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The date of 12 March 1968 is historic in the history of Mauritius. This is the date when Mauritius became independent from British colony. This is the day of celebration of Mauritius’ independence, history and culture. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is present there today on this special day. He has been invited as the chief guest for the National Day celebrations. If you look into history, you will find that India’s relations with Mauritius have always been good.
Mauritius’ Independence Day is celebrated on 12 March, this was the day when Gandhiji started the Dandi March. Mauritius has also been an important stop in Bapu’s visit to South Africa. Bapu reached Mauritius in the shackles of the British and also addressed the Indians.
When Bapu reached Mauritius
Mauritius was also an important stop in Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to South Africa. While returning from South Africa in the year 1901, Bapu spent some time in Mauritius. During his visit, he gave three messages to Indian workers. In his message, he explained the importance of education. He talked about political empowerment and staying connected with India.
That special day and his words were given a place in the history of Mauritius. A large part of the Indians living in Mauritius started settling there in the 1700s, when this island nation was under French colonial rule. They started migrating from Puducherry to work as masons and artisans.
When the British captured here in the 1800s, the slavery prevalent in Mauritius under French rule was abolished. Between 1830 and 1900, more than five lakh Indians came to this island country as indentured laborers. The day when the ship named ‘Atlas’ reached Mauritius in 1834 carrying Indian indentured workers is celebrated as ‘Immigrant Day’. Despite being British colonies, both countries helped each other in the national struggle for independence.
Mauritius has been among the countries with which independent India established diplomatic relations in 1948. After gaining independence from British rule in 1968, Mauritius has been ruled primarily by two prominent political families, the Ramgoolams (Seewoosagar Ramgoolam and his son Navin) and the Jugnauths (Anerood Jugnauth and his son Pravind). Navin Ramgoolam, who won the election last year, has previously served as Mauritius’ prime minister twice (from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014).
His father led the country’s freedom struggle and became the first prime minister of independent Mauritius. He worked with many Indian freedom fighters, including Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu. He also had strong relations with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and did proofreading for Bose’s book The Indian Struggle (1934).
How many Indians, how many languages in Mauritius?
According to the United Nations data, more than 12 lakh 69 thousand people live in Mauritius. The highest 52 percent of the population here are Hindus. Christianity is the second largest religion here with 28 percent of the population. At the same time, there is a 16.6 percent Muslim population.
Mainly three languages are spoken in Mauritius. Creole, French and English. Creole is the most widely spoken language in Mauritius. It is influenced by French and includes words from many African, Indian, and other languages.
French is very popular in Mauritius. It is prominently used in media, business, and education. English is the official language of Mauritius and is used in government work, administration, and judicial system. Besides, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, and Chinese (Hakka and Mandarin) are also spoken by some communities in Mauritius, especially among people of Indian origin.
