Paris

The ten days I spent in Paris constituted the most exciting period of my 17-month stay outside of Mauritius. Not merely because I had the opportunity of going round sumptuous Versailles, of spending a day at the Louvres or of rambling in that enchanting city where history keeps staring the visitor in the face but because I could see for myself what le génie français and all that it stands for means. I had also the opportunity of coming to grips with the grandeur of French culture about which I used to hear a lot in Mauritius and of which I saw so little. Another thing which impressed me still more was the tremendous amount of work done by Roman Catholic institutions in several fields.

Three weeks before leaving London for Paris, quite unexpectedly I got a letter from Mrs. Renson. It was really an unexpected letter because when I read the name of the éxpediteur I could not make out who it was for I had never met nor written to any Mrs. Renson before. In her letter, Mrs. Renson explained that when she was in India in January 1957 she met an Italian friend of mine who gave her my London address and mentioned to her that I would be visiting Paris on my way back home; consequently, she had written to me enquiring about the exact date of my arrival in Paris because she wanted to be of some help to me. I could not ask for more and I wrote back giving all details. Mrs. Renson then wrote again saying she would come to pick me up at the station and "comme signe de ralliement pour me trouver, je porterais ostensiblement à la main, la revue Match".

When I alighted at the that Gare due Nord I looked for a lady ostentatiously carrying a copy of Paris-Match but there was none. Thinking that she might have been late I decided to wait but hardly had I waited for a few minutes when a young priest smiling winsomely greeted me: "Vous désirez quelqu'un M'sieur?" he asked and I replied that I have just arrived from London and was expecting to be met by Mrs. Renson. "Parfait", he said and explained that Mrs. Renson was late and that soon she would be with us. After some time Mrs. Renson arrived, apologising profusely for not being on time and we immediately drove to Jean-Bart Hotel in the quartier latin where she had a room booked. At the Hotel she showed me the programme she had drawn up for me; a crowded programme indeed but it was the best I could expect.

The first evening, the evening I arrived, was reserved for the young priest, l'Abbé Terrien, who came to see me at the station. The second day was kept free for any personal business which my hosts presumed I would have to attend to but as from the second evening I had to be at their entire disposal. On that second evening Mrs. Renson hosted a party when I was introduced to some of her friends who had previously agreed to take me round Paris. The party was indeed overwhelming: there was no barrier between my hosts and myself, neither my name nor the shade of my skin nor my nationality mattered, what actually mattered was that I was a friend of theirs. I could hardly believe that I was the subject of everybody's attention and I marvelled at the kindness lavished upon me by people I had never met nor known before. I could not but feel humble at the surge of spontaneous friendliness and goodwill that flowed towards me. Was it not a revealing experience for me, an Indo-Mauritian, to be so cordially received and treated on an equal footing by genuine French people, people from the very centre of Paris?

As agreed with my new friends, on my third day in Paris I began going out with them and thus I visited Versailles, le Panthéon, Les Invalides, la Tour Eiffel, le Palais de Chaillot, le Louvre, le Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame, la Sainte Chapelle and a host of other important places of historic or religious interest. The programme also included a visit to the two cafés of Boulevard Saint Germain, Aux deux magots and Café Flore which are supposed to be the meeting place of dabblers in literary and artistic pursuits. Afterwards I was told that those two cafés were regularly visited by Jean-Paul Sartre and his followers which explained the fact that they attracted quite a number of snobs. One morning, at two, I was taken to the quartier des halles, known as le ventre de Paris, where vegetables and fruits and other products are brought from other parts of France and sold wholesale to Paris retailers. Were also included in the programme two visits to the Théâtre de France where, in company of a student from the Sorbonne, I saw Moliere's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Kafka's Le Château. Apart from all this, arrangements were made for me to visit la Maison de Christian Dior, the offices of l'Action Catholique, the Société des Amitiés Francaises à L'Etranger, l'Institut Pasteur, Institut Economie et Humanisme, the Unesco headquarters and last but not least, Monsieur l'Abbé Pierre.

