Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

Mauritius as an outpost of Indian Philosophy, religion and Culture: a Unique Experiment of

Transformation.
By
Rajendrakumar DABEE

Introduction
“Mauritius as an outpost of Indian Civilization” were the words used by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, back
in the 30s when he wanted to send a message of hope and courage to his Indian compatriots settled in this
far-off Island.1 Preserving and perpetuating one’s cultural and religious practices, customs and traditions,
beliefs and value systems is vital in maintaining one’s identity. The struggle led by Indian immigrants in
Mauritius to keep alive the umbilical cord which united them with India and the Asian continent resulted in
a rare experiment in the history of philosophy and religion. Despite a balance of economic and political
power that was to their disadvantage, the Indian Immigrants, pejoratively called coolies,2 brought to work as
indentured labourers, demonstrated resilience by adopting the new country and transforming it into a replica
of their own motherland. They also exhibited firm resistance to proselytism and other acculturation strategies
by seeking refuge in their ancient Indian traditions of thought. They resorted to the values and principles
which are implicit in their scriptures and explicit in their day to day life and infused thereby a new dynamism
into what we may call Indian-ness. In this paper, an attempt will be made to argue that Indian Philosophy,
the source of religious and cultural values in many parts of Asia, is a living and flourishing movement in
Mauritius thanks to the relentless efforts made by these migrants.
The Historical Context
To get a holistic picture, the historical and geographical contexts need first to be grasped. Mauritius
is a Mascarene island situated in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, midway between the African and
Asian continents. The first settlers were on the other hand the Dutch, who introduced sugarcane but, after
failed harvests, abandoned the island. The French on the other hand, were more entrepreneurial. They took
possession of the island and named it Ile de France. They brought slaves, established proper administrative
structures, and built adequate infrastructure and facilities. The British, finally captured the island a few years
later and renamed it Mauritius.3 However, they did not expel the French. Instead, acknowledging their
tremendous economic achievement through sugar cane cultivation, they allowed them to continue with their
business, and played a more administrative and political role.4 In this way a rare situation was created. The
lingua franca was French but the official language was English. The population in general spoke a French-
derived dialect called creole or patois which the Indian immigrants later picked up and assimilated, paving

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 Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

a peaceful way for their integration and cohabitation. Conversely, the languages they brought, especially
Bhojpuri, also influenced the creole.5
The Great Experiment
The abolition of slavery in 1835 sounded the death knell for the sugar based economy of Mauritius
which depended heavily on this cheap mode of labour. Pressurized by the French planters, the British East
India Company found the perfect solution: the introduction of Indentured Labour. The quality of Indian
labourers were known to the French, exceptionally docile and perseverant as they were.6 With the slaves now
refusing to work in all colonies around the world, Indians appeared as an economically viable and immediate
solution. However, the sheer number of labour force required was astounding. Such a migration-based
indentured labour and on such a massive scale was never attempted before. However, the proximity between
the Indian subcontinent and Mauritius persuaded the British to experiment with Indentured Labour on a trial
basis. They triggered a chain of events, a wave of economic migration the repercussions of which were so
unpredictable that they are still unfolding.7 It became known as the Great Experiment.
Between 1835 and 1923, the flow of immigrants sailing from the ports of Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras continuously disembarked at Port Louis in Mauritius at a place now famously called Apravasi ghat
or coolie ghat, and proclaimed UNESCO World Heritage Site.8 Many came under some form of
compulsion.9 Some fleeing natural catastrophes, famine and epidemics10 came with hopes of a better life,
others with the greed of finding gold beneath the stones.11 By 1939, the year when Immigration finally
ended,12 there were already half a million of them on the island, constituting thereafter the majority of the
population.13
Disillusionment upon arrival
However, the promised life did not meet the expectation of the migrants. Even before landing at the
ghat, many, especially the weak and the sick, died at sea.14 Not used to prolonged maritime journeys, they
could not resist the stress of the long voyage.15 To the crews carrying them, they were nothing but cattle,
merchandise being delivered. Not respecting their part of the contract, the humiliating and inhumane
treatment they subjected their passengers to, forced some to suicidal leaps into the ocean. 16 Their ordeals
however, did not end with the voyage. Upon arrival, the freshly landed immigrants were sent to specially
designated locations called camps. While in their mind they carried all the facets and elements of their
intangible heritage, 17yet among the rudimentary belongings they could bring, many did not forget to include
the Rāma-carit-mānas and the Bhagavadgītā - two of the most comprehensive ambassadors of Indian
Philosophy, religion and culture.

