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Girmitiyas, (Kaithi: ) also known as Jahajis, were indentured labourers from British Raj transported to work on in Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius, and the Caribbean (namely Trinidad and Tobago, British Guiana, Suriname and Jamaica) as part of the Indian indenture system.
The agreements specified the workers' length of stay in foreign parts and the conditions attached to their return to the British Raj. The word Jahāj refers to 'ship' in Indic languages (from the Arabic/Persian Jahāz/جهاز), with Jahaji implying 'people of ship' or 'people coming via ship'.
In Fiji, Governor Arthur Hamilton-Gordon discouraged Melanesians Fijians from working on the plantations in an attempt to preserve their culture. Activist Shaneel Lal argues that Girmitiya were deceitfully enslaved by the British.
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