LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:8 August 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

Celebrate India!
Unity in Diversity!!

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001

BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!

REFERENCE MATERIALS

BACK ISSUES

  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.

  • PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.

  • Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.

  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2021
M. S. Thirumalai

Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
11249 Oregon Circle
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
Custom Search

The Relevance and Potential of Buddhist Pedagogy in Mauritius

Roshan Boodnah, Ph.D. Scholar

Abstract

Mauritius, situated in the Indian Ocean and in the East coast of Africa, is a multi-cultural island, often called as the “rainbow” island. As a vibrant part of the Indian Diaspora, Mauritius shares strong cultural, educational, religious, and economical lineage with India. The triumph of the indentured labourers from India who settled in the island in the mid-18th century is to a great extent attributed to their spirit of tolerance and endurance, set of values, and wisdom that they carried from the Mother land, India. Along with the Ramacaritamanasa, they also carried along the intangible Buddhist values and ethos that were instrumental in developing their settlements amidst colonial suppression.

It is against this backdrop that this paper intends to analyse as to how Buddhist teachings found expression as way of life in a multicultural and multiracial set up. It proposes to survey the teaching and learning of Buddhist Philosophy in the Mauritian Educational Curriculum and to propose the centrality of Buddhist ethics as a strong pillar of Buddhist Pedagogy and Didactics for a sustainable future with disciplined and confident youth.

Youth should be inspired to become accomplished in virtue by following the moral guidelines spelled out by the Five Precepts (pañca-sila) by strong vectors. Therefore, to be able to propagate the ethical teachings of Buddha, educational reforms should be brought in the pre-primary and primary curricula. The Universal appeal of Buddhism would strengthen ties as Mauritius being a multicultural society where all religions have their own freedom can immensely benefit from Buddhist teachings.

Keywords: Mauritius, Mauritian Educational Curriculum, Multicultural, Five Precepts (pañca-sila), sustainable, reform, ethics, youth.

Mauritius – The Rainbow Nation

Mauritius, situated in the Indian Ocean and in the East coast of Africa, is a multi-ethnic island. As a vibrant part of the Indian Diaspora, Mauritius shares an umbilical relationship with India through an indivisible and perennial cultural, philosophical, religious, linguistic, educational, and economical lineage.

Opinions differ as to whether it is a Creole Island, a Hindu-dominated Little India, or a neo-colonial outpost of the French-speaking world. Optimists see it as the greatest post-colonial social and economic miracle, while pessimists see it as a social disaster waiting to happen.

Mauritius is a very new nation, shaping its identity over the past three centuries through successive migratory routes and settlements, to ultimately emerge as a multi-cultural “rainbow” island.

For many visitors Mauritius appears to be a carefree tropical paradise, but its complexity will baffle any foreigner who dares to leave the comfort of the luxury beach resort. Daily life is far from idyllic for most of the population struggling to reconcile traditional culture and the old ethno-religious antagonisms with the demands of the modern world.

Although the South and the East Asian influence is very strong, its most defining characteristic is its multiculturalism. Its tradition reflects the diversity of the people, and the Mauritian language, food and religion form an intoxicating medley.

Migration

During Mauritius' colonization, the Dutch, French, and British brought slaves and workers from Africa and India. Slavery was abolished in 1834 by the British government. As a result, indentured labourers from India were imported to replace the emancipated slaves who were unable to work in the sugarcane fields. Most of the Indian indentured immigrants came from Bihar, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Bombay. Later on, some immigrants from the Hakka-speaking parts of southern China came as they were tempted by the commercial opportunities. (Mehta, 2015) The dynamics on the island are considered a great example of cultural integration- an island with different languages, cultures, and customs.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Roshan Boodnah, Ph.D. Scholar
Lecturer & Head, Department of Philosophy
School of Indological Studies
Mahatma Gandhi Institute
Mauritius
Contact No: +230 57722844
roshan.boodnah@mgi.ac.mu
Custom Search
  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
    as an attachment
    to your e-mail to
    languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.