Title: Bridging worlds : from Girmitya to government, the journey of Indians in Mauritius /
Authors: Pandita, Naveen; India.
Publisher: Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt.of India,
Year: 2011
Subjects: East Indian diaspora; Indentured servants Mauritius.; East Indian diaspora; Indentured servants; Manners and customs; Mauritius Social life and customs.; Mauritius
Abstract: The social fabric of Mauritius is premised on a very strong conscious sense of multiculturalism. The Indian Diaspora is a majority in Mauritius and mainly comprises the descendants of the Girmitya's or the indentured labourers who migrated, voluntarily and involuntarily, to Mauritius during the colonial era. In a self-conscious effort to forge an inclusive all Mauritian identity, the Indian Diaspora chooses to call themselves Mauritians and not Indians. However, this hasn't entailed a process of rejection of their ancestral identity and culture but rather a celebration of it by it's integration with Creolean and Chines cultures. By way of historical reconstruction and a series of conversations with people in Mauritius, descendants of Indians and otherwise, the film explores the socio-cultural, economic and political dynamics that underlie Mauritius' multiculturalism.