20 January 2010: The Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Hon’ble Speaker, Smt. Meira Kumar which is on a visit to Mauritius, arrived at Coolie Ghat, renamed Aapravasi Ghat since 1987, in the morning yesterday.  This memorial to indentured labour, transported to Mauritius from India in 1830s to 1920s, is recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The members of the delegation marvelled at the courage of the indentured workers who suffered indignities and survived to emerge as the driving force for the development of Mauritius into a flourishing Republic.  The Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar, who had laid a wreath at the Ghat in November 2007, was nevertheless visibly moved on this second occasion as well.  She appreciated the renovation of this historical structure under the Aapravasi Ghat conservation project under the supervision of a team from International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)-India.

The delegation moved to the office of the Hon’ble Speaker of the National Assembly for freewheeling discussions with the Hon’ble Speaker and MPs of the National Assembly of Mauritius.  Hon’ble Speaker Rajkeswur Purryag initiated the discussion, saying that Parliament in Mauritius had been instrumental in providing a transparent government, equitable distribution of wealth and assurance of civil rights. Common human values, he said, governed the political destinies of the two countries from different continents. However, despite the two countries following the West-minister model, he was struck by the fact that the standing orders for the National Assembly and Lok Sabha were so different.  He stressed the fact that you need institutions like Parliament for the smooth transfer of power after elections without which some African countries had shown civil war-like conditions might erupt.  Smt. Meira Kumar agreed that people in both countries were committed to pluralism and democracy and unhesitatingly welcomed the suggestion that a India-Mauritius friendship group be constituted as early as possible. The Indian delegation learnt about the “best looser system” enshrined in the constitution of Mauritius which provides for four members from minority communities and another four on party-cum-community basis, in Mauritius to be representatives in the National Assembly if they polled the highest percentage of votes but nevertheless lost the elections.  The Indian delegation found it interesting that there was no committee system in the National Assembly and there was a full scale debate on the annual budget. They also explained, to their counterparts, aspects of the code of conduct imposed by the Election Commission of India during the elections and the up-to-date position of the law relating to defections in the Indian party system. Collectively, it was felt that more intensive exchange of matters related to procedures and practices in the two legislatures would benefit both the countries.

The delegation paid a visit to the University of Mauritius in the afternoon and interacted with the UoM Chancellor Sir Ramesh Jeewoolall and Senior Faculty members.  In her address, Smt. Meira Kumar advocated a perspective that views “today’s youth as tomorrow’s wealth”.  Issues related to a request from the Mauritian side to urge institutions of higher learning in India to be more accommodative in offering seats to Mauritian students and join collaborative academic projects with the University of Mauritius were discussed. The interactive session between the Faculty members and the Indian MPs was lively and constructive.