https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Mauritians_of_Indian_originMauritians of Indian origin - Revision history2026-09-07T00:55:30ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauritians_of_Indian_origin&diff=473717&oldid=prevShelia6340: enhanced article for accuracy based on references2026-03-28T23:08:09Z<p>enhanced article for accuracy based on references</p>
<a href="//en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauritians_of_Indian_origin&diff=473717&oldid=330057">Show changes</a>Shelia6340https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauritians_of_Indian_origin&diff=330057&oldid=prev124.219.128.199: robot: Update article (please report if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)2022-06-25T11:26:38Z<p>robot: Update article (please <a href="/wiki/User_talk:UpdateBot" title="User talk:UpdateBot">report</a> if you notice any mistake or error in this edit)</p>
<a href="//en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauritians_of_Indian_origin&diff=330057&oldid=142742">Show changes</a>124.219.128.199https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauritians_of_Indian_origin&diff=142742&oldid=previmported>Reopenmyschool at 02:11, 30 August 20212021-08-30T02:11:43Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Mauritians who trace their ethnic ancestry from India.}}<br />
{{refimprove|date=July 2014}}<br />
{{Infobox ethnic group<br />
| group = Indo-Mauritians<br />
| flag = {{flagicon|Mauritius}}<br />
| image = <br />
| population = 812,769 <br />65.7% of the population of Mauritius<br />
| total_year = 2011<ref>http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/CensusandSurveys/Documents/HPC/2011/HPC_TR_Vol2_Demography_Yr11.pdf</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Government|first1=India|title=Population of Non-resident indians country wise|date=2012}}</ref><br />
| languages = {{hlist| [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]] | [[Hindi]] | [[Tamil language|Tamil]] | [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]] | [[Marathi language|Marathi]] | [[Telugu language|Telugu]] | [[Urdu]] | [[Mauritian Creole]] | [[English language|English]] | [[French language|French]] }}<br />
| religions = Majority: [[Hinduism]] 73.8%<br>Minority: [[Islam]] 26.2%<ref>http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/CensusandSurveys/Documents/HPC/2011/HPC_TR_Vol2_Demography_Yr11.pdf</ref><br />
| related = [[Bihari Mauritian]]{{·}}[[Tamil Mauritian]]{{·}}[[Indo-Caribbeans]]{{·}}[[Indo-Fijians]]{{·}}[[Indians in South Africa]]{{·}}[[Indian people]]{{·}}[[Indian diaspora]]<br />
| related-c = <br />
| footnotes = <br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Indo-Mauritians''' are [[Mauritians]] who trace their ethnic ancestry to India or other parts of South Asia.<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
During the administration of the [[French East India Company]] (until 1767) and subsequent [[History of Mauritius|French rule]] at least 12,000 workers arrived from India between 1721 and 1810 before the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|abolition of slavery]]. These first Indian immigrants came from various parts of India such as Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanaon, Bengal and others. They worked under contract as skilled stone masons, blacksmiths, and carpenters although hundreds of them were slaves.<ref>{{cite web |title=Présence des tamouls dans une société pluriethnique et multiconfessionelle: Le cas de Maurice |date=10 August 2014 |url=https://www.lemauricien.com/actualites/magazine/presence-des-tamouls-societe-pluriethnique-et-multiconfessionnelle-cas-maurice/59526/ |publisher=Le Mauricien |access-date=2014-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Boodhoo |first1=Sarita |title=The Tamil Presence in Mauritius |date=8 November 2015 |url=http://www.mauritiustimes.com/mt/sarita-boodhoo-67/ |publisher=Mauritius Times |access-date=2015-11-08}}</ref> After the legislative changes of 1767 these Indian immigrants were allowed to start businesses, buy land and own slaves.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tamouls, les racines de l'histoire |date=5 February 2004 |url=https://www.lexpress.mu/article/tamouls-les-racines-de-lhistoire |publisher=L'Express |access-date=2004-02-05}}</ref> <br />
<br />
