Hindustan Times, 20 Nov 2003 :Mauritiusattained its freedom in 1968 and every Prime Minister, since then, has been a person of Indian Origin. It is for the first time that a person of Franco-Mauritian origin, named Paul Remond Berenger (Beranje in French) has assumed the Prime Ministership of Mauritius. This political surprise has shotMauritius, a 720 sq. mile island situated in the south west ofIndian Oceanwith a population of 1.2 million into headlines of newspapers all over the world. How is it that almost 72 per cent population of Indian Origin lost the position of Prime Ministership to a gentleman, whose white community constitutes hardly one percent of the Mauritian population. Is it democracy par excellence or the return of the white colonialism as it is being asked in some quarters.
Before dealing with the above questions let us first unravel the mystery surrounding this so-called political surprise. Berenger did not reach the top of the ladder through any coup d’etat or political conspiracy. He entered into a perfectly legitimate agreement with the former Prime Minister Aneerood Jugnath at the time of last elections held in the year 2000 that if the alliance of his party MMM and that of Jugnath, MSM, wins the election, Jugnath will be the Prime Minister for the first three years and him for the rest of two years. The alliance defeated the Labour Party of Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and MMM, Berenger’s party emerged as the single largest party. Despite an edge over the MSM, Berenger let Jugnath take over as Prime Minister and readily accepted the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Now, on the completion of three years, Jugnath honestly complied with the agreement and abdicated in favour of Berenger. While Berenger took oath of the Prime Minister, Jugnath became the President of the Republic and his son, the Deputy Prime Minister. All top three positions changed hands without a drop of blood being shed. This rare feat is a tribute to Mauritian democracy. Any sabotage of the agreement would have caused terrible bloodshed inMauritius. What we inIndiaare unable to implement on provincial levels, the Mauritians have accomplished on national level.
In fact, three years ago while the agreement was being entered into most people presumed that once Jugnath takes over, there would be no chances for Berenger to be the Prime Minister. He would end up, as usual, as the Deputy Prime Minister and shall be dismissed like during his earlier tenures on one pretext or the other. The Prime Ministership will always remain a chimera for him. On the other hand, the supporters of Berenger smelt a life-time opportunity through this agreement to see their leader assuming the highest position in the land. The Prime Ministership always eluded Berenger inspite of being a competent grassroot leader. This was because he lacked the support of the Hindi speaking segment of the Mauritian population. This segment is the largest political formation dominated by the so-called Vaish community (akin to Yadvas and Kurmis inIndia) which is the cradle of all the last three Prime Ministers of Mauritius. Berenger has been blamed for dividing the Indian community on the basis of caste, language and religion. He catered for the Muslims, the Tamils, the Telugus, the Marathis, the Ravi-Veds apart from winning the support of the Blacks, the Chinese, the Whites and others. All these sections worked ferociously for Berenger’s victory. Even though the transfer of power was orderly and peaceful, an ordinary Hindu inMauritiushas a feeling of being let down by his own leaders. Why Jugnath and Navin could not work in unison, they ask agitatedly. They blame Jugnath, a veteran in politics, who became Prime Minister thrice and now the President for handing over the reins of power to a White for the first time in the history of independentMauritius. Is it not the return of European colonialism inMauritiussome hotheaded people ask in anguish? They hold Jugnath responsible for this ‘sale out’ and call him the ‘Jaichand’ among the Hindus. The graph of Jugnath’s popularity is no doubt has taken a sharp downturn and that of Navin Ramgoolam a sudden upturn, the way Jugnath conducted himself at the present juncture is a right step in the right direction. Any other course would have been disasterous for the Mauritian democracy and a multi-racial society. In fact, it is a tribute to the maturity and nobility of the people of Indian Origin that despite their uneasiness, they accepted Berenger as their Prime Minister.
As for as the question of democracy is concerned, there is nothing like a permanent majority or permanent minority in a true democracy. The political map generally undergoes a change after every election. A majority becomes a minority and a minority community becomes a majority. If you do not allow a person to become the Prime Minister, only because he belongs to a minority and a different race, is it not an unassailable case of reverse apartheid? IfMauritiusis a true democracy, it should be able to throw up equal opportunities to all its citizens to reach the top. It may even help Mauritian nationalism acquire its own independent identity.Mauritiuswill continue to be called as miniIndia, mini-France or mini-Africa for times to come but it may also start emerging as a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual nation-state now onwards.
The apprehension aboutMauritiusturning into anotherFijibecause of Berenger is simply not tenable. Berenger himself has been an ardent supporter of the former Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhary. MoreoverMauritiusis notFiji, where a chasm between the natives and the migrant Indians has been unbridgable right from the beginning. There is nothing like the aboriginals or the later migrants inMauritius. Everybody is a migrant there though woes and weals of all the communities have not been similar.
It is true even though the economy ofMauritiusis being controlled by the White Sugar Barons and Tourism Tycoons, the supremacy of the people of Indian Origin in the field of politics, bureaucracy, military, police and day to day business remains unchallenged. Even in the party of Berenger, the member of MPs of Indian Origin is the largest. Berenger may tend to tilt towards the whites little bit but it may be more due to the fact of their being economically dominant class rather than owing to the color of their skin. If he has to be successful as a Prime Minister, he knows it more than anybody else that he will have to cater to the needs of the majority of the people. He is too astute a politician and too well-versed in the art of governance to slip on this account. In fact, as a first white Prime Minister he will be under continuous pressure to prove his non-racial democratic credentials. He is white no doubt but he is not for the whites alone, will remain his constant refrain for the next two years if he wants to come back to power in the next election. The people of Indian Origin and the Government of India have no reason to be pessimistic about the policies of Paul Berenger, who has been a frequent visitor toIndiaand who has many genuine friends inNew Delhi. During my recent sojourn toMauritiusI found Berenger very enthusiastic aboutIndia.New Delhiis his first destination as a Prime Minister thoughMauritiushas much thicker economic relations withFranceandSouth Africa. He has reassured me during our private discussions about his resolve of restructuring the Indo-Mauritian relations on the ‘unique basis’, setting up of the World-Hindi Secretariat, and starting up a world campaign for the unity of all the indentured laborers in various countries, which in other words, would be a campaign for the unity of mostly People of Indian Origin. The Indentured Labourer Route Project would be in consonance with an earlier UNESCO sponsored Slavery Route Project. No wonder the white Prime Minister might accomplish something inMauritiusand also in the Pravasi Bharat at large what an Indian-Origin Prime Minister would have only aspired for.
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