I do not know much about the Institut Economie et Humanisme nor have I read enough which would allow me to speak authoritatively about it. But from what I was told by Rev. Father Lebret the promoter of this movement and his secretary, Melle Roret, Economie et Humanisme represents a new, fascinating trend of thought. On the face of it, it looks like a philosophy evolved to counter communism but on going deeper into it one finds that it does not spare capitalism either. Father Lebret told me that he and his fellow workers had come to the conclusion that in its quest for physical well-being, an aim absolutely conditioned by economics, society was losing sight of the human side of the problem. He was of the opinion that both economie and humanisme were essential to the survival of society and as in many countries there had been an economie bereft of humanisme, he was trying to evolve a line of thought aimed at the eventual synthesis of economics and humanism.

Meeting l'Abbé Pierre on the eve of my departure from Paris is an experience I'll never forget. When I rang him up before going to his office he told me that he was completely taken up by unexpected visitors from Switzerland and consequently would ask me for lunch as that was the only time he could spare; he added that Charles Moulin who had visited Mauritius would be in for lunch and suggested that it would be interesting to be together with him. So, at 1 p.m. I called on him and we drove to a restaurant where Charles Moulin was waiting for us. Charles Moulin was excited to hear that he was to meet a Mauritian and was banking on me to give l'Abbé Pierre an eye-witness account of his lecture in Mauritius; but when I told him that I was not in Mauritius when he gave his lecture his enthusiasm abated and he preferred to concentrate on his meal leaving l'Abbé Pierre and myself to ourselves. L'Abbé Pierre is a very impressive personality indeed; he symbolizes charity and modesty and breathes kindness. He is gentle beyond description and the way he speaks is fascinating. But behind his gentleness and calm demeanour, there is a compassionate heart guided by a stable and straightforward mind. Just by talking to him one can easily discern that he is not a man who would compromise on his ideals or his faith. If he is convinced that a certain thing is evil he is not prepared to bow down. What was the motive force, the guiding principle of his movement? I asked. He believes in God; and in his service to his downtrodden fellow countrymen l'Abbé Pierre is serving his Master who is the very basis of his existence.

In what circumstances did he start his movement? He could not stand the sight of people, owing to their circumstances beyond their control, digging the dustbins of the highroads for a morsel of food; he refused to believe that when a section of the population was comfortably fed and housed others should seek shelter from the cold and rain under bridges. What could have happened to such people? He thinks that such people have fallen victim to despair. The divine spark in them is about to be smothered by utter desperation and they have lost all sense of dignity. L'Abbé Pierre therefore thinks that such people need only one thing: they must be convinced that they are not as worthless as they think they are, they should be told that their lives are still full of rich potentialities which if developed may give a new direction to their lives.

L'Abbé Pierre has implemented this philosophy and has greatly succeeded. His movement has reclaimed thousands of sans logis and his message has spread far beyond the shores of France. I would like to end this account of L'Abbé Pierre by quoting a passage from himself in which he sets out the fundamental principle of his philosophy: "Entreprendre sans attendre d'être sans défauts. Par sa vie entière chacun doit s'employer à prouver que, pour pouvoir utilement accomplir une telle élèmentaire action, il n'est pas nécessaire d'être déjà devenu quelqu'un d'excellent, mais qu'il suffit de s'y vouer; et que c'est seulement en se vouant de quelque façon à cette manière de vivre qu'il est possible de tendre à devenir bon a quelque chose, et moins mauvais, et meilleur, car il n'y a pas d'autre voie vers la vie en plénitude, vers la perfection que la voie de la prise au sérieux de cette unique Loi, la loi des lois; aime le prochain comme toi, c'est-à-dire sers ton prochain avant toi tant qu'il est moins heureux que toi".

Paris once one of the greatest cities of the world still retains its splendour. It is more beautiful than a host of cities I have seen; it appears to have been better planned than London itself, though in some details London is to be preferred. Life in Paris is wonderful... provided you have bags of francs! The cost of living is prohibitive and pourboire is almost a national industry. The most common characteristic of the French people is the proverbial je m'enfichisme. What about government instability? No one cares. Why the mess in Algeria? No one cares. Why so much dependence on America? Well, that's that, if it is not America it will be Russia. My final impression of the French people I met and tried to question about the things referred to above is that they are indifferent: they have an acute sense of humour and when they happen to find something funny they would laugh à gorge déployée!

