Mauritians
Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') 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 (notably I ...
who trace their ethnic ancestry to
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
or other parts of South Asia.
History
During the administration of the
French East India Company
The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in the ...
(until 1767) and subsequent French rule at least 12,000 workers arrived from India between 1721 and 1810 before the
abolition of slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
. 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. After the legislative changes of 1767 these Indian immigrants were allowed to start businesses, buy land and own slaves.
Following the November 1810 British Invasion from the northern coast, the island came under
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...
. 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
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...
, or
Coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
s, 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. Mauritius thus became the British colony's largest recipient of indentured migrants. Indentured labourers were mostly brought from the Bhojpuri speaking regions of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
and
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, with a large number of
Tamils
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
,
Telugus
Telugu people ( te, తెలుగువారు, Teluguvāru), or Telugus, or Telugu vaaru, are the largest of the four major Dravidian ethnolinguistic groups in terms of population. Telugus are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh ...
and
Marathis
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...
amongst them. The descendants of these indentured labourers make up two-thirds of the island's current population.
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
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
arriving as traders, businessmen, and merchants.
In the late 19th to early 20th century, Chinese men in Mauritius married
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
women due to both a lack of Chinese women and the higher numbers of Indian women on the island. The 1921 census in Mauritius counted that Indian women there had a total of 148 children fathered by Chinese men. These Chinese were mostly traders.
Demographics
Today the population consists of mainly
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
with
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
,
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
,
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
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
Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries , Oxford U ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
are already compulsory). The languages learnt in decreasing order are
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
and
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries , Oxford U ...
. Mauritian Creoles can opt for Mauritian Creole as the third language. Choice is usually based on ethno-religious background with
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
and
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
chosen by
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
from the
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.
Indian influence
Indo-Mauritians have influenced Mauritian culture, dominating the economic, public sector and political faces of the island. Mauritian politics have been historically dominated by the Indo-Mauritian community due to their majority as a whole on the electoral platform. All presidents except
Karl Offmann
Karl Auguste Offmann, GCSK (25 November 1940 – 12 March 2022) was a Mauritian politician who briefly served as the president of Mauritius from 2002 to 2003.
After two of his successive predecessors had resigned over their refusal to sign a ...
and all prime ministers except for
Paul Berenger
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
have been members of the community. Most Hindu celebrations are public holidays. Indian influence is felt in religion, cuisine and arts. Indian influence is also felt on music wherein the island has its own groups of Bhojpuri and Tamil bands. Indian films are also widely popular.
Viveka Babajee
Viveka Babajee (27 May 1973 – 25 June 2010) was a Mauritian model and actress. She held the titles of Miss Mauritius World 1993 and Miss Mauritius Universe 1994. She was best known for her KamaSutra condom advertisements in the 1990s, and f ...
*
Sheila Bappoo
Sheilabai Bappoo (born Rama on 16 June 1947 in Beau Bassin, Mauritius) is a Mauritius politician, Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare & Reform Institutions in Mauritius from 2005 to 2010. She also held the ...
*
Rashid Beebeejaun
Ahmed Rashid Beebeejaun, GCSK (born on 22 December 1934) is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Utilities of Mauritius. He was the Deputy leader of the Mauritian Labor Party and was the first person to hold office of Prime Minis ...
Basdeo Bissoondoyal
Basdeo Bissoondoyal (15 April 1906 – 23 June 1991) 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 refer ...
*
Sookdeo Bissoondoyal
Sookdeo Bissoondoyal (25 December 1908 – 18 August 1977) was a Mauritian politician and one of the leading figures in the independence movement.
Early life
Sookdeo Bissoondoyal was born in Tyack in 1908. He had two brothers Basdeo and Soogr ...
*
Harish Boodhoo
Harisun Boodhoo more commonly known as Harish Boodhoo, (born in Belle Terre, Vacoas-Phoenix, Mauritius on 12 September 1946) is a Mauritian political figure who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius from 11 June 1982 to 21 August 1983. He ...
*
Satcam Boolell
Sir Satcam Boolell GCSK, MP, QC, Kt (September 11, 1920 – March 23, 2006) was a Mauritian politician who served as member of the Legislative Assembly in Mauritius. He died on March 23, 2006 in Curepipe. He was also known as "Somduth" by his ...
*
Dayendranath Burrenchobay
Sir Dayendranath Burrenchobay, KBE, CMG, CVO, GCSK, (24 March 1919 – 29 March 1999) was born in Plaine Magnien, Mauritius and served as the fourth governor-general of Mauritius.
Early life and education
Dayendranath Burrenchobay grew u ...
Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra
Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra (born in Great Britain) is a Mauritian lawyer, politician and diplomat. She is the head of the Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal (PBAT), which settles disputes of civil servants and local communities in matters related to re ...
Alan Ganoo
Alan Ganoo (born 17 January 1951) is a Mauritian politician who has been elected to serve as member of the Legislative Assembly and National Assembly on 9 occasions.
Early life and education
Alan Ganoo was born in Port Louis, his father was ...
*
Hurrylall Goburdhun
Hurrylall Goburdhun, (1919 - 15 September 2019), also known as "Harry Goburdhun" was a lawyer and Judge of the Supreme Court of Mauritius. He was also a Director of the transportation firm Rose Hill Transport.
Following the on crash of the Sou ...
*
Ramchundur Goburdhun
Ramchundur Goburdhun (15 August 1911 – 29 November 1992) was an Indo-Mauritian diplomat best known for his role in the " Maneli Affair" of 1963, an attempt to end the Vietnam war.
