History
During the administration of the French East India Company (until 1767) and subsequent French rule at least 12,000 workers arrived from India between 1721 and 1810 before the abolition of slavery. These first Indian immigrants came from various parts of India such as Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanaon, Bengal and others. They worked under contract as skilled stonemasons, blacksmiths, and carpenters although hundreds of them were slaves. [3] [4] After the legislative changes of 1767 these Indian immigrants were allowed to start businesses, buy land and own slaves. [5]
Following the November 1810 British Invasion from the northern coast, the island came under British rule. With the liberation of about 65,000 African and Malagasy slaves after the 1833 abolition of slavery the Franco-Mauritian plantation owners and sugar oligarchs resorted to indentured labourers, or Coolies, from various parts of India to work in their fields. Between 1834 and 1920, nearly 700,000 Indian indentured laborers arrived at Aapravasi ghat, an embankment located in the harbor of Port-Louis. [6] Mauritius thus became the British colony's largest recipient of indentured migrants. [7] Indentured labourers were mostly brought from the Bhojpuri speaking regions of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with a large number of Tamils, Telugus and Marathis amongst them. The descendants of these indentured labourers make up two-thirds of the island's current population. [7]
As free immigrants, these later arrivals were commonly employed by the British in the armed forces, police forces, as security personnel with a substantial portion of immigrants from Gujarat and Sindh arriving as traders, businessmen, and merchants.
In the late 19th to early 20th century, Chinese men in Mauritius married Indian women due to both a lack of Chinese women and the higher numbers of Indian women on the island. [8] [9] [10] The 1921 census in Mauritius counted that Indian women there had a total of 148 children fathered by Chinese men. [11] [12] [13] These Chinese were mostly traders. [14]
Demographics
Today the population consists of mainly Hindus with Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Baháʼí Faith minorities. The mother tongue of almost all Mauritians is the Mauritian Creole, while a minority of Indo-Mauritians still use both their ancestral language and Creole at home. Indo-Mauritian use their ancestral languages mostly in religious activities, some of them include Bhojpuri, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Urdu.
As from age six, all Mauritian children must learn a third language at school (French and English are already compulsory). The languages learnt in decreasing order are Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Chinese, Marathi, Telugu and Bhojpuri. Mauritian Creoles can opt for Mauritian Creole as the third language. Choice is usually based on ethno-religious background with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi chosen by Hindus who belong to the respective ethnicities and Urdu by Muslims from the Indian Subcontinent.
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometres off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island, as well as Rodrigues, Agaléga, and St. Brandon. The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, along with nearby Réunion, are part of the Mascarene Islands. The main island of Mauritius, where population is concentrated, hosts the capital and largest city, Port Louis. The country spans 2,040 square kilometres (790 sq mi) and has an exclusive economic zone covering 2,300,000 square kilometres.
The known history of Mauritius begins with its discovery by Arabs and Malays, followed by Europeans and its appearance on maps in the early 16th century. Mauritius was successively colonized by the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, and became independent on 12 March 1968.
Mauritian society includes people from many different ethnic groups as well as a significant population of mixed-race people who have ancestry from more than one ethnic group. A majority of the republic's residents are the descendants of people from India. Mauritius also contains substantial populations from continental Africa, China, France, and the East African island nation of Madagascar. Mauritius had a population of 1,235,260 according to the final results of the 2022 Census. The population on the island of Mauritius was 1,191,280, and that of Rodrigues island was 43,650 ; Agalega island total population of 330. Mauritius has the second highest population density in Africa. According to the 2022 census, the average age of the population was 38 years. 2022 Census indicated that: The proportion of children aged below 15 years went down from 20.7% in 2011 to 15.4% in 2022; The share of persons aged 60 years and over has risen from 12.7% in 2011 to 18.7% in 2022.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. A central figure of Mauritian politics in the 1980s and 1990s, he was Leader of the Opposition from 1976 to 1982. He served four consecutive terms as Prime Minister from 1982 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2003. He was then elected as President and served as such from 2003 to 2012. Following his party's victory in the 2014 general elections, he served his sixth and final term as Prime Minister becoming the longest serving prime minister with more than 18 years of tenure overtaking Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who held the office for 14 years.
