Listen to this clip about the racist comments on Rishi Sunak becoming PM of UK !
Is it because racism is not built in into UK ’s political institutions but it is still deeply embedded in its social institutions.?
For sure , our political institutions which by making the ethnic declaration of political candidates obligatory feed the communal and casteist division of our society and undermines our nation-building…But there are many people in Mauritius , especially the ReA , who believe that the the question of ethnicity cannot be a qualifying criterion for a citizen to be a candidate in elections. “It is unconstitutional and a violation of Section 1 of the Constitution. “ But this is not shared by the mainstream political parties which still abide to their communal and casteist political game provided by a system which suits them- A Vaish as PM, someone from the general population as the first DPM and a Muslim as second DPM …a Ravived as President…a Rajput as ….
And many of them -who are rightly criticising "them ", the “noubann”, who are foolishly applauding one of “Us” becoming UK’s PM while refusing to change their mindset about choosing a Mauritian PM on the basis of competence -these very people, side with the mainstream political parties in feeding the communal and casteist game, especially the best loser system, under the guise of “local realities’! How many of them are supporting the ReA ’s decision to go to the Privy Council challenging the ethnic declaration requirement for general election candidacies ? We are all hypocrites . We cannot see ourselves or judge ourselves the way we see and judge others. André Gide rightly said “The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity”.
What about our social institutions ? Are they basically racist ?
Not necessarily racist-“reactive identity politics”, if you prefer- but it is the lack of belief in our democratic structures , in mature meritocracy, in a current system which is set up such for some people to have to jump over hurdles to succeed, while others get to simply run to the finish line without those same racial and casteist hurdles…. that is, in the pathways to success which are not equitable ……This is what segments people’s experiences along caste and communal lines and tend to band them together into ethnic groups or identities that promote and defend “Us” against “Them”, makes them feel more secure, fight back for their vested interests ….such that unfortunately systemic racism seems to ripple through our social institutions and into our daily social interactions, whether in our shopping or in the newspaper we purchase, the radio channel we listen to, the friends we have, the team we support, the leaders we admire and follow and the comments we share on social media in the echo chambers and the polarised silos reinforcing our biased convictions ...
This systemic racism inhibits (rather than prohibits like in the past) people’s ability to actualize all aspects of our vivre ensemble, our true Mauritianism, to “viv to morisianism” .
We also have our cathartic moments together when we lived our Mauritainism -during the Indian Ocean Games, the occasional display of the national flag on our cars and houses ; during the papal visit, the national pilgrimages, Wakashio....But we continue reverting back to our deviant ways seeking the comforts of silos competing or complaining against other silos.
It is not only the politicians; many of us are not doing enough for Mauritius to reach its true ideals and the only way this can properly occur is acknowledging and removing the systemic communal and casteist barriers that prevent us from getting there. We seem to be regressing instead of progressing .
In this regard, the events /comments below show that we are not far different from the right wing conservative party member in his racist rhetoric. (video attached)
During the Diwali celebrations instead of lighting the lamp of knowledge within to be happy, content and to spread this happiness to many others around them, they were again at their old rancid evil ways reminding all of “us” again and again that one of “them” has dared attack our faith , our prayers , undermining the great Hindu EKTA-Hindu family (sic) …….The celebration was hijacked by the politicians, the priests and socio-cultural groups that have a foot in politics, …..They have deprived our festival of its essence-the dawning of knowledge that allows us to let go of all past misunderstandings and come together in a spirit of celebration. They seemed to have manz Ram and were KKing Ravan..
Some of the comments of the diaspora on local events are really disappointing…it reeks of revenge and racism; the “mangeurs of dhal” has turned the country into a country of dhal…a country of doom and gloom…the 50 plus years of lop-sided and inequitable development are not analysed from the angle of an alternative economic model or sustainable model …of an outdated economic and political elite , but from an ethnic angle…some of the diaspora left the country because they could not trust the “mangeurs de dhal” with the running of the country and now their children, better educated and more skilled than most Mauritians, are ready to kick out and replace the incompetent political elite - which has meanwhile progressed marginally to “mangeurs de baja”- to be more in tune with one of “them” -the economic elite. Have you heard any of them questioning the economic system ?
And we also noticed that many of those siding with our local swimming hero and champion -Bradley Vincent- not because they sincerely believe that Le Com had been too harsh and unfair in its sanctions, but like in the case of the murdered schoolgirl in France adopted by the far right , it is too good an opportunity to miss at hitting hard at these “mangeurs de baja” -hitting at the whole incompetent lot who dare act against one of "Us" , our Vincent…
Are we fundamentally different from our Tory supporter in his subtle but underlying racism ?