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 Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

Indian Philosophical values applied.

Despite the host of facilities promised in Indenture contracts, life was not easy in these settlements,
often in the middle of sugar cane fields. The abject poverty and the absence of basic amenities made day-
to-day living a torment difficult to be borne.18 Yet, despite the adverse conditions of their existence, there
gleamed in the hearts and mind of these brave Indian men and women the spirit of tolerance and attitude
characteristic of what Indian values stands for. It is in the trials and tribulations of life that man discovers
the true meaning of being human and the ultimate goal of life. For this reason, Indian Philosophy has often
been wrongly qualified as being fatalistic and pessimistic.19 Yet these are what have really molded the Indian
spirit and endowed it with resilience and strength on the face of adversities. However, one need not embark
upon a study of Indian Philosophy to acquire them. They are present in the collective consciousness of all
Indians and are expressed in the popular literature available in India like the epics, the Purāṇas, the Gītā and
the Mānas. The practical application of these principles were demonstrated by the coolies in Mauritius.
One of the important features of Indian Philosophy is its belief in the world as being a moral stage
where man needs to perfect himself ethically before he can aspire for spiritual realization. 20 Swami
Vivekananda once noted that in Indian villages one can come across people who, though not educated, are
yet profoundly cultured.21 This is so because the very nature of Indian Philosophy is that it is highly practical
and life-affirming. Gautama Buddha, for instance, echoed this Indian attitude towards life when he stated
Sarvam duḥkham in his First Noble Truth. It did not imply shying away from misery and suffering but
instead facing them with all the wisdom and strength of mind embodied in the Darśanas. It must be
remembered that the Indian peasant, even in the remotest of places had access to the wisdom revealed in the
Vedas and the Upaniṣads mainly through the visits of drama troops and wandering monks.22 The
Brahmacarya Sūkta in the Atharva Veda describes how the Brahmacāri moves swiftly from East to West
gathering people and edifying them with his ennobling sermons.23
When the fact is considered that at one point of time,24 there was not more than 10 purohitas or priests
for a population of one and a half lakhs immigrants, the question that begs itself is: How did they manage
to practice, preserve and promote their faith? The argument being proposed is that the Indian labourers who
came to Mauritius were not as ignorant and ill-equipped as one may think. They were already endowed with
the Vedic and Vedāntic outlook embedded in the Indian identity. The conditions prevalent in the island
served therefore both as a catharsis and a catalyst. They compelled an actualization of their ancient wisdom
and a recourse to cultural devices available therein in order to face the existential dilemmas life threw them
into. The immigrants emulated, therefore, what prior to them was already carried out, amongst others, by
Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja,25 Tusidas,26 Mahāṛṣi Dayananda and Mahatma Gandhi. The last two, it is worth
mentioning, had particularly inspired the immigrants. The latter’s Satyagraha and the former’s

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 Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

satyārthaprakāśa had emboldened their resolve to stand against adharma. In so doing, they enabled the
preservation and propagation of values and knowledge held in the popular scriptures.
Adapt or Perish
Acknowledging the quasi-inevitable eventuality of not making back to their native land, the coolies
resolved to adopt this new land as their mātṛbhūmi.27 Looking at the silver lining of hope rather than at the
dark clouds of despair, they resolved to transform it from a land of exploitation and misery into a country of
opportunities and happiness. It began with a mutation of the labour camps into genuine human habitations.28
In many respects, every village in Mauritius mirrors its counterpart in India. The Śivālā29 on the hill, the
Kālimāya30 on the outskirts, the smaśāna bhūmī, and the ghāts on riversides all are evidence of the replication
of Indian Culture and Tradition as expressed in rural India. Religious practices belonging to both mainstream
exoteric Hinduism31 and the more secretive esoteric or tāntrika were performed there.32 Even the traditional
social structure was duplicated. Each village had its carpenter, jeweler, craftsmen, priests, cleaners, etc.
Associations called manḍalis were also set up where the Bhagavadgītā and Rāmāyaṇa were chanted and their
philosophical themes discussed. The traditional panchayat took the form of Baiṭhkas where the elders of the
community took important decisions pertaining to their culture and traditions. Thus gradually, the Indian
way of life got so perfectly transplanted in Mauritius that many referred to it as Little India or Greater India.33
Resistance against Proselytistic strategies.
The migratory wave was no doubt beneficent to the economy but it posed an equally challenging
problem from sociological and religious perspective. The influx of migrants had brought with it not only
much needed labour but also social norms and customs, cultural practices and religious beliefs that were
foreign to the land. Appalled at the sight of some them,34 amused by others35 but generally disdainful towards
their ritualistic practices which they labelled as paganism, the French and the British soon realised the need
to ‘civilize’ the coolies. The success met with the Christianization of the slave population had convinced
their former masters that these Indian illiterates were no different and soon they would be joining the ranks
of the African Christians in churches around the island. Missionaries from all schools of Christianity threw
themselves into an unbridled race of proselytism, eager to assimilate the uneducated mass of immigrants into
their respective folds. Catholics, Adventists, Protestants and Anglicans, all wanted a share of this bounty.
While the French wielded economic power, the British had political control and both exerted their influence
in pushing defenseless migrants towards Christianity. It was a conversion by coercion, animated by a fierce
spirit of competition.36 One missionary, Reverend Beaton, in excessive zeal wanted Mauritius to become an
“outpost for the Evangelization of India”.
However, they were soon disillusioned. These immigrants seemed to be made of a different mettle.
They were deeply attached to their religious and philosophical values and were strongly reluctant to renounce

