Mauritius: Communal and national identities

Updated 2002

One of the major problems facing democracy in Mauritius, like most other developing countries, is the imperative of nation building in a context characterised by the primacy of ethnic and religious identities over national identity. Thus, "communalism", known elsewhere as tribalism, has threatened the prospects of national unity in the island.

Public life in Mauritius has exhibited a great deal of ethnic, religious, and political diversity that has formed, despite tensions, a basis for lively competition for votes and support and remarkable political stability. The fact that all groups in the population are equally non-indigenous, the use of kreol as a public lingua franca alongside other home languages, and the ability to express differences in the context of a parliamentary democracy that does not segregate people rigidly into their communal identities, have allowed conflict to be managed in a way that promotes national unity. The existence of a vigorously free press, which keeps a watchful eye on the behaviour of politicians, has acted to deter tendencies towards abuse of power.

The population is composed of the following communities:

  • The Indo-Mauritian Hindus (51%) arrived in the Island to work in the sugar cane plantations as indentured labourers after the abolition of slavery in 1835;
  • The "General Population", made up mainly of Creoles of African descent (27%) who were brought to Mauritius from east Africa to work in the sugar cane plantations as slaves. They are mainly Catholics. Also are included in the general population are the Franco-Mauritians who constitute around 2% of the population;
  • The Indo-Mauritian Muslims (17%); and
  • The Sino-Mauritians who represent 3% of the country's population.

Mauritius is therefore a complex mix of race, class, religion and ethnicity, thus far gathered together in a largely successful, albeit delicate, political balancing act.

Since independence, the Hindus have led all the governments. Members of the other communities perceive the Hindus as privileged because of their dominance in government and public administration. In reality, the Hindu community is divided along caste and linguistic lines. Low caste people, such as those Hindus employed as sugar cane plantation labourers, obviously do not consider themselves privileged.

Like the Hindus, the Creoles are not an ethnically homogeneous bloc. They are divided between the African Creoles who are the descendants of African slaves, and the light-skinned progeny of sexual contacts between the French plantation owners and the African slaves. The last category of Creoles have always been free people, received a good education and embraced the French language and religion. They enjoyed a position of privilege during the colonial epoch as they constituted the bulk of the country's middle class. This minority within a minority resisted independence for fear of being outvoted by the Hindu majority. However, since independence, leaders of the Creole community have formed alliances with the Hindu majority, enabling them to be meaningfully represented in Parliament and government.

The African Creoles have relatively little formal education and are the poorest segment of the population. They speak Kreol, the most widely spoken language in Mauritius. However, Kreol is looked down on and is derogatorily called ti-Kreol, meaning "petit" Creole. Nevertheless, post-independence socio-economic progress and provision for free education have enabled a significant portion of African Creoles to advance socially.

Finally, the Indo-Mauritian Muslims are mostly involved in family-owned small-sized commercial businesses. Like the other minorities, the Indo-Mauritian Muslims had apprehensions about independence, but had little ability to change the course of events. Like the Creoles, they participate in Parliament and government through coalition with the other communities.

Reference

Extracted from KADIMA, D 2000, Parliamentary elections 2000 - a report, EISA.