Early life and family
Goburdhun was born in a middle class Indo ...
*
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
Dr. Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim () GCSK (born 17 October 1959) is a Mauritian politician and biodiversity scientist who served as the sixth president of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018. In December 2014, she was selected to be the presidential ...
*
Maya Hanoomanjee
Santi Bai 'Maya' Hanoomanjee GCSK (Hindi:माया हनुमानजी Born GHOSE, on 5 October 1952) is the High Commissioner of Mauritius to India. She is a Mauritian politician and former Civil Servant who was the speaker of the Nation ...
Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian 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 fi ...
*
Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth (born 25 December 1961) is a Mauritian politician serving as the prime minister of Mauritius since January 2017. Jugnauth has been the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party since April 2003. He has held a n ...
*
Misha Mansoor
Misha Mansoor (born October 31, 1984), also known as Bulb after the name of his solo project, is an American musician, best known as the founder of and one of the three guitarists in the progressive metal band Periphery. He is also a part of t ...
*
Abdool Razack Mohamed
Sir Abdool Razack Mohamed ( ur, عبد الرزاق محمد; 1 August 1906 – 8 May 1978) was an Indian-born former senior Mauritian Minister in the pre and post-independence cabinet of Mauritius.
Early life and family
Abdool Razack Mohamed w ...
*
Prem Nababsing
Paramhamsa Nababsing, more commonly known as Prem Nababsing (24 November 1940 – 21 October 2017), was a Mauritian politician and MMM minister.
Early life
Nababsing was born in Camp Diable, in the Savanne district of Mauritius. His father was ...
Navin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP (born 14 July 1947) is a Mauritian politician who was former Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2005 to 2014 and leader of the Labour Party (Mauritius). He was Leader of the Opposition from 1991 to 1995. He ser ...
*
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (in traditional Hindi: Shivsagar Ram Gulam) (18 September 1900 – 15 December 1985; often referred to as ''Chacha Ramgoolam'' or ''SSR'') was a Mauritian physician, politician, and statesman. He served as the island's o ...
*
Veerasamy Ringadoo
Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, GCMG, GCSK, QC, (born Vīracāmi Riṅkāṭu; 20 October 1920 – 9 September 2000) was a Mauritian politician, minister, the sixth and last governor-general of Mauritius from 1986 to 1992, and then the first presid ...
*
Prithvirajsing Roopun
Prithvirajsing Roopun () GCSK (born 24 May 1959), also known as Pradeep Singh Roopun, is a Mauritian politician serving as the seventh president of Mauritius since 2019.
Early life, education, career and family life
Prithvirajsing Roopun was b ...
Harry Krishnan Tirvengadum
Sir Harry Krishnan Tirvengadum, more commonly known as Harry Tirvengadum or HK Tirvengadum (born 2 September 1933) is a Mauritian who was the Chairman and Managing Director of Air Mauritius.
Early life and education
Harry Krishnan Tirvengadum was ...
*
Khal Torabully
Khal Torabully is a Mauritian poet. Born in Mauritius in 1956, in the capital city Port Louis, his father was a Trinidadian sailor and his mother was a descendant of migrants from India and Malaya.
Work
Khal Torabully left for Lyon in 1976, t ...
*
Cassam Uteem
Cassam Uteem, GCSK (born in Port Louis on 22 March 1941) is a Mauritian political figure who served as the second president of Mauritius from 30 June 1992 to 15 February 2002. He is the longest served president of Mauritius, having served for nea ...
*
Dev Virahsawmy
Dev Virahsawmy (born 1942 in Quartier-Militaire, Mauritius), is a politician, playwright, poet and advocate of the Mauritian Creole language. Though he writes easily in both French and English, Virahsawmy is most renowned for his efforts to popula ...
*
Vikash Dhorasoo
Vikash Rao Dhorasoo (born 10 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Dhorasoo spent most of his career with Lyon, winning Ligue 1 twice in 2003 and 2004, and also had a loan at Bordeaux and a spell ...
Sports
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
is the most popular sport amongst
Mauritians
Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') 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 (notably I ...
.
Vikash Dhorasoo
Vikash Rao Dhorasoo (born 10 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Dhorasoo spent most of his career with Lyon, winning Ligue 1 twice in 2003 and 2004, and also had a loan at Bordeaux and a spell ...
Mauritian of African origin
Mauritian Creoles are the people on the island of Mauritius and in the wider overseas Mauritian diaspora who trace their roots to continental and Malagasy Africans who were brought to Mauritius under slavery from the seventeenth to the ninetee ...
*
Mauritian of French origin
Franco-Mauritians are an ethnic group from Mauritius who trace their ethnic ancestry to France and ethnic French people. Franco-Mauritians make up approximately 2% of the country's population.
Origins
The first French settlers arrived in Maurit ...
*
Mauritian of Chinese origin
Mauritians of Chinese origin, also known as Sino-Mauritians or Chinese Mauritians, are Mauritians who trace their ethnic ancestry to China.
Migration history
Chinese migration from Sumatra to Mauritius
Like members of other communities on t ...
Indian diaspora in Africa
Migration from India into Africa pre-dates European colonization. The number of Indians in Africa increased greatly with the settlement of Indians in Africa as indentured servants during colonization, and has continued to increase into the 21st cen ...
*
India–Mauritius relations
India–Mauritius (or Indo-Mauritian relations) are the historical, political, economic, military, social and cultural connections between the Republic of India and the Republic of Mauritius. Connections between India and Mauritius date bac ...