Mauritius is a multi-ethnic, multilingual and a plural society with a population composed mainly of four major ethnic and religious groups. It is often depicted as a "rainbow nation".
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam was a Mauritian physician, politician, and statesman. He served as the island's only chief minister, first prime minister, and fifth governor-general.
Hinduism came to Mauritius when Indians were brought as indentured labour to colonial French and later in much larger numbers to British plantations in Mauritius and neighboring islands of the Indian Ocean. The migrants came primarily from what are now the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, with another influx of migrants from the Sindh region of Pakistan, following the Partition of India.
Mauritians are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian, Sub-Saharan African, European, and Chinese descent, as well those of a mixed background from any combination of the aforementioned ethnic groups.
Indians in Réunion are people of Indian origin in Réunion. They form two ethnic groups on the island, Malbars (Tamils) and Zarabes (Muslims).
Bihari Mauritians are the descendants of mainly Bhojpuri speaking migrants to Mauritius. A majority of Indo-Mauritians are of Bihari descent, and the majority of Mauritians are Indo-Mauritian. Castewise, most Bihari Mauritians are Vaishyas with significant Bhumihars, Brahmins, Rajputs, Koeris, Chamars, Yadavs, Kurmis, Banias and Kayasthas. All but one Mauritian Prime Ministers have been of Bihari Vaishya descent. The community includes a Hindu majority with a Muslim minority. About 65.7 % of the 1.3 million population of Mauritius is of Indian origin, most of them from Bihar, with Bhojpuri as their ancestral tongue.
Constituencies of Mauritius are the electoral boundaries within the Republic of Mauritius. They are also commonly referred to as Circonscriptions amongst the locals. The country follows the Westminster system and elects 60 members of parliament for a term of 5 years. There are in all 21 Constituencies in the republic, each of them returning 3 members with the exception of Constituency No 21, which returns only 2 members. The Constitution stipulates that there shall be 20 constituencies and one created specially for the Rodrigues island.
Nowadays, no one could still claim his pure race status. Ethnic, social and linguistic differences become each day more and more present and marked all over the world. Time, history and continuous population intermingling across boundaries led to create cosmopolitan beings, that is to say world citizens who, in spite of their singularity, manage to bring themselves together in order to create a unique and single nation. Among the nations most affected by this cross-fertilization is notably found Mauritius. The social and linguistic diversity of this country makes it unique and contribute to its wealth. It arouses curiosity, urges us to deepen our knowledge on the subject and is, to this extent, worth being studied.
Tamil Mauritians are the descendants of Tamil people who migrated, from the South Indian regions corresponding to the modern state of Tamil Nadu, to the island of Mauritius.
Mauritius is a religiously diverse nation, with Hinduism being the most widely professed faith. According to the 2011 census made by Statistics Mauritius, Hinduism is the major religion at 48.54%, followed by Christianity at 32.71%, followed by Islam 17.30% and Buddhism 0.18% in terms of number of adherents.
Sir Charles Gaëtan Duval QC was a barrister, statesman and politician from Mauritius who was the leader of the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD).
Basdeo Bissoondoyal was a Mauritian social worker, educator and writer who played an important role in the pre-Independence politics and independence movement on the island of Mauritius. He is also sometimes referred to as "Pandit Basdeo Bissoondoyal" or "Professor Basdeo Bissoondoyal".
Harisun Boodhoo more commonly known as Harish Boodhoo, is a Mauritian political figure who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius from 11 June 1982 to 21 August 1983. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) in 1976, 1982 and 1983 in Rivière des Anguilles and Souillac.
Socio-Cultural Group is a term which is used on the island of Mauritius to refer to private organisations whose primary objectives are to consolidate human and moral values, strengthen the family unit and promote religious and cultural values. These groups are also known as socio-cultural movements or socio-cultural associations.