Speaking of the French temperament I may recall a rather funny incident which happened to me. One evening I went out with an American girl whom I had previously met in Delhi. At about eleven we entered an Italian restaurant where I was to taste pizza, the Italian speciality. We were hardly seated when a man, ungainly dressed, barged in with a bouquet of violettes; he went around the other customers shouting, "Violettes, messieurs-dames" but no one cared to buy his violets. Finally he came to us and staring at me, said "Violettes, m'sieur?" I didn't pay heed but he insisted. Seeing that I was adamant, he addressed the girl "Violettes madame?" The girl too did not bother. He looked at me and said "Monsieur, des violettes pour madame?" but I still refused to consider his offer. Poor chap, he got exasperated and blurted out, "Eh bien, si vous ne voulez pas faire le bon gallant, merde!"

That was the Paris I saw and I liked. I only wish I had stayed longer. An hour or so before I left Paris for Marseilles a friend of mine, the student at the Sorbonne, came to visit me. He wanted to know what was the one thing which had impressed me most. I told him it was the generosity and sincerity with which I was received by the group of friends. "Why, didn't you expect it?" he enquired. "I was not so sure". I evasively replied. He pressed for further explanations and I had to give him a picture of the situation here in Mauritius. French culture is so pure in Mauritius, I hinted, that we are kept at arm's length from the Franco-Mauritian community. "Hm," he murmured, "c'est la bétise française... Il y a une différence entre les français de France et les français de Maurice", he concluded. I agreed.

Mauritius Times, Friday 21st February, 1958.

Copyright Succession Keharsingh Jagatsingh

Renga is No More

If you want an illustration to support the popular saying that when death strikes it strikes blindly you can take the case of Renganaden Seeneevassen. He was a man, intelligent and cultured, kind and friendly, who combined honesty of purpose with wise statesmanship. Yet in the thick of his activities, working for the uplift of his people he has been removed from life by that invisible, mysterious but deadly hand of what some of us would call fate.

The death of Seeneevassen leaves a yawning gap in the life of this country. It will not be easily filled for some time to come. At the bar, in the Labour Party and in the Ministry we do not find, at least for the moment, anyone to replace him. His death is therefore an irreparable loss. The bar has lost one of its most eloquent members, the Mauritius Labour Party has been deprived of one of its pillars and the Government has lost one of its most capable Ministers. And Mauritius has lost one of its most distinguished sons.

At the bar, Seeneevassen was a name to be conjured with. His eloquence was proverbial and his integrity known far and wide. His profound knowledge of law coupled with his analytical approach to any given situation made of him a very successful lawyer. His willingness to help and advise his younger colleagues of the bar and the poise and self-confidence with which he would tackle any situation earned him the respect and admiration of his profession as a whole.

In the death of Seeneevassen the Labour party loses one of its top leaders. He was indeed a very able and popular orator who could captivate an audience for any length of time. He was accessible to everybody, high or low, and his friendly way of greeting friend or foe did much to keep his prestige and that of his party always high. Next to Rozemont he was the most popular Labour leader in Port Louis. It is to be wondered now how the Labour Party meetings will look like without him.

Undoubtedly, Seeneevassen was one of the greatest parliamentarians of his time. His marvellous way of speaking, the flowery and forceful language he would use, his subtle sarcasms, his constant desire never to strike below the belt and his readiness to consider the other man's views are the great oratorical qualities he had. The way he steered the passage of the new Education Code in the Assembly revealed his detailed knowledge of and faith in parliamentary practice.

As a Minister, Seeneevassen did his best to shoulder the responsibilities of as large a department as the Education Department. Some aspects of his policy may not have pleased everybody but it will be conceded that it is not always possible to satisfy everybody at one go. Seeneevassen brought to his office the rich experience of a great legal mind unsoiled by the mean desire of pleasing one community or group at the expense of another.

Another aspect of Seeneevassen's impressive personality was his versatility and his broad cosmopolitan outlook. He was at home at any level of any society. Whether he was in European society or Indian society it was all the same to him. He was one of those rare, brilliant Indo-Mauritian intellectuals who in spite of having imbibed a good deal of Western ideas and ideals, still continued to stick to their own culture and traditions.