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 Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

them. Firmly grounded in their Culture and Tradition, proud of their identity, but owing to misfortune,
uprooted from their motherland, the core values and principles embedded in their philosophy of life was what
gave them solace and hope. It can be recalled that the application of force in proselytism is legendary in India
but this has always backlashed into stronger resolve and determination to resist on the side of the people. The
Greeks, the Moghuls and the Europeans met with mitigated success during their respective occupation of
India. The rest of the subcontinent had rallied behind revivalists like Cānakya, Tulsidāsa, Swami
Dayanananda and Mahatma Gandhi. The land could be occupied, not the spirit, which holds even stronger
to its core values and principles in moments of despair and threat. How did India survive years of occupation
and yet preserve its ancient tradition? I believe part of the answer lies in the very structure of the Indian
village. It is rural India that actually preserves and perpetuates, in several ways, the religious and
philosophical values of its past. The panchayat for instance, plays more than just an administrative role. Its
members are equally the custodian of the values and wisdom which their community has inherited since time
immemorial. Mahatma Gandhi’s social ideology was not obsolete when he claimed that the Indian village
system should be promoted instead of uncontrolled industrialization. He saw in the Panchayat the political,
social and religious freedom of India.
A situation not much different was unfolding in Mauritius during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Replicating the Indian Panchayat, baiṭhkās were set-up in each settlement of Mauritius where the elders
discussed strategies of resistance against the evils that endangered their identity. 37 In order to bring the
ancient wisdom inherent in the epics, Rāmāyaṇa and Gītā maṇḍalis were set up where ślokas, dohās and
chaupayis were chanted and their lessons imparted. Away from their homeland, the migrants fell back upon
their religious values and philosophical principles, most of which were already diffused in the texts they had
brought with them, namely the Rāmā-carit-mānas and the Mahābhārata. They identified themselves with
the characters in the epics whose existential predicaments were not foreign to their own. In the former, the
princes’ exile, Sītā’s abduction while in the latter the destiny of the Pāṅdavas mirrored their own conditions
on an island, the name of which reminded them of Rāvaṇa’s Lankā.38 During those dark days of moral and
spiritual crisis, Rāma’s journey to free his spouse, Arjuna’s dilemma and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s message became for
these desperate labourers, sources of inspiration and models to be emulated. The Rākṣasas in the form of
poverty, ignorance, injustice, exploitation, and humiliation had to be annihilated with the selflessness of
niṣkāma karma, adherence to dharma and the determination of a maryādā puruṣottama.
With these counter-measures in place, Indian values seemed preserved but the tenacity of proselytists
did not get dampened. The monetary and governmental machinery were put to full use and various
mechanisms were devised with the aim of making life miserable for the migrants to such an extent that a
refuge into the salutary arms of missionaries would seem the only alternative. All possible weaknesses and

