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India-Fiji Relations: The Indian Diaspora In Fiji–Strengthening Cultural Diplomacy And Strategic Partnerships – IMPRI Impact And Policy Research Institute

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India-Fiji Relations

Policy Update
Elenora Tu’u

Background:

India-Fiji relations are deeply rooted in a shared historical journey, tracing back to the ancestral legacy of indentured laborers who first migrated to Fiji under Bristish colonial rule.

In a recent program on Urban Policy and City Planning – Cohort 3.0 with the theme People-Centric Cities, organized by IMPRI, Prof. Irudaya S. Ranjan rightly remarked, “Migration is development.” He emphasized the importance of improving migrant welfare, as migrants are the very builders of cities. Inspired by this insight, the present article reflects on India–Fiji relations, focusing on the Indian diaspora and ancestral connections. It traces the ancestral footprint of the Indian community in Fiji while highlighting how these ties strengthen cultural diplomacy and strategic partnerships.

India’s diaspora is the world’s second largest, with more than 32 million people globally. Among them, Fiji in the Pacific carries the distinctive legacy of the Indo-Fijian community, with deep historical, cultural, and political significance. This legacy began with the migration of Girmitiyas, the indentured laborers transported by the British between 1879 and 1916 to work on Fiji’s sugarcane plantations. Over time, Indo-Fijians became integral to Fiji’s socio-economic fabric, contributing to governance, commerce, agriculture, and education.

Today, Indo-Fijians comprise nearly 37% of Fiji’s population, though their share has declined due to emigration to Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific nations such as Papua New Guinea. Despite this, the community continues to preserve its traditions—language, cuisine, religion, and vibrant festivals—while adapting to local realities. This resilience underscores the enduring strength of diaspora communities. This migration not only created a resilient Indo-Fijian community but also laid the foundation for enduring cultural, social and diplomatic ties between both nations and the broader pacific.

For India, the Indo-Fijian community is more than an ethnic group abroad; it represents a living bridge that reinforces cultural ties with the Pacific and strengthens diplomatic relations. This consistent leveraging of historical connections forms an important part of India’s diaspora diplomacy. A significant milestone was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 visit to Fiji, where he addressed the Fijian parliament and pledged deeper cooperation through capacity-building initiatives, scholarships, and cultural exchanges (PIB, 2014).

Ultimately, the story of the Indo-Fijian relations diaspora affirms Prof. Ranjan’s observation that migration is indeed development—shaping societies, building nations, and strengthening international partnerships across generations.

Functions:

Indo-Fijian diaspora thus functions as a cultural, economic, and diplomatic asset for both nations:

  1. Cultural Anchors
  • Religious and cultural practices such as Phagwa, known as Holi and Ram Leela, remain integral, fostering ethnic groups (Singh & Chand, 2025).
  • Bollywood cinema and Hindi television series are widely consumed by both Indo-Fijians and Fijians(iTaukei), highlighting India’s soft power outreach (Kundra et al., 2025).
  1. Political and Economic contributions
  • Political participation has long since been, with Indo-Fijian facing systematic underrepresentation,however they remain a central part of Fiji’s democratic processes
  • Historically dominant in  Fiji’s sugarcane industry, most indo-fijians continue to play a crucial role in Fiji’s business, education, and civil services.
  1. Institutional Networks
  • Indo-Fijians abroad (New Zealand, PNG, Australia) have created transnational advocacy and remittance networks, extending Fiji’s reach in the global diaspora climate (Kataoka,2021)
  • Organisations like Hindu Parishad and Sat Sang Ramayana Manali sustain language, religion and collective memory (Ali,2023).

Key performance:The performance of this community can be assessed on three policy relevant dimensions

  • Cultural Diplomacy: The community so far has preserved the Indian language and traditions overtime,becoming ambassadors of Indian culture in the pacific 
  • Economic Role: It is visible that Indo-Fijians have shaped the agrarian and service sector, while migrants abroad contribute through remittance.
  • Global Advocacy: Overall, diaspora groups mobilize around identity and heritage, amplifying Indo-Fijian voices in human rights forums(Kataoka,2021)

Since then, India’s engagement through the Know India Programme, in the form of cultural exchanges, scholarships, has strengthened diaspora performance by enabling youth linkages and identity continuity globally.

