People
Today, Mauritius is a multi-cultural nation with nearly half of its population forming the Mauritian diaspora overseas. 70% of the population are descended from Indian immigrants and of these 52% are Hindu. Of the remaining population most are of African or Malagasy descent, while people of European and Chinese origin represent small minorities
English remains the official language but French is the language of the media and many Mauritians. Creole, a language born out of the meeting of French and African languages has became the lingua franca of Mauritius, while Bhojpuri is commonly spoken by the Indian community who brought their linguistic heritage across the ocean: Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telegu and Marathi.
With its motto “Unity in Diversity”, the Mauritian population and its various communities constitute a peaceful and successful plural society.
Long known to Arab traders and ‘discovered’ by the Portuguese, Mauritius has had a long and rich history. By the time it passed into British control in 1810, the Dutch and French had been and gone, along with much of the indigenous forest and the island’s most famous animal, the dodo. .
The Treaty of Capitulation, signed by the French in 1810, guaranteed the property, laws, customs and religion of the inhabitants, but British rule led to the rapid growth of the sugar industry which was to become the life-blood of Mauritius. Indian labourers, together with Chinese, joined the existing French and Creole population and helped create the melting pot of different races, religions and cultural traditions. The languages spoken today on the island reveal its rich heritage – English remains the official language but French is the language of the media and many Mauritians, with Creole universal and Bhojpuri commonly spoken.