ABSTRACT
The Indian immigrants of the past have become transmigrants or a “new diaspora” today. The Indian immigrants under the British indenture labour system in the 19th and 20th century called girmitiyas in many countries including Fiji, have emerged as transmigrants and gradually transformed into distinct Indian diaspora in transnational space. They are deeply engaged in social, cultural and economic development in the countries of settlement and have maintained a distinct cultural group identity and bonding in transnational world. However, their identity and bonding are constantly shifting in transnational space and they are acquiring “multiple identities” in transnational space. A “hybrid cultural identity” has been emerged among Fijian Indian diaspora communities especially in the Pacific-Rim countries. The chapter examines the emergence of girmitiyas in Fiji, their transformation into Fijian-Indian diaspora, and their engagement in host country. It also analyses their shifting identities and the bonding with ancestral homeland-India in transnational world, taking Australasia as a case in point.
