

Modi’s policy and approach towards the girmitiyas seamlessly synthesizes diplomatic outreach with deep cultural pride, elevating the long-ignored legacy of indentured laborers into a core component of India’s international standingand policy towards them. Through his vision, the modern Indian state has firmly reaffirmed to some thirteen million Girmitiya families worldwide that they are not mere footnotes of history, but vital, inseparable partners in the country’s collective civilizational destiny and also has a role in its development.

Modi’s  Prime Ministership policy towards the girmitiya is saluted for: