In 1970, Mauritius erupted in a political and cultural crisis over language policy. Should English remain the official language, or should French be recognised? Or Creole? The debate exposed deep ethnic and class divides between Franco-Mauritians, Indo-Mauritians, and Creoles. This episode follows the parliamentary battle, the street protests, and the unlikely compromise that left Mauritius with English in parliament, French in the courts, and Creole in the home—a linguistic truce that still holds today. We look at key figures like Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Gaëtan Duval, and the poet Dev Virahsawmy, who championed Creole as a literary language. The episode also explores how this language war echoed earlier struggles over sugar, labour, and identity, and how it shaped Mauritius's unique multilingual democracy.
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör
Fexingo. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Fexingo och inte av,
eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.