Following the [[Invasion of Isle de France|November 1810 British Invasion]] from the northern coast, the island came under [[History of Mauritius|British rule]]. With the liberation of about 65,000 African and Malagasy slaves after the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|1833 abolition of slavery]] the Franco-Mauritian plantation owners and sugar oligarchs resorted to [[Indian indenture system|indentured labourers]], or [[Coolie|Coolies]], 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.<ref> {{ cite web | title = Indo-Mauritians and the Innocents: A Photo Gallery | url = https://southasia.ucla.edu/diaspora/indo-mauritians-innocents/ | year = 2021 | last = Lal | first = Vinay | publisher = University of California, Los Angeles}}</ref> Mauritius thus became the British colony's largest recipient of indentured migrants.<ref name="eco" >{{cite news|title=The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies|url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21727896-century-after-india-ended-system-indentured-labour-its-diaspora-building|access-date=2 September 2017|work=[[The Economist]]|date=2 September 2017}}</ref> Indentured labourers were mostly brought from the Bhojpuri speaking regions of [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]], with a large number of [[Tamil people|Tamils]], [[Telugu people|Telugus]] and [[Marathi people|Marathis]] amongst them. The descendants of these indentured labourers make up two-thirds of the island's current population.<ref name="eco" /><br />
<br />
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]] and [[Sindh]] arriving as traders, businessmen and merchants.<br />
<br />
In the late 19th to early 20th century, [[Sino-Mauritian|Chinese men in Mauritius]] married [[Indian people|Indian]] women due to both a lack of Chinese women and the higher numbers of Indian women on the island.<ref>{{cite book|page=199|year=2009|access-date=May 17, 2014|publisher=BRILL|volume=Volume 1 of European expansion and indigenous response, v. 1|author=Marina Carter, James Ng Foong Kwong|title= Abacus and Mah Jong: Sino-Mauritian Settlement and Economic Consolidation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SN53oTMjAyMC&pg=PA199|archive-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtOwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA199&lpg=PA199&dq=chinese+shopkeepers+indian+creole+women+mauritius&source=bl&ots=ux4RYxvT3x&sig=ozjqdTOIbdbIVubSnNR1_YEXIz4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3EeUVZu2FcfEsAXp2paYDQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=chinese%20shopkeepers%20indian%20creole%20women%20mauritius&f=false|archive-date=2009|isbn=978-9004175723}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=33|year=2009|access-date=May 17, 2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|author=Paul Younger Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies McMaster University|title= New Homelands : Hindu Communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa: Hindu Communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F0X9eLq57ocC&q=chinese+shopkeepers+indian+creole+women+mauritius&pg=PA33|archive-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3VTiBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT40&dq=chinese+men+cohabit+indian+women+mauritius&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XFWTVfS7OYW4yQTe14HQDw&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=chinese%20men%20cohabit%20indian%20women%20mauritius&f=false|archive-date=2009|isbn=978-0199741922}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=What Inter-Ethnic Marriage In Mauritius Tells Us About The Nature of Ethnicity |url=http://arinave.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/INCORE-Paper-2001-PDF1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518083011/http://arinave.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/INCORE-Paper-2001-PDF1.pdf |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |page=15 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=unfit }}</ref> The 1921 census in Mauritius counted that Indian women there had a total of 148 children fathered by Chinese men.<ref>{{cite book|page=174|year=2008|access-date=May 17, 2014|publisher=Éditions de l'océan Indien|author=Huguette Ly-Tio-Fane Pineo, Edouard Lim Fat|title= From alien to citizen: the integration of the Chinese in Mauritius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FNswAQAAIAAJ&q=children+born+from+the+union+of+Chinese+men+with+women+of+the+general+population+and+148+others+were+born+from+the+union+of+Chinese+men+with+Indian+women.+(62)+The+first+signs+of+a+new+culture+born+from+the+symbiosis+of+Eastern+and+...|isbn=978-9990305692}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=287|year=1985|access-date=May 17, 2014|publisher=Ed. de l'océan indien|author=Huguette Ly Tio Fane-Pineo|title= Chinese Diaspora in Western Indian Ocean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3U4MAQAAIAAJ&q=He+thus+recorded+that+in+1921+there+were+386+children+born+from+the+union+of+Chinese+with+women+of+the+general+population+and+148+others+were+born+from+the+union+of+Chinese+with+Indian+women+(62).+The+first+signs+of+a+new+culture+born+...