New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Mauritius on a two -day visit on Tuesday. He was traditionally welcomed there. This is Prime Minister Mogi’s second Mauritius Yatra since 2015. He will be the chief guest of Mauritius’s National Day celebrations on 12 March. Mauritius, the island country in the Western Indian Ocean, is an important neighbor of India. Among the population of 12 lakhs here, the number of people of Indian origin is about 70 percent. This number makes India and Mauritius relations more special.
Before the acquisition of Britain, Mauritius was a French colony. In the 1700s, Indians were first brought to Mauritius from today’s Puducherry region under the French rule. He was made to work as a mason and laborer. At the same time, during the British rule, about five lakh Indian workers were brought to Mauritius in the early years of 1834 and 1900. About two -thirds of these workers went back to India and settled in Mauritius.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting Ganga water at the conclusion of Mahakumbh to the President of Mauritius.
When is Mauritius’s National Day celebrated
Mauritius’ National Day also has a unique relationship with India. Mahatma Gandhi stayed for some time in Mauritius while returning to India from South Africa in 1901. He gave three transformative messages to Indian workers. They were the importance of education, political empowerment and stay connected with India. Thus, as a tribute to Gandhi, the National Day of Mauritius is celebrated on 12 March. This is the date of Mahatma’s Dandi Yatra.
Mauritius was one of the countries in the world with which independent India established diplomatic relations in 1948. Both countries completed 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2023. Since independence from the British in 1968, Mauritius has been ruled by two political families Ramgulam (Sivasagar Ramgulam and his son Naveen Ramgulam) and Jagannath (Anirudh Jagannath and son Pravind Jagannath) mainly. Naveen Ramgulam won the election held last year. He had earlier been the Prime Minister of Mauritius from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014.
Naveen Ramgulam’s father Sivasagar Ramgulan led the freedom struggle of Mauritius. He became the first Prime Minister of Azad Mauritius. He worked with several Indian freedom fighters including Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu. He had deep relations with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He also did the work of reading the proof of Bose’s 1934 book, ‘The Indian Struggle’.
PM Narendra Modi’s first visit to Mauritius
PM Narendra Modi had earlier visited Mauritius in March 2015. India and Mauritius had signed a memorandum of MoU to improve transport facilities on the island of Agalega on that journey. The agreement stated that the infrastructure to be built to improve maritime and air connectivity on the outer island of Mauritius would improve the conditions of the residents of the island. It was also said that this will also make it easier for Mauritius’s security forces to protect the island. India has constructed jetty and airstrip there. India is also working on improving the island island health facilities. India is working on 96 projects of community development in Mauritius.
PM Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Naveen Chandra Ramgulam planting a plant in the name of mother at Sir Sivasagar Ramgulam Botanical Garden of Mauritius.
India announced a $ 353 million economic package for Mauritius in 2016. This included projects such as the Metro Express, Supreme Court Building, Eye-Eunal House, Housing Project and Digital Tablet Scheme in Mauritius. India gave a loan of $ 500 million to Mauritius in 2017. Due to this, 10 projects were funded. Seven of these have already been completed. Apart from these, work is still going on on projects like Civil Service College, National Archives, Police Academy, Kidney Transplant Unit and Health Centers. There is also cooperation between the two countries in the field of education and cultural. India’s largest cultural center Indira Gandhi Center for Indian Culture has been opened in Mauritius. In this center, more than two and a half thousand students teach music, dance and playing.
How important is the island of the island
PM Narendra Modi has visited Mauritius for the second time.
The Island is located 11 hundred kilometers north of Mauritius, which spread over an area of about 70 square kilometers. It is close to the Indian southern coast. Here India-Marysus jointly inaugurated the airstrip and JT projects in February 2024. At that time some people expressed concern that India intends to build a military base on this island. On this, the then Prime Minister Pravind Jagannath rejected him, saying that there has never been any agenda of Mauritius to give up his sovereignty on the islands. He had said that there has never been any agenda to convert Agalega into a military base. He condemned the anti-India campaign in Mauritius. The growing Chinese penetration in the Indian Ocean is a matter of concern for India. So he wants to work closely with island countries like Mauritius. Last year, a devastating cyclonic storm came to Mauritius. He had caused heavy havoc in Agalega. At that time India did relief and rescue work there through the Navy.
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