Seeneevassen honoured his family, his profession and his country. And he would have continued to do so. The country was expecting a lot from him. he has died too soon. Be it as it may, tomorrow when that body of his which was so full of life and vitality would have been reduced to ashes on the funeral pyre and when the crowd of mourning friends would leave the Vallee des Pretres crematorium, they would perhaps say to themselves:

"His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world "This was a man!"

Mauritius Times, Friday 6th June, 1958.

Copyright Succession Keharsingh Jagatsingh 

Vers une Entite Mauricienne

I am perfectly aware of the gravity as well as the complexity of the problem I am about to discuss. And it is precisely because of this that I wish to make it clear, at the very outset, that I am here this afternoon not as an accredited representative of the Hindu community but as a mere student of the Mauritian affairs who is attempting to interpret and explain what the Hindu community thinks of Mauritius and its problems. The views I will be expressing in a short while are my own: I can assure you that I am convinced of their validity and their relevance to the burning problems of the day. If, however, my views happen to offend any section of the population or if they happen to hurt the feelings of any individual or group inside or outside this hall, I beseech you to condemn my humble self and not to heap the blame on my community.

Again, I would like to make it plain that I am prepared to call a spade a spade. In so doing I'll have to consider the various forces at work in our society objectively: I want to look at them from a distance, so to speak, and try to assess them as well as their actions and interactions. But if by so doing I happen to shock some people I'll ask them to believe that my primary motive is not to offend but to face the facts of the situation squarely and to deal with them to the best of my ability and with as much sincerity of purpose as I can command.

To follow the pattern set by the previous speakers, I have divided my speech into three distinct sections. First, the history of the Hindu community in Mauritius; secondly, what I think its conception of une entite mauricienne is and finally, what it can contribute towards the realisation of that entite mauricienne.

After the abolition of slavery in the early 1830s when the manumitted slaves refused to work on the sugar plantations of the early French settlers and when utter disaster stared Mauritius in the face, identured labour was imported from India. Out of 400,000 indentured Indian labourers who came to the Island over 200,000 stayed: they decided to adopt Mauritius as their home. The descendants of those indentured labourers generally constitute the Hindu community of today.

The history of my community is a harrowing tale of misfortune and suffering. The forbears of the Hindu community were in no way better off than the slaves they had come to supersede. They were called coolies and had to work for a mere pittance. They were les engages of their masters and in the absence of decent industrial laws, they were at the mercy of their employers. They were just like some human cogs in the vast industrial machine. In those days political rights were a far cry and they lead an almost sub-human life. They were hardly educated and their life was a monotonous drudgery. Their only friends and acquaintances were their hoe and sickle and the large fields under their feet and the blue Mauritian sky high above their heads.

When they came to Mauritius, the Island could hardly claim to be an industrial country. Our sugar industry practically did not exist but their arrival in Mauritius ushered in an era of tremendous agricultural development. I am sure that one will bear me a grudge if I aver that the Hindu community had contributed and is contributing to a very large extent to the prosperity of this Island. Only the other day no less a man than Mr. Fernand Leclezio reminded us that when the surra had destroyed all the cart-hoses, Indian coolies replaced them. I am not overstating the fact if I allow myself to say that for such a contribution to the economic welfare of the country as a whole those Indian coolies deserve our thanks, our gratitude, our respect and perhaps even our admiration.

Every dog is supposed to have his day and those Indian coolies too had theirs. With the spread of education coupled with the advent of democracy, they began asking themselves whether there would be no amelioration in their fate. In one way or another they agitated and gradually their grievances began to be taken into consideration. A Royal Commission came in 1872 and exposed the inhuman treatment meted out to the Indian labourers. But the Royal Commission could only state the facts and make recommendations. There was very little change in their situation.

In the early years of this country they again agitated but at that time they benefitted from the leadership and inspiration of Manilall Doctor. A second Royal Commission was appointed n 1909. Sweeping changes followed and their position was greatly improved. It was a turning point in their history.

Until then they had no political rights and our system of Government was indeed an iniquitous one. The small man whether he was Creole or Indian has no say whatsover in the management of public affairs. But a time came, it was 1926, when for the first time in the annals of Mauritius, two Hindus were elected under a very liberal constitution. Lest I forget, let me state that during the period 1920-48 a large number of Hindus became professionals and began making their influence and abilities felt in various spheres of activity. This is, in short, a brief but avowedly imperfect history of the Indian community of Mauritius from the early beginning up to the generation to which I belong.

