Remembering Brij V. Lal

The present article is a slight reworking of a Zoom presentation at the book launching ceremony of Dire l’engagisme dans l’océan Indien: histoire, circulations, pluralitès , ed. Céline Ramsamy-Giancone (Saint-Denis, Réunion: TER’LA Éditions, 2025) at the University of Mauritius, 12 August 2025. It briefly surveys the life and work of the late Brij Lal, a historian of indenture and of contemporary Fiji, from the standpoint of a close friend and colleague. I am grateful to Satyendra Peerthum, who suggested to the organizers that I address the book launch.