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By S. Peerthum
During the past sixty years, there has been a rich
and important tradition of celebrating the birthday of Mahatma
Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948). In October 2001, the
centenary anniversary of the visit of Gandhiji to Mauritius was
commemorated at a national level. Today, it is widely known and
accepted that the visit of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has had a
long-lasting impact on our country’s history.
Mauritius in Gandhi’s
Writings
During the 1950s and 1960s, Professor Basdeo Bissoondoyal, an
Indo-Mauritian Gandhian, repeatedly emphasized in his publications
the little known fact that Mauritius had an important influence on
the Mahatma and his writings. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
clearly shows that between 1896 and 1914, Gandhi mentioned Mauritius
at least ten times in his letters, petitions, official speeches and
publications. In 1896, while writing about voting rights for Indians
in Natal in South Africa, he alluded to the fact that some Indo-Mauritians
qualified for the franchise in British Mauritius thanks to the fact
that they were property-owners, wealthy businessmen and could read
and write.
In his Satyagraha in South Africa, the father of the Indian nation
mentioned Mauritius on different three occasions. He explained that
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hundreds of Indo-Mauritians
as well as Indian traders and indentured labourers had emigrated
from Mauritius to Natal. They had made important contributions in
the emergence of the sugar industry there as well as in Gandhi’s
campaign for their social, economic and political rights. After all,
one Mauritian who stood out in particular in Gandhi’s book was
Thambi Naidoo who was one of his faithful lieutenants during the
satyagraha campaign in South Africa.
In December 1901, in his speech at the 17th session of the Indian
National Congress, the Mahatma referred to Mauritius along with
other colonies such as Fiji and Natal as being places where Indian
workers and traders have contributed in the prosperity of those
British territories. It should be noted that this speech came just
over a month after Gandhi’s historic visit to our small Indian Ocean
island. Four years later, in a letter to Professor Gokhale, his
political mentor, the Mahatma encouraged him to visit Mauritius
while on his way to South Africa.
In 1907, Manilal Doctor arrived in Mauritius and began to work for
the political and social emancipation of the Indo-Mauritians and the
Indian indentured labourers. Between 1907 and 1911, he sent
telegrams to Gandhi on a regular basis informing him of his work in
Mauritius. In 1911, in one of his letters from Tolstoy Farm in the
Transvaal, South Africa, Gandhi informed Gokhale that:
“Mr Manilal Doctor has, as you are aware, done very good public work
in Mauritius and gained the affection of the poor Indians there to
whom he became a friend in need.”
Gandhi and Mauritius
In his famous autobiography “The Story of My Experiment with Truth”,
the Mahatma explained that during his three-week stay in Mauritius
he had acquainted himself fairly well with local conditions in the
colony. This was the primary reason why in 1906, during a brief
meeting with Manilal Doctor in London, Gandhi asked him to go to
Mauritius. It becomes evident that the plight of the colony’s Indo-Mauritians
and the Indian indentured labourers preoccupied the apostle of
non-violence even several years after leaving our shores.
During the early 1900s, Gandhi was instrumental in getting the
indentured labour system abolished in the British Empire. In his
letter of 1911 to Gokhale, Gandhi stated that Manilal Doctor was
proceeding to India to attend an important meeting of the Indian
National Congress where he would campaign to get a resolution passed
condemning the indentured labour system in all British territories.
The Mahatma mentioned that he supported Manilal’s initiative who has
seen the terrible living and working conditions of the indentured
workers in Mauritius.
Many years later, in 1924, as the President of the Indian National
Congress, the Mahatma, although taken up with India’s freedom
struggle, referred to Mauritius when speaking about the inhumane
treatment of the indentured overseas Indians. He was fully aware
that during the course of that same year, hundreds of indentured
workers were sent to work on some of the Mauritian sugar estates
following a visit of some Mauritian planters to the Indian
subcontinent who were in search of labour.
Between the 1910s and 1940s, Mahatma Gandhi came in touch with
several Mauritians such as R.K. Boodhun, P. Lutchmaya, J.N. Roy and
B. Bissoondoyal. He encouraged them to work for the social,
political and economic betterment of all Mauritians. Thus, it is not
surprising that over the years, these brief encounters with
prominent Mauritians constantly reminded him of his visit to
Mauritius. In 1936, Dr. K. Hazareesingh, the former Director of the
MGI and a well-known Mauritian writer, sent a letter to Gandhi
requesting information about his stay in Mauritius. Interestingly
enough, Gandhi replied shortly after that he clearly remembered his
visit to Mauritius and that he had been a guest of Governor Sir
Charles Bruce.
In 1942, the Mahatma wrote a letter to Marshal Chiang-Kai-Shek, the
Chinese national leader, in which he revealed that between 1905 and
1913, he had been in close contact with Indians and Chinese settled
in Mauritius. In 1947, at the height of inter-religious riots in
India, in one of his post-prayer morning speeches, Gandhiji
mentioned that in Mauritius, Hindus and Muslims lived in peace and
harmony.
More than two decades, in The Truth About Mauritius, Professor
Basdeo Bissoondoyal accurately explained that: “As many as 46 years
after his visit to Mauritius, he was so kind as to tell his
countrymen that this tiny island could teach India something”.
It is obvious that Mauritius did have an important influence on the
father of the Indian Republic and his writings. Furthermore, the
annual celebrations of the Mahatma’s birth are a clear indication
that Mauritius and Mauritians have always shared a special
relationship with M.K. Gandhi.
L'express.mu - Port-Louis, Mauritius |
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