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 Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

shortcomings were identified and converted into powerful weapons of conversion, the most lethal of which
was poverty. The dire conditions in which the coolies lived was a strong argument for promises of a better
life in a different religious context. Unemployment forced many to abandon their faith. The basic needs
always comes first. Prayers do not extinguish the fire of hunger, whereas food does. That is why it is not
surprising in Mauritius to come across Christians with Tamil or Telugu family names. This method of
conversion appears to have been more successful in neighbouring Reunion Island where labourers came
mostly from Tamil Nadu.39
The reluctance and resistance demonstrated by the migrants, rooted as they were in their faith and
culture, made it difficult for missionaries to plough and sow seeds of conversion. The minds of the children,
however, were still fertile and thus full of room for other religious beliefs to sprout. Government run schools
became their target and imposition of Christian precepts and imparting of Biblical knowledge on the name
of education acted as subtle modes of conditioning and thus of conversion.40 British administrators, like
Governor Nicolay, for instance, did not much to improve the situation. It was only in 1839 that the
Government established National System of education. Though education was introduced, it was not getting
the expected success, this is because the coolies had sensed the strategy to ‘steal’ their future from them. In
1851, Governor Higginson drew attention to the fact that great numbers of “savage” Indian immigrant
children were left to themselves and needed urgent attention.41 This Macaulayist observation paved the way
for the introduction of compulsory education.42
Compulsory education following Biblical lines further implied that the medium of instruction would
be either English or French. The tug-of-war between the Church and the State to impose its language ended
up into the latter being unofficial yet popular and the former becoming official but unpopular. The historical
primacy of the French played to its advantage. However, this situation posed a serious threat to the languages
spoken by the Indian immigrants. It became clear to them that the true agenda behind compulsory education
was the acculturation of the Indian mind. Since language is the vehicle of the religious and philosophical
ideas of a culture, the elimination of one naturally entails the disappearance of the other. This mode of
acculturation was particularly successful in Reunion and the West Indies.43 From a linguistic perspective,
Anglicization of names through distortion of words meant that migrants had English names. The
mispronunciation of names aimed at creating a distance between its culturally rooted meaning and the
identity of the individual who bore it. Its dis-accentuation owing to the use of Roman characters instead of
the original nāgri would further alter the meaning and convey, if not a Western, at least a different sense. 44
Ultimately, the expected outcome was to bring about a shift in traditional and cultural practices with the
gradual decay of the original in favour of the new one.

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Preservation of Indian Culture through application of Philosophical Values

On the face of these powerful and diverse attempts at ‘de-indianization’, deliberately calculated and
implemented to erode all trace of Indian-ness from their lives and those of their children, the immigrants
responded with stronger determination to preserve the ancient wisdom of their forefathers. These were
diffused throughout their scriptures and rituals. The Maṇḍalis and the Baitḥkas were in this context crucial.
Realizing this danger but still feeling the need to educate their children, while at the same time preserving
their Indian origins, the coolies saw in the Baiṭhkā the ideal solution. Emulating the gurukula system, these
often rudimentary constructions, became cultural centres and the abodes of Indian Philosophy and religion.
While during the day it they played an educational role, in the evening, it assumed a socio-political dimension
where more serious matters were raised and debated.45 They were also used as venues for social and religious
events. On religious occasions, Rāmalīlā, Indrasabhā and other popular plays were held along with rites and
rituals.46 They were likewise used as wedding halls, very often at night, in order to avoid persecution for
illegal marriage or absenteeism from work.47
Resistance against proselytism gathered further momentum in the middle of the 20th century. An
organisation to have played an important role in the preservation, promotion and propagation of Indian values
has been the Arya Samaj.48 The Vedic ideals preached by Swami Dayanand in his Satyārtha Prakāśa first
reached the island through a sepoy. The zeal which animated the Swami in his crusades against social and
religious evils inspired many of his admirers in the island. Like the baiṭhkās, the Arya Samaj also opened
branches in Hindu settlements. Its work was further catalyzed by the visit of Mahatma Gandhi in 1901. He
listened to the sad stories of misery and injustice faced by his compatriots and promised help. He sent
Manilall Doctor, a lawyer, to fight for their rights. Manilall Doctor’s relentless effort brought justice to many
and many to Justice. He became the champion and spokesperson of the voiceless immigrants. His efforts
inspired other migrants to fight for their rights with the result that greater political power was acquired and
independence sought for.49
After independence, a more democratic system of education being set up, the Baiṭhkas and Maṇḍalis
gradually lost their influence. Their historic role has been taken over by more powerful socio-religious
organizations like the Mauritius Sanatana Dharma Temple Federation, the Hindu House, The Arya Sabha,
the Hindi Pracharini Sabha, The Gahlot Rajput Sabha, The Mauritius Arya Ravived Sabha, the Mauritius
Andhra Sabha, the Mauritius Marathi Mandali Federation, the Mauritius Tamil Temples Federations, etc.
These groups form a powerful political lobby and their agenda consists primarily in safeguarding those values
which the migrants brought with them and defended courageously. They see to it that most of the religious
observances practised in India are faithfully followed in Little India. Their efforts to preserve the languages
of India has helped into their integration in the National Curriculum Framework at primary and secondary