Impact:

  1. On India’s Foreign Policy: The Indo-fijian diaspora enhances India’s visibility in the Pacific,which directly supports the “Act East Policy” and Indo-Pacific Strategy. Moreover, harnessing soft power flows through cultural exports such as through cinema, music ,yoga ,and of course the rich cuisine, cementing India’s influence across the pacific.
  2. Fiji’s Multicultural Identity:Embodies hybrid cuisines and foodways enrich Fiji’s gastronomy, blending indian and pacific elements through every fiber of pacific populous(MR&Chaudhary,2024).furthermore,the community embody Fiji’s multicultural ethos,with festivals like Holi ,truly fostering intercultural solidarity.
  1. On Diaspora Identity formation: literature and collection memory projects ensure resilience against cultural erosion (Kumar &Kumar,2022). Such provokes a negotiated dual identity, which is not about promoting diaspora diplomacy, rather balancing ancestral traditions with contemporary lived  Fijian realities(Chand,2025)

Emerging Issues:


1. Political Underrepresentation: progressive turn of Indo-Fijians remaining crucial in Fiji’s economic space has been influential, however, long since constraints remains in equal representation political participation, which has been a reflection of Fiji’s history of ethnic tensions and exclusionary policies since

2. Cultural Dilution: cultural dilution is a contemporary concern around younger generation, showing a declining fluency in Hindi and Bhojpuri,such  flags concerns.literature shows Over reliance on Bollywood risks stereotyping India as a “twice-removed” cultural construct (Kundra et al., 2025).

3. Memory and Heritage Politics: Memory and heritage often provokes historical narratives – underrepresentation in mainstream fijian discourse traces back to Girmit,despite diaspora groups leading efforts to commemorate, integrating efforts into Fiji’s national narrative has always remained uneven

4. Migration and Demographic Shifts: Recent shift on out-migration to Australia and New Zealand recedes Indo-Fijian presence within Fiji, this weakens community representation in governance.

5. Geopolitical Competition: Geopolitical competition in the Pacific has been contested by existing major powers (China, USA, Australia, Japan, New Zealand), India must leverage diaspora diplomacy to ensure contention with external influences.

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Source: https://share.google/images/PKBLwDgCTiS3TKVGU

Way Forward:

Recommendations to strengthen Indo-Fijian diaspora engagement and maximise policy value include the following

  1. Institutionalize Diaspora Memory: Institutionalizing diaspora memory by integrating diaspora contributions in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and diaspora museums. Additionally, supporting joint Indo-Fijian academic projects to document Girmit history.
  2. Enhance cultural and Education Linkages: The initiative by the Indian government through ICCR scholarship and digital learning platforms for Indo-Fijian youth amplifies and cements linkages. Moreover, establishing India-Fiji cultural centres focusing on preserving Fiji, Hindi, and Bhojpuri
  1. Economic and Development Partnerships: Create bilateral business forums to support Indo-Fijian participation in Fiji’s tourism ,renewable energy sector and IT. further linking Indo-Fijian entrepreneurs to India’s – start up MSME ecosystem.
  2. Inclusive Political Engagement:  Promote Indo-Fiji Diaspora Councils for a structured policy dialogue with both governments. Perhaps India should use diplomatic channels  and multilateral forums (UN Commonwealths) to advocate for inclusive governance in Fiji.
  3.  Strategic regional Out Reach: Deepen India’s development cooperation with Fiji through Health,climate resilience ,and digital governance frameworks. This positions Indo-Fijians as cultural ambassadors in the Pacific to counterbalance existing powers.


In conclusion

The existing Indo-Fijian diaspora community exemplifies the resilience of migrant communities in preserving identity and cultural traditions, contributing to the host society. For India, they represent both heritage and strategy, cementing historical memories with contemporary diplomacy. For Fiji, its existence as an equal stakeholder is vital for inclusive nation-building.

Sustainability of this legacy requires policies that will reinforce cultural preservation, bridge youth linkages, and harness the diaspora transnational networks for mutual growth.  It should be celebrated that Indo-Fijians are not just descendants of indentured labourers, rather a pivotal actor in the evolving story of India’s global diaspora diplomacy and Fiji’s multicultural identity that will be celebrated moving ahead.

References

About the contributor:

Elenora Tu’u is an undergraduate student specializing in Politics and Public Policy at P P Savani University, Gujarat. This article is published as part of her course work with the IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute.

Acknowledgement:

The author sincerely thanks Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja and the IMPRI team for their valuable support.

Disclaimer:

All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organization.

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