Labour Turns 90 in A Depressing Atmosphere

And it's not difficult to understand why. We wrote a post on several aspects of the greatest party in Mauritius yesterday. Navin Ramgoolam should seize the opportunity to restore the BRP at 60 and clear the air a little bit. 

Maverick Remembered

60 Years Ago, Voters Seize Wonderful Chance of Sending Maverick To Parliament

At that time it was called the Legislative Assembly and he's about twenty-seven-and-a-half years old on that 10th Monday of 1959 in colonial Mauritius. He already has a lot under his belt. He had co-founded the Mauritius Times roughly five years before and had spent 17 months outside of Mauritius literally globetrotting during which time he secured a 30-minute meeting with Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the philosopher and Vice-President of India. That's barely a decade after the British had been sent packing. Just imagine the energy in the atmosphere. But more happens in that long trip. A lot more. He travels to London and on his way back stops at Paris where he's lucky to have lunch with l'Abée Pierre thanks to contacts established in India. These meetings and travels reinforce what his self-customized education - reading many right sutras very early in his life didn't hurt - has already taught him.

So voters elect him on his first attempt as a candidate in a general election. More was to come his way. Elected as Secretary General of the Labour Party a couple of years later, a post which he kept for about 21 years, he used this position to bring method to the madness in the party. This period would coincide with his work in three Ministries as one of the most important architects of our welfare state. 

Two other factors made the completion of such a massive amount of work possible. The first is that his biggest fan happened to be one SSR. The other is the mathematician he married. 

1976 General Elections Turn 40 Today

Mauritians went to vote 40 years ago today. Between two oil shocks. And before Claudette flattened our economy. It's the first elections I remember. Will have plenty to write on this. The Labour Party was busy building the country but it was very difficult times. They managed to stay in power with the help of the PMSD. And thanks to one electoral promise.

30 Years Ago Indira Gandhi Was Assasinated

On October 31st 1984 to be more precise. I remember not initially understanding how she could have been shot multiple times. Only to learn a bit later that two of her bodyguards had assassinated her with their service guns. Ms. Gandhi was a great friend of Mauritius and visited us a few times. Here she is on one of these trips being welcomed by Kher Jagatsingh as my mum, tonton Raymond and tante Jacqueline Rault look on. The guy just behind the Prime Minister of India is of course our own SSR.

This picture brings back a lot of memories. One such memory is the late Camille Moutou lamenting at a SELEX -- an organisation for the elderly in Mauritius -- dinner a few years ago: "Kot zot pu kav vo nu bann dirizan sa".

Indeed Camille.

Meeting Yvon St. Guillaume

That happened after leaving the funeral of Sir Satcam Boolell in March 2006. I was walking Lady Jag! back to our car when our path crossed that of an elegant man who was happily introduced as YSG. That gentleman became instantly interesting to me after my mom told me that he had voted for Independence despite being from the PMSD.

Yvon was beaming while I was being briefed. He seemed all set to go right into the National Assembly and second that motion for Independence again. If need be. Or maybe just for the fun of reliving those extraordinary emotions at the Champ de Mars when our flag was raised for the first time.

We left after a nice chat and I took his mobile number promising to get back to him. Mostly to perhaps get a chance of listening to the IMAX version of that beautiful story. I never did. I got busy. Firing katyushas. Non-stop. 

R.I.P. Patriot!

Labour Party Icon Snubbed

Would you believe this? Lady Ruhdihkahaah Jagatsingh, pictured above in the early 1970s, was today not invited to the 74th anniversary celebrations of the only political party she has known, loved and devoted an entire life to. 

Why was she not invited? The uninterrupted firing of missiles by the little fellow in the middle of the picture may have had something to do with it.