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levels while undergraduate and post-graduate courses are offered at Tertiary. Indian Philosophy is likewise
taught both at secondary and tertiary levels. In addition, a revival of interest towards ancestral languages has
also been noted in the recent years. There is a surge in awareness of the necessity of learning Hindi, Tamil,
Telugu, Marathi, and Bhojpuri which are the vectors of Indian Culture. The number of students enrolling for
Sanskrit courses, especially among adults, indicates a quest for cultural identity and spiritual wisdom.
Recognizing the role and importance of philosophical values and principles expressed in Indian languages,
a speaking union for each Indian language has been set up by the Government of Mauritius. Popular utsavas
and tyoharas are likewise considered festivals of national importance. The celebration of Mahashivaratri,
Deepavali, Thaipoosam and Sittirai Cavadi, Ugadi, Ganesha Chaturthi, Holi, Durgā Pujā, Rāma Navami, not
only reflect the diversity of Hindu Religion and Culture but also indicate that the Indian immigrants came
from all states of India.
Conclusion
It is therefore by the unflinching faith on the universality and eternality of moral and spiritual values
inherent in Indian Philosophy that Mauritius was gradually transformed. The triumph of the Indentured
labourers is to a great extent attributed to their spirit of tolerance and endurance, to their wisdom and beliefs,
to their patience and resilience. These are nothing but the expression of the philosophical and ethical
principles encapsulated in popular works like the Rāmāyaṇa and the Bhagavadgītā and which are diffused in
their religious and cultural practices. While real gold was impossible to be mined from volcanic rocks simply
by lifting them, the faith and hard work of these coolies and malabaris no doubt created both tangible and
intangible wealth from the land.50 In so doing the apravāsis of Mauritius created a unique world-view, a
different value system, closely linked with but not completely similar to its Indian counterpart. Calling it
merely “an outpost of Indian Philosophy” would be undervaluing its contribution to India and Asia. The
present paper serves only as a pre-amble to further research on the various facets of the Mauritian version of
Indian Culture and Philosophy.
Notes and References

1
B. Bissoondoyal, Life in Greater India (Bombay, 1984), preface, p. v.
2
V.L. Teelock, Mauritian History-From Its Beginnings to Modern Times (Moka, 2001), p.234.
3
S. Lionnet, Tales of French Corsairs and Revolution. Book II (London, 1999), p.456
4
S.B. Mookherji, The Indenture System in Mauritius (1837-1915) (Calcutta, 1962), p.2, according to a treaty signed in Paris in
1814,
5
Especially when it comes to Indian cuisine: for e.g. farata (paratha), chapatti, puri, etc.
6
There are records however of about 6000 Indians residing on the island during the French period (1712-1810).
7
This led to the creation of the world’s largest diaspora, with Mauritius being the only country in the world outside India with
the highest population of Indian origin (PIO)
8
The only of its kind commemorating Indentured Labour.
9
A.B. Lubbock, Coolie Ships and Oil Sailers (Glasgow, 1935), pp.26-33
10
R.K. Thiara, ‘Indentured Workers in Mauritius, Natal and Fiji’, in ed. R. Cohen, The Cambridge Survey of World Migration
(Cambridge, 1995), pp. 63–68

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 Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

