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Urdu in Mauritius

This article is written in view of providing an outlook to readers about the status of Urdu language in Mauritius. Since no such article has ever been published on the web, I feel the urge to make the first step and this endeavour is designed to enlighten the fact that some stalwarts and lovers of Urdu have played a vital role in the past decades in introducing Urdu as a language to be taught at school level.

First of all, let us clear out how and when Urdu was introduced in Mauritius?

According to Moomtaz Emrith in his book “History of the Muslims in Mauritius", the early Muslim settlers in Mauritius were mainly artisans, seamen and traders from India who came here during the French occupation of the Island. (Ref: Moomtaz Emrith, 1994, History of the Muslims in Mauritius, Page 11.)

Later, during the British rule over Mauritius (1810–1968), Governor Robert Farquhar undertook the services of about a hundred Indians, who were convicted for military and political offences, to build most of the early roads in Mauritius and among them most were Muslims. (Ref: Moomtaz Emrith, 1994, History of the Muslims in Mauritius, Page 21.)

These Indian Muslims inter-communicated in Bhojpuri but used Urdu as a medium to preserve ancestral culture as well as to teach their children values and religious ethics.

In his book “Urdu Studies in Mauritius”, Mr. Enayat Hossen Edun pointed out that a large number of labourers were brought from different parts of India mainly from Bihar, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur and Sultanpur to Mauritius to work in sugarcane fields. (Ref: Enayat Hossen Edun, 2006, Urdu Studies in Mauritius, Page 13.)

The presence of these Indian Muslims implies that Urdu emerged in Mauritius initially at spoken level. This is due to the shifting from Bhojpuri as a medium of speech to Urdu from one generation to another. It is after treading a long way and after the struggle of some Urdu lovers that the teaching of Urdu was introduced at primary school level in 1953. Prof Ram Prakash who hailed from Punjab, India and was conversant in both Urdu and Hindi took the responsibility of promoting Oriental Languages in Mauritius. This endeavour encouraged Mr. Abdul Wahab Foondun to think ahead for the progress of Urdu. The latter introduced an examination affiliated with the Jamia Urdu of Aligarh and this effort acted as a crowd puller and attracted many learners of Urdu. (Ref: Enayat Hossen Edun, 2006, Urdu Studies in Mauritius, Page 17.)

The odyssey of Urdu language in Mauritius did not end here. Many of the Urdu learners turned into prominent teachers and emerged even as writers and poets. To name a few, Mr. Cassam Heerah, Mr. Enayat Hossen Edun, Mr. Swabir Goodur, Mr. Ahmad Ramtally, Mr. Farook Bauccha, Mr. Said Meeajun, Mr. Cassum Allymamod, Mr. Twahir Doomun, Mr. Farook Rujul and Mr. Rashid Neerooa are the promoters of Urdu in Mauritius through their precious writings.

Today, Urdu is not only taught at primary school level but also at secondary and even tertiary level. This is to be noted that the Mahatma Gandhi Institute is the only repository of languages where Urdu is taught at degree level and recently, in August 2010, a Master's degree course in Urdu has been introduced. This has earmarked a turning point in the progress of urdu language in Mauritius.

By Dr. Asuf Ali Adil Allymamod