Bihari Mauritians

2026-03-19T11:33:05Z

162.159.122.27:

{{Infobox ethnic group
|group = Bihari Mauritians

|image =
|population = A majority (75-80%) of [[Indo-Mauritian]]s
|popplace = [[Port Louis]], [[Saint Pierre, Mauritius|Saint Pierre]], [[Triolet, Mauritius|Triolet]], [[Vacoas]], [[Rose-Hill|Rose Hill]]
|langs = [[Mauritian Creole|Creole]], [[French language|French]], [[Bhojpuri]], [[English language|English]]
|rels = [[Hinduism]], [[Islam]], [[Christianity]]
|related-c = [[Bhojpuri people]], [[Awadhi people]], [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian diaspora]], [[Indo-Mauritian]], [[Indian South African|Indo-South African]], [[Indo-Surinamese]], [[Indo-Guyanese]], [[Indo-Trinidadian]], [[Indo-Fijian]]
}}

'''Bihari Mauritians''' are the descendants of mainly [[Bhojpuri people|Bhojpuri]] and some [[Awadhi]] speaking migrants to [[Mauritius]]. A majority of [[Indo-Mauritian]]s are of Bihari descent, and the majority of Mauritians are Indo-Mauritian (the Hindus: [[Bhumihar]], [[Vaishya]], [[Brahmin]], [[Rajput]], [[Koeri]], [[Chamar]], [[Yadav]], [[Kurmi]], Banias, and Kayastha castes are well represented). All but one [[Prime Minister of Mauritius|Mauritian prime ministers]] have been of Bihari descent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/never-leave-home-finding-india-in-mauritius-5183525/|title=Never leave home: Finding a slice of India in Mauritius|website=Indian Express|accessdate=19 March 2021}} </ref><ref>[http://pinkpigeonpress.com/Across-the-Kalapani-is%20a-celebration-of-the-Bihari-diaspora.html The Indian Diaspora] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715084048/http://pinkpigeonpress.com/Across-the-Kalapani-is%20a-celebration-of-the-Bihari-diaspora.html |date=2011-07-15 }}</ref><ref name="Bates Crispin">{{cite book |last=Bates |first=Crispin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_F7NCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=koeri+in+Mauritius |title=Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora |publisher=Springer |year=2016 |isbn=978-0333977293 |page=14 |access-date=2020-07-01}}Some 'castes' in Mauritius in particular are quite unrecognizable from a subcontinental perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes from an Indian setting into a single group. A 'Rajput' in Mauritius is of a sudra caste, the title having been usurped by this group in the nineteenth century. The terms Hindu and 'Indien' refer exclusively to north Indian Hindus. Migrants from Tamilnad identify their religious group as Tamil, not Hindu, and minority groups such as 'Telugus' and 'Marathis' are preoccupied with maintaining regional endogamy rather than with caste distinctions. Gujaratis are also seen as a separate community, from a trading rather than an indenture background, and maintain a social distance from descendants of 'coolies'. The former Brahmin elite are referred to as the Maraz and together with the former Rajputs and other Kshatriyas, now called 'Babujis', enjoy the prestige conferred by high-caste status, whilst politically they complain of marginalization. </ref>
The community includes a [[Hinduism|Hindu]] majority, followed by [[Muslims]] ([[Sunni Islam]]) while a minority practices Christianity. About 60 percent of the 1.2 million population of Mauritius is of Indian origin, many them from Bihar, with [[Bhojpuri]] as their former mother tongue.

Bihari Mauritians were mainly from the [[Gaya, India|Gaya]], [[Chhapra]], Bhojpur and Gopalganj and East and West Champaran districts. In those early days of Migration, the labourers referred Mauritius as 'Marich'.

[[Amitav Ghosh]] wrote an acclaimed novel set in this period, based on extensive research, called the '[[Sea of Poppies]]'. This fictional account tells of a ship, called 'The Ibis', which brought the Bihari bonded labourers to Mauritius. The main characters who embark on the ship include a widow saved from enforced [[Sati (practice)|Sati]] by a man of lower caste, the daughter of a famous French botanist and a former aristocrat sentenced to [[penal transportation]] after going bankrupt. It also describes the devastation of the farming community in the region by the monopolistic British [[East India Company]]. According to the book, many small land owners were forced to cultivate poppies to produce the opium that was trafficked to China. This created a supply of hungry and impoverished Bihari migrants who were desperate enough to brave the hellish journey to Mauritius and even more distant colonies of the empire.

==Social stratification==
Though the island is divided on ethnic and religious grounds, '[[Hindu]]' Mauritians follow a number of original custom and tradition, quite different from those seen in the Indian subcontinent. Some castes in 'Mauritius' in particular are quite unrecognizable from a subcontinental perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes from Indian setting into a single group. The '''"title"''' Rajput is used primarily by [[Shudra]] castes in Mauritius, which was usurped by this group in nineteenth century. The 'vaish' are the largest and most influential caste group on the island, in which Koeris, Kurmi, Yadav the kshtriya caste, Teli, Bania etc. are included.The former [[Brahmin]] elites together with former Rajputs and other [[Kshatriya]]s are called 'Babuji' and enjoy prestige conferred by high caste status , though politically they are marginalized and their place has been taken by the castes who identify themselves as 'vaish'.<ref name="Bates Crispin"/>

==References==
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[[Category:People from Bihar|Mauritian]]
[[Category:Mauritian people of Indian descent|*]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora in Mauritius]]

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Bihari Mauritians