गिरमिटिया

Hindi

FWOTD – 19 August 2018

Etymology

गिरमिट (girmiṭ, “a contract of indentured labour”) +‎ -इया (-iyā). The first part is from English agreement.

Pronunciation

• (Delhi) IPA^(key): /ɡɪɾ.mɪ.ʈɪ.jɑː/, [ɡɪɾ.mɪ.ʈi.jäː]

Noun

गिरमिटिया • (girmiṭiyā) m

1. (historical) an indentured labourer
   • 2009, Mahesh Sharma, Rashtrapita Mahatma Gandhi, page 36:

     एक दिन एक मद्रासी गिरमिटिया मुँह से खून उगलता हुआ गांधीभाई के सामने आया। गांधीभाई के एक सहायक मद्रासी ने उन्हें बताया कि उसके गोरे मालिक ने उसे बहुत मारा है और उसके दो दाँत भी तोड़ डाले हैं।

     ek din ek madrāsī girmiṭiyā mũh se khūn ugaltā huā gāndhībhāī ke sāmne āyā. gāndhībhāī ke ek sahāyak madrāsī ne unhẽ batāyā ki uske gore mālik ne use bahut mārā hai aur uske do dā̃t bhī toṛ ḍāle ha͠i.

     One day a South Indian indentured labourer came to Gandhi [in text "brother Gandhi"] with a bleeding mouth. One of Gandhi's assistants, [also] a South Indian, told him that the man's white owner had beaten him a lot, and even broken two of his teeth.

Declension

Declension of गिरमिटिया (masc ā-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	गिरमिटिया girmiṭiyā	गिरमिटिए, गिरमिटिये girmiṭie, girmiṭiye
oblique	गिरमिटिए, गिरमिटिये girmiṭie, girmiṭiye	गिरमिटियों girmiṭiyõ
vocative	गिरमिटिए, गिरमिटिये girmiṭie, girmiṭiye	गिरमिटियो girmiṭiyo

See also

• क़ुली (qulī, “coolie”), कोली (kolī, “low class weaver”)

Adjective

गिरमिटिया • (girmiṭiyā) (indeclinable)

1. in indentured servitude

References

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “गिरमिटिया”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press, page 263