The history of Mauritius can be summed up in a few words. The French came and took possession of the Island. They brought in a handful of Indian artisans to build the harbour and the first roads and imported slaves from Madagascar and Africa to work on the plantations. Later, as I have said just now, Indian immigrants came along. Finally, the Chinese came thus completing the mosaic of races which is Mauritian society.

The French who came here were cultured people. From very reliable authority I can aver that the French who came here belonged to the French aristocracy of those days. As proof, I can only point to the difference between the French which is spoken here and that which is spoken in certain part of Canada. The slaves of course had a primitive religion and culture. The Indians though they were illiterate and most of their religious beliefs were shrouded in malpractices, had a certain amount of culture. They had brought with them copies of the Gita and the Ramayana which gave them solace and soothed their soul whenever they found themselves as the mercy of economic circumstances. The descendants of the slaves, for reasons which I need not unravel, adopted Christianity as their religion and as Christianity is so closely connected with Western culture, the Creole community adopted Western culture.

So we have it. In our society which is composed of the descendants of slaves and immigrants and those of the French colonists and Chinese traders, four of the greatest religions of the world are represented. They are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. But it will be untrue to say that we have four different cultures in Mauritius. I think that generally there are two cultures or to be more precise, only two cultural tendencies in Mauritius: they are Eastern culture and Western culture.

Now, what is the relation between the two cultures? How do Mauritian Westerners look at Mauritius Easterners? Or vice versa? I regret to have to say that in Mauritius we tend to think that one culture is inferior to another. We tend to believe in the supremacy of culture and religion; we are still thinking that cultures and religions are material units which have dimensions and which can be compared or haggled about as auctioneers do in their trade. And it is a pity indeed for me to have to say that here everything Indian seems to be inferior in the eyes of many who believe in Western culture. The impression that I have got out of actual experience is that Mauritian Westerners generally believe that anything coming from the West is perfect and that the East has nothing to offer.

But I do not blame those Mauritian Westerners who thing on such lines. I understand them; I feel sorry for them. I understand them because the attitude now prevalent among them was at a great premium in Europe a few decades ago. There was a time when Europeans thought that they had the monopoly of intelligence and power and that the East was and would eternally remain a hanger-on to the West. The Europeans obviously were devoid of any sense of history. But the great cataclysms touched off by the second world war exposed in a very glaring manner their shortsightedness and narrowness of mind. They were brought to accept the inevitable fact that apart from human goodness there is nothing lasting in this world. They realised that empires and monopolies are not eternal.

I wish to see a similar awakening among Mauritian Westerners. I want them to understand that they cannot afford to write off Indian culture and Eastern values as insignificant. I ask them to draw as much as possible from those values. I desperately ask them to realise this, at least for one thing. How can I like Western culture if I am constantly reminded by the protagonists of Western culture that my culture is insignificant and that I am an inferior human being? To my friends who belong to the Western way of life I say: the Hindu community is prepared to stretch out its hand in friendship to the other communities of the Island but it will do so only on terms of equality.

I would like to assure all my friends who belong to the other communities of the Island that we do not want to swamp them or to obliterate their culture and religion. My community belongs to that only nation which since time immemorial has given shelter to all religions and peoples. My religious background is permeated with a deep sense of respect and tolerance for all systems of thought. I do not believe in supremacy in any field of human activity. I believe that humanity is one and if you happen to be a Christian and I a Hindu, it's simply due basically to geographical divisions. After all, are we not all, whether Hindu or Christian, striving for the same end, i.e. perfection? Why then should we compel all the pilgrims to the city of God to follow the same path? I am convinced that in our vertical march towards a better humanity we must avoid traffic congestions!

There was a time, ladies and gentlemen, when humanity was broken up into tiny fragments, when the nations of the world were cut off from each other by mountains and oceans. But today the world is much smaller. We have been brought much closer together. We are making for one world in which there will be no Indian or European culture but a world culture, a human culture. Why then should we, in this small Island which is but a dot on the map, fight each other over trivial things? Can't we here work for a synthesis between Western and Eastern culture? In Mauritius we have the privilege of drawing from all the great cultures of the world. And you know only too well that a culture which opens its doors to new ideals becomes richer.