|isbn=9990305692}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=What Inter-Ethnic Marriage In Mauritius Tells Us About The Nature of Ethnicity |url=http://arinave.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/INCORE-Paper-2001-PDF1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518083011/http://arinave.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/INCORE-Paper-2001-PDF1.pdf |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |page=16 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=unfit }}</ref> These Chinese were mostly traders.<ref>{{cite book|page=41|year=2002|access-date=June 1, 2015|publisher=Nelson Mandela Centre for African Culture, Ministry of Arts & Culture|author=Monique Dinan|title= Mauritius in the Making: Across the Censuses, 1846-2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnawAAAAIAAJ&q=intermarried+cohabited|isbn=9990390460}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Demographics==<br />
Today the population consists of mainly [[Hindus]] with [[Muslim]], [[Christians|Christian]], [[Buddhist]] and [[Baháʼí Faith]] 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 language|Bhojpuri]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Hindi]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and [[Urdu]].<br />
<br />
As from age six, all Mauritian children must learn a third language at school ([[French language|French]] and [[English language|English]] are already compulsory). The languages learnt in decreasing order are [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]. Mauritian Creoles can opt for [[Mauritian Creole]] as the third language. Choice is usually based on ethno-religious background with [[Hindi]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and [[Marathi language|Marathi]] chosen by [[Hindus]] who belong to the respective ethnicities and [[Urdu]] by [[Muslims]] from the [[Indian Subcontinent]].<br />
<br />
==Indian influence==<br />
Indo-Mauritians have influenced Mauritian culture, dominating the economic, public sector<ref name="eco" /> 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]] and all prime ministers except for [[Paul Berenger]] 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 popular.<br />
<br />
==Notable people==<br />
*[[Amode Ibrahim Atchia]]<br />
*[[Viveka Babajee]]<br />
*[[Sheila Bappoo]]<br />
*[[Rashid Beebeejaun]]<br />
*[[Sunil Benimadhu]]<br />
*[[Basdeo Bissoondoyal]]<br />
*[[Sookdeo Bissoondoyal]]<br />
*[[Harish Boodhoo]]<br />
*[[Satcam Boolell]]<br />
*[[Dayendranath Burrenchobay]]<br />
*[[Angidi Chettiar]]<br />
*[[Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra]]<br />
*[[Kishore Deerpalsing]]<br />
*[[Gaëtan Duval]]<br />
*[[Alan Ganoo]]<br />
*[[Hurrylall Goburdhun]]<br />
*[[Ramchundur Goburdhun]]<br />
*[[Ameenah Gurib|Ameenah Gurib-Fakim]]<br />
*[[Maya Hanoomanjee]]<br />
*[[Mahesh Jadu|Mahesh Jadunundun]]<br />
*[[Kher Jagatsingh]]<br />
*[[Anerood Jugnauth]]<br />
*[[Pravind Jugnauth]]<br />
*[[Misha Mansoor]]<br />
*[[Abdool Razack Mohamed]]<br />
*[[Prem Nababsing]]<br />
*[[William Newton (Mauritius)|William Newton]]<br />
*[[Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay]]<br />
*[[Navin Ramgoolam]] <br />
*[[Seewoosagur Ramgoolam]] <br />
*[[Veerasamy Ringadoo]]<br />
*[[Prithvirajsing Roopun]]<br />
*[[Rama Sithanen]]<br />
*[[Harry Krishnan Tirvengadum]]<br />
*[[Khal Torabully]]<br />
*[[Cassam Uteem]]<br />
*[[Dev Virahsawmy]]<br />
<br />
==Sports==<br />
[[Football (soccer)|Football]] is the most popular sport amongst [[Mauritians]]. [[Vikash Dhorasoo]], who played for [[French football team]], is of Indo-Mauritian origin.<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Mauritian of African origin]]<br />
* [[Mauritian of French origin]]<br />
* [[Mauritian of Chinese origin]]<br />
* [[Mauritian Creole]]<br />
* [[Coolitude]]<br />
* [[Indian diaspora in Africa]]<br />
<br />
==Notes and references==<br />
<br />
===Footnotes===<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
===Notations===<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
*[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107775.html Mauritius: History, Geography, Government, and Culture]<br />
*[https://www.patreon.com/sail_oar South Asian Indentured Labor - Online Archive of Research and Resources] - an online archive and living syllabus of text-based resources related to Indian indentureship, with country-specific resources related to Indians indentured to Mauritius<br />
{{refend}}<br />
<br />
{{Mauritius topics}}<br />
{{NRI-PIO}}<br />
<br />
<!--Categories--><br />
[[Category:Mauritian people of Indian descent| ]]<br />
[[Category:Indian diaspora in Mauritius| ]]<br />
[[Category:Asian diaspora in Mauritius]]</div>imported>Reopenmyschool