The
Indo-Mauritian relationship is a special one. Both Culture and History have
coalesced to forge singular bonds, assiduously knitted over millenniums, to
unfold a unique blend of camaraderie, entente and trust. These have been consolidated by regular
exchanges between our two people and frequent visits of high dignitaries. One
of the distinguished visitors even eulogised Mauritius as a "Great Little
Country".
Perhaps she meant that little Mauritius, though not an exact replica of Mother India, had successfully imbued the centuries-old traditions and philosophies of one of the most ancient civilisations in the world.
Without the expanse of the Indian sub-continent, extending from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, to fully imbibe the prodigious legacy of the Indus Valley civilisation, the Harappans and the Indo-Aryans and non-Aryans, little Mauritius could still boast of harbouring the descendants of immigrants from all the major continents that have peopled the world and of having preserved the purity of traditional cultures and the Dharma-Moral law. It is perhaps in this sense that the little country became great. The Dharma not only taught us how to live with the mind-boggling diversities of a multi-lingual and multi-cultural nation-state but also to learn to cherish such diversities. In another sense that the little joins in to the Great is in the shared belief of the outstanding virtue of democracy. Democracy, in both Little and Mother India, has not only survived the vagaries of time but has deepened over the years to establish itself as the only form of political organisation supple enough to accommodate the diversity of our societies. Thus our special relationship goes beyond the emotional ties of the five millenniums of a common cultural heritage and legacy. It is rooted in the more concrete practical realities of an ethical and trusting partnership sharing a common vision of the local and the global economy and the framework for a comprehensive development agenda for the third millennium.
At
its very inception in 1972 when the Agreement on Economic, Technical and
Cultural Co-operation was signed, the bilateral co-operation between Mauritius
and India was a landmark. It was a model
of co-operation between two sovereign states, a South-South co-operation
between two members of the family of the non-aligned, of the whole community of
developing nations and of the third world. Tuning our ears to the mystic chords
of memory wakes us up to the fact of the specific quality of Indian
assistance. India has always stood by
its friends in times of need by extending some form of support and solidarity,
be it to the ANC of Rolihlahla Madiba ( man of peace, man of letters) Mandela
winner of the Nobel prize and the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award, to the
Mwalimu in his Ujaama programme, to President G.A. Nasser during the 1956 Suez
canal crisis, to the Arab nations during 1973 Yom Kippur War or to Little
Mauritius which had just emerged from dependence to a semblance of economic independence
in 1968. Mauritius could barely afford
to severe the umbilical cords of dependence to the previous colonial power.
Indeed it was wholly dependent on British expertise and inputs. It was another
basket case that was good riddance for the colonial master. With a monocrop
economy, caught in the vicious circle of poverty, "reckless
reproduction" and high unemployment, the economic situation was
catastrophic. But India heard the pangs
of birth of the new, frail and tottering nation. It had to be nursed, the early
years were crucial to acquire the capacity, confidence and will to break out of
the poverty circle. India understood and stood by us.
When
we launched the "Travail pour tous" programme and set up the
Development Works Corporation to address the alarming unemployment problem,
India willingly provided us with technical assistance and the services of
technical co-operation officers (TCOs) were made available. This helping hand
was crucial in mopping up the backlog of unemployment which at that time stood
at more than 20% of the labour force. These TCOs were instrumental in building
up local capacity gradually reducing our dependence on the erstwhile colonial
ruler. Training was imparted to some 200
masons, carpenters, iron workers, wiremen, plumbers and pipefitters each year
for a period of five years. While we were mounting up a whole reservoir of
skills at the lower and middle levels, Mauritian students were flocking in
droves to the Indian Universities. At a
time when tertiary education was the prerogative of an elite. this privileged
access to Indian educational and vocational institutions ensured a regular
supply of graduates, professionals, doctors, teachers and engineers. With this
amply qualified and adaptable labour force, the country could well afford to
undertake its first phase of industrial
development.
The
Indian contribution was not limited to technical assistance only. Though not being a net capital exporter,
India went out of its way to help Mauritius.
It provided the country with important lines of credit amounting to some
Rs 700 million Indian Rupees on concessionary and attractive terms to meet its
capital requirements. These credit lines
were indeed priceless as they came in at a critical time when the country was
in the deep throes of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and the
Bretton Woods institutions had imposed strict limits on capital expenditure.
Besides, these lines of credit enabled Mauritius to meet its transport needs,
to intensify its diversification efforts and ease the supply bottlenecks in the
productive sectors.
The
Government of India also funded a large number of projects in such sectors as
industry, marine environment, transport, and women and child development and
lately in the field of oceanography.
These major projects both in economic and social infrastructure have to
a large extent improved our quality of life.
The Jawalarlal Nehru Hospital at Rose Belle, the Prof. Upadhyaya Trade
Training Centre in Piton, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute and the Subramanya
Bharati Eye Hospital stand out as milestones in the history of the fruitful
co-operation between our two nations.
Our overall health indicators, of both the urban and rural communities,
have meaningfully improved. The crude
death rate dropped significantly to stand at 6.7% today. Similarly, infant mortality rate plunged to
19.3 per 1,000 live births.
It was the mutual understanding of our respective roles in the new
setting of globalisation that spawned the idea of a community of Afro-Asian
nations along the littoral States of the Indian Ocean grouped under the Indian
Ocean Rim - Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC). India, along with
some other Indian Ocean states, supported this regional integration initiative
when we first presented this idea of an IOR community. The support and
encouragement of India have been instrumental in enabling Mauritius, in spite
of being a small island, to pioneer the IOR initiative.
The Ganges in its tortuous journey down the
imposing Himalayas had the transcendental responsibility of nourishing,
inspiring and cleansing the millions of souls that sought solace along its
banks. Shri Atal Beeharee Vajpayee , is
another one of those few stalwarts that have been blessed and inspired by
Mother Ganges. Bhisma-like, he bestrides the political and lyrical landscape to
embark us upon a journey to quest for a "Nayi Disha"-a new horizon.
We welcome this worthy son of the Ganges to steer us through the uncharted
waters to the known destination of a dream for unity and a modern country for a
modern world.
