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30-527: In December 1942 labourers of Belle Vue Harel Sugar Estate were dissatisfied with the low wages being paid by the estate owners, the Harel and Rousset clans. Four of these workers (Andrée Moonsamy, Hurrynanan Boykount, Sirkisson Seenath and Kistnasamy Mooneesamy) wrote and signed a letter on behalf of all the estate's workers and sent it to the Director of Labour Department to ask for fairer compensation. As there

60-474: A 32 year old pregnant woman), Kistnasamy Mooneesamy (37 year old labourer), and Moonsamy Moonien (14 year old boy). Munien Munusami, who witnessed and survived the 1943 shooting, died in 2006 at the age of 84. Munusami recalled that the shooting outside a baitka had coincided with a religious ceremony and the strike. Basdeo Bissoondoyal the social worker and founder of the Jan Andolan movement organised

90-602: A Maha Yaj festival in Port-Louis despite colonial rulers' cancellation of all public transport. That event was attended by about 60,000 people in the capital city. Aided by the local press whom they financed the Franco-Mauritian owners of sugar plantations and sugar mills canvassed the Governor (Sir Donald Mackenzie-Kennedy ) to reduce the growing influence of Basdeo's movement as they feared social upheaval and

120-468: A campaign of mass education. As a result, the number of eligible voters increased from 11,445 to 72,000 in preparation for the 1948 General Elections . This eventually had a massive impact on the results of the 1948 General Elections which was the first ever practice of universal suffrage. A record number of coloured Creoles and Indo-Mauritians were elected to the Council of Government, the equivalent of

150-575: A loss of their power and influence. Thus the British colonial government started to plan the deportation of Basdeo Bissoondoyal to Diego Garcia in a similar fashion to the 1938 deportation of trade unionist Emmanuel Anquetil to Rodrigues by Sir Bede Clifford . However after consulting Secretary of State ( Arthur Creech Jones ) and Emmanuel Anquetil the Governor was convinced that Basdeo had no evil intentions. Thus all plans to deport Basdeo Bissoondoyal to Diego Garcia were aborted. The British also revised

180-530: Is also sometimes referred to as "Pandit Basdeo Bissoondoyal" or "Professor Basdeo Bissoondoyal". Basdeo Bissoondoyal was born in Tyack, Rivière des Anguilles in 1906. He had two brothers Sookdeo and Soogrim. He relocated to Rue Valonville, Tranquebar, Port Louis with his family. In 1933 he travelled to Lahore and Calcutta in India where he studied philosophy, history, Sanskrit literature, Bhagavad Gita and

210-733: The Vedas . Six years later Basdeo returned to Mauritius by 1939 after graduating with a Master of Arts degree from University of Calcutta in the same year that his elder brother Soogrim had died at the age of 35. Basdeo and his two brothers had been actively involved in the Arya Kumar Sabha branch since 1925, and by 1929 were in charge of the Arya Paropkarani Sabha branch of the Arya Samaj. From 1939 onwards Basdeo drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi 's struggle for

240-526: The article wizard to submit a draft for review, or request a new article . Search for " Anjalay Coopen " in existing articles. Look for pages within Misplaced Pages that link to this title . Other reasons this message may be displayed: If a page was recently created here, it may not be visible yet because of a delay in updating the database; wait a few minutes or try the purge function . Titles on Misplaced Pages are case sensitive except for

270-517: The 1940s was to teach villagers how to sign their names in Hindi. In those days only adults who could write their names in English, French or an Oriental language were allowed to vote. At the same time his associates Abdool Wahab Foondun , Permal Soobrayen and Mootoocoomaren Sangeelee promoted the study of Urdu and Tamil. By 1947 Basdeo Bissoondoyal and around 800 Jan Andolan volunteers had engaged in

300-574: The Acting Director of Labour who also happened to be Chairman of the Conciliation Board. As a result the labourers of Belle Vue Harel rejected the new agreement and refused to resume work. They demanded the appointment of a new Conciliation Board and a fairer agreement. Seven days later on 24 September 1943 the owners of the sugar estate threatened workers who did not abide by his agreement to leave his sugar estate within 5 days. As

330-618: The British colonial rule. On 1 October 1943 a Commission of Enquiry was instigated and the Commissioners consisted of S. Moody, Dr. Eugène Laurent , Hon A. M. Osman, Mr the Justice B. Ghanty and His Honour Mr Rampersad Neerunjun . The Moody Commission of Enquiry report (published in 1944) reiterated several findings of the Hooper Commission which had followed the earlier 1937 UBA riots . Moreover they were very critical of

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360-537: The Conciliation Board meetings. On 17 September 1943 at a meeting of the Conciliation Board the Labour Department proposed an agreement to the 2 representatives Ramnarain and Jugdambee. Unfortunately these representatives failed to consult with the striking workers. A conflict of interest was also at play given that Ramnarain worked as a propagandist within the Department of Information which was headed by

390-627: The Constitution in 1947 to allow for fairer participation by poorer non-whites in electing representatives in the Legislative Council. By 1947 Basdeo had also masterminded the boycott of "Les Courses Malbars" which used to be held at Champ de Mars in Port Louis. At the annual festival degrading acts used to be performed by Indo-Mauritians for the amusement of those of other ethnic groups. One of Jan Andolan 's initiatives in

420-582: The Independence of India that he witnessed first hand during the six years that he had spent in the subcontinent. Thus he founded the Jan Andolan movement in Mauritius at a time when universal suffrage did not exist. His goal was to build upon the work of other movements such as the Arya Samaj which had been active since 1897 in the promotion of Hindi and progressive Hinduism . Basdeo toured

450-520: The Police and of the Labour Department's failure to resolve this matter peacefully. The victims of the 1943 massacre at Belle Vue Harel were commemorated by Mauritian singer Siven Chinien in his song L'année 1943 which was released in his 1970s album Ratsitatane, Conscience Noire . The Government of Mauritius has acknowledged the historical importance of the massacre. Between 1995 and 2007 monuments and statues of Anjalay Coopen have been erected in

480-680: The United States. The subject matter of his articles and books were literature, Mauritian, Indian and world history, philosophy, religion, and comparative civilizations. Notable books written by Basdeo Bissoondