| Most Mauritians Originate from Bihar |
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| Written by Vincent Vega | |||
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Most Mauritians of Indian Origin Are From Bihar - The state government in Bihar, India are setting up a special unit in order to aid Mauritians in tracing their roots and ancestral background. State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who recently visited Mauritius, said he understood the pain of Mauritians whom are desperate to discover their ancestral lineage. He went on to say that th
e Indian government would collaborate with Mauritius to prepare a comprehensive database of all Biharis who had migrated to the Indian Ocean country of Mauritius in an effort to help them track their roots. A large number of Biharis, known as Girmitiya labourers, had travelled to various parts of the world, including Mauritius, in the 19th century to work in sugarcane and rubber plantations. The Bihar State Chief Minister visited Mauritius in July 27-31 2007 on a special invitation from the Mauritian government. He attended the Bihar Week held there and addressed the National Assembly of Mauritius. The Mauritius University will confer a doctorate degree on him. Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam invited Nitish Kumar to inaugurate the Bihar Week celebrations being organised by the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) in collaboration with the Mauritius government. The Bihar Week high-lighteted the contributions made by the people from Bihar to the island. It also showcased the cultural bond between the two places, Mauritius High Commissioner to India Mukteshwar Chuni said, "The Bihar Week celebrations in Mauritius will be the first of its kind outside India. It will help attract investments to the state and establish people-to-people contact on a bigger scale. Our great grandfathers had sailed from India to Mauritius and had made important contributions to the socio-economic development of the country. The people of Mauritius have an emotional bond with Bihar as nearly 70 per cent of people here are from the Bihari origin." The Bihar government had announced early this year that it would install a lifesize statue of former Mauritius Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who originally hailed from Bihar. Ramgoolam, who belonged to a village in Bihar's Saran district, was the first prime minister of Mauritius from 1961 to 1982. He is considered to be the father of the nation as he led his country to independence from Britain. Chuni said, "Mauritius would help develop Ramgoolam's native village in Bihar as a historical and tourist destination. About 70 per cent of the 1.2 million population of Mauritius is of Indian extraction, a large number of them from Bihar with Bhojpuri as their native language". Comments (1)
DeeDee
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| Wow, that truly is fascinating. After all these years I never knew that. I am intrigued to finding out more about my ancestral past. I hope to be able to chase this up soon. |
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