I am a Hindu and I want to remain Hindu. I try to live according to the ideals of Eastern culture. But I am no enemy of Western culture. I am alive to the beauties of the Vedas and the Upanishads but I cannot ignore the sublime message of love and brotherhood of Christ. Will I be less Hindu if I admire and respect Christianity? Will my other friends be less Christian if they admire and respect Hinduism? My conception of une entite mauricienne is therefore this: I visualize a Mauritian society where all religions, all languages and all cultures will flourish side by side, where there will be mutual respect and understanding and where there will be no room for supremacy. I want a society where instead of accentuating our points of difference, we shall explore what we have in common. I want a society where there will be a free flow of ideas and ideals. May I add that our salvation lies not in the obliteration of Indian culture or Western culture but in a fusion of them both?

Personally, I think that my community can contribute much towards the realisation of a Mauritian entity.For the moment I cannot pinpoint in what particular fields it is going to make its greatest contribution but I should like to state that it is still in the throes of evolution and in time to come it is going  to prove its worth in all fields of Mauritian life. Hindus have no desire to dominate any other community. They do not want any special treatment but they want to learn from others and share the joys and sorrows of the country as a whole. They consider Mauritius as their home and they think they have got as much right as anybody else and they expect their feelings to be reciprocated.

Before resuming my seat I have two observations to make.

First, I wish to point out that I have deliberately confined myself to the cultural and social aspects of the problem we are discussing this afternoon. I have avoided politics for obvious reasons. I have done so because I am certain that if really want to meet on common ground we should seek to avoid issues which are more likely to divide than to unite us. But I am convince that a time will come when we shall be able to thrash out all our problems without fear of disintegrating our society. We have only to pave the way for such a situation.

Secondly, I would not like to create the impression that on this platform I am like the philosopher of the jungle. Perhaps, I should tell you something about the philosopher of the jungle. Once upon a time there was a centipede which was suffering from gout; it painfully walked miles to consult the philosopher of the jungle, that is the monkey. Having considered the complaints of the centipede, the philosopher offered this solution: "if you become a mouse and have only four legs, you will be twenty-five times better off". The centipede then replied: "That's a wonderful idea. How do I get to be a mouse?" The monkey shook his head and said: "I can't tell you that. I only make policy".

So, ladies and gentlemen, I have not come here merely to tell you that I want to find such and such society in Mauritius without at least attempting to suggest how I think we can bring about une entite mauricienne. Therefore I suggest five points.

• We must realise that all communities have equal rights in Mauritius.
• We must concede that no culture is inferior to the other and no religion is undeserving of respect. We may not like a particular religion but we must respect it. Mark my words, I say: we must respect it.
• We must not allow politics to degenerate into communal strife and what is more important still, we must prevent politics from dominating our conception of this or that community or its culture and ideals.
• We should try to learn each other's culture, religion and language. As long as we remain apart suspiciously looking at each other from a distance, une entite mauricienne will remain an empty expression.
• The leaders of all communities, the priests, the press as well as the radio should muster their energies to bring home all Mauritians that we can and must achieve unity in diversity.

As a last word, ladies and gentlemen. I reiterate my conviction that Mauritius is not and should not be the preserve of any community. The traditions and values of France, Great Britain, Pakistan, China and India have got the right to live here. If we live wisely we'll lead a really rich life. Whether it was by a mere freak of history or a conspiracy of fate that we, people of different cultures and traditions, have been cast together on this small Island I do not know. But I am sure that we have to live side by side. We have to evolve the kind of society Prof. Radhakrishnan contemplates when he asks: "May we not strive for a philosophy which will combine the best of European humanism and Asiatic religion, a philosophy profounder and more living than either and endowed with greater spiritual and ethical force, which will conquer the hearts of men and compel peoples to acknowledge its sway?"

If we fail in this we will prove our unworthiness of being called an educated people.

Speech at a public forum at the Salles de Fetes, Town Hall of Rose Hill, 5th May 1958.

Copyright Succession Keharsingh Jagatsingh.