New Delhi to aid ancestral tracing: Jaishankar

PTI

Port of Spain

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said an archival cooperation agreement between India and Trinidad and Tobago would help members of the Indian diaspora trace their ancestral roots and reconnect with families in India, as he underlined New Delhi's efforts to preserve the legacy of the Girmitya community.

Girmitya refers to Indian indentured labourers transported by the British to colonies in Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius, and the Caribbean between the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Addressing a gathering at the historic Nelson Island on Saturday, 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 difficult circumstances.