11
Many were tricked by unscrupulous recruiters into believing that the island was so full of gold that it could be found by merely
lifting one.
12
Bissoondoyal, Life in Greater India. Thanks to the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi, Gokhale, C.F. Andrews and Pundit Madan
Mohun Malaviya
13
Mauritius is the only country in Africa where Hinduism is the major religion.
14
P. Ramsurrun, ed., The History of Mauritius - British Perspectives (Delhi, 2011), p.257
15
Mookherji, The Indenture System in Mauritius (1837-1915), p. 17
16
Ibid. p. P44, 284 out of 694 (40%) of emigrants on board the Hyderre and Futteh Mubarick reportedly died due to negligence.
17
S. Peerthum, ‘“Voices from the Edge”: Reflections on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mauritius: The Historic Importance
and Symbolism of the Ramayana and Ram Leela Among Indian Indentured Labourers and Their Descendants in Mauritius
During the 19th and 20th Centuri’, ‘INDENTURED LABOUR IN THE INDIAN OCEAN WORLD AND BEYOND (Durban,
2017)
18
S. Peerthum and S. Peerthum, The Struggle of the Descendents of Indentured Labourers in Early Modern Mauritius (1921-
1945) (Port Louis, 2014), p.49, fig.16
19
Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli, Indian Philosophy Vol.I (London, n.d.), pp.49-50
20
S.C. Chaterjee and D.. Datta, Introduction to Indian Philosophy (Calcutta, 1939), p.17
21
According to an anecdote where he was asked by a British why he did not wear clothes like a gentleman.
22
The Kuśilavas for example were singing bards who popularised the Rāmāyaṇa
23
Atharva Veda, V.11.; saḥ sadyaḥ eti pūṛvasmāt uttaraṁ samudraṁ, lokān saṅgṛbhya muhuḥ ācariktaḥ
24
According to the Mauritius census of 1851 and 1861
25
Ādi Śaṅkara wanted to revive the old Vedāntic tradition that was being ignored in favour of ritualistic and Buddhist tendencies.
Rāmānuja in turn challenged the overemphasis on Advaita as the true import of Hinduism
26
In his Rāmā-carit-mānas he denounced the internal and external threats on Hinduism
27
R.B. Allen, Slaves, Freedmen, and Indentured Labourers in Colonial Mauritius (London, 1999), p.122. They were not
allowed to go back until they have served their term of “Industrial Residence” according to the contract.
28
Today these have grown to become picturesque localities and tourist attractions.
29
The first temple was built in 1856 at a place called Clemencia.
30
The first Kālishtāna was erected in a village called Creve Coeur.
31
Śrimad Bhāgavat Kathā, Gītā Pāṭha were performed and once or twice a year. “Rāmalīlā” and “Indra Sabha” were also
popular plays.
32
Burton B, Indian in a plural society (1961), London, p. 131. He relates that goats were associated with sacrifices to Kali, the
principal deity for whom Baharia Puja was performed.
33
Bissoondoyal, Life in Greater India, preface.
34
Ibid., p. 131
35
The Holi was called “Mad Festival” as many drunk bhang and misbehaved
36
The rivalry between Church and State is seen for example in the “Anglicization” of the French Lycee to Royal College.
37
K. Hazareesingh, History of Indian in Mauritius (London, 1975), p.59
38
A. Ghosh, The Sea of Poppies (London, 2008). Many thought that the name ‘Mauritius’ was derived from ‘Mārica’, the Uncle
of Rāvaṇa. The name in fact really has a royal origin - not Indian, but Dutch. Maurice Van Nassau was the prince after whom the
Island was first named when the latter settled first in the 16 th century.
39
K. Mooneegadoo, ‘Tamil Diaspora in Mauritius and Reunion - A Socio-Cultural Perspective’, 2017. They were called Malabars
40
The first British Governor, Robert Farquhar, brought one Reverend named Jean Lebrun who popularised education for the poor.
He is noted to have said: “…my chief aim and duty is to inculcate into their minds the principles of the Christian Religion.”
41
Hazareesingh, History of Indian in Mauritius, p.58
42
The Ordinance No. 6 making education compulsory was passed in 1856 and implemented in 1857.
43
Hazareesingh, History of Indian in Mauritius,p. 66
44
For instance Lakṣmaṇa was distorted into Latchman, Luchmun, Laxman, Hari into Harry, Jaikishan into Jackson, etc.
45
Hazareesingh, History of Indian in Mauritius, p.59.
46
Ibid. p.65
47
Ibid.pp.60-61.
48
Surnam I, The Arya Samaj in Mauritius, enumerates a host of malpractices ranging from animal sacrifice to worship of Dee
and Sayar
49
The Independent Forward Block (IFB) of the Bissoondoyal brothers for instance.
50
Allen, Slaves, Freedmen, and Indentured Labourers in Colonial Mauritius, p.136. Indian labourers were considered the
regenerators of agricultural prosperity.

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 Mauritius: An Outpost of Indian Philosophy

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