1968 Mauritian riots
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The 1968 Mauritian riots refers to a number of violent clashes that occurred in the
Port Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's e ...
neighbourhoods of
Cité Martial Cité may refer to: Places * Cité (Paris Métro), the metro station on the ''Île de la Cité'' * Cité (Quebec), type of municipality in Quebec * Citadel, the historical centre of an old city, originally fortified * Housing estate A hous ...
and Plaine Verte in
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
over a period of ten days, six weeks before the country's declaration of independence on 12 March 1968. The riot was the result of communal conflict between the predominantly Christian creoles and Muslims over concerns arising from the country's future political dispensation following independence.


Riots

Political tension was high at the time due to uncertainty about the future political situation in the country after independence. With about half the country being against independence due to concerns that they might lose out in the new government. The army viewed the riot as being the result of street gang rivalries between the Istanbul Muslim gang and the rival Texas Creole gang in Port Louis that had expanded and been exacerbated by political uncertainty due to the coming declaration of independence. Another gang of Creoles called Mafia joined forces with the Texas gang. The gang clashes led to the deaths of a Muslim and a Christian which sparked a spiral of violence between the communities. Order was restored by a company of the
King's Shropshire Light Infantry The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. In 19 ...
called in from Singapore after a state of emergency was declared by the British authorities on 22 January 1968 and lasted for ten days. In their effort to restore order the British deployed three Bell H-13 Sioux helicopters and around 150 troops. Violence was contained to the urban areas of Port Louis and did not spread to the rest of the island. At least 29 people died before British troops and Mauritian police quelled the fighting. Prior to the riots the neighbourhoods of Cité Martial and Plaine Verte had been ethnically mixed areas for over a hundred years. The riots resulted in the two communities becoming ethnically heterogeneous communities.


See also

*
Uba riots of 1937 The Uba riots of 1937 or simply the Mauritian riots of 1937 refers to an outbreak of riots and civil disturbances that broke out amongst small scale sugar cane growers on the island of Mauritius in August 1937. The riots led to the death of 4 pe ...
* 1943 Belle Vue Harel Massacre *
1965 Mauritius race riots The 1965 Mauritius race riots in Trois Boutiques refers to a number of violent clashes that started in the village of Trois Boutiques, Souillac on 10 May 1965 and progressed to the historic village of Mahébourg. The unrest eventually led to the ...
*
1967 Port Louis riots The 1967 Port Louis riots refer to a series of violent clashes and looting in the city of Port Louis, Mauritius. August 1967 Elections Riots The 07 August 1967 General Elections were held to determine the nation's support for independence from ...


References

{{reflist Riots Murder in Mauritius Mauritian riots History of Mauritius Ethnic riots Riots and civil disorder in Mauritius Mauritian riots Anti-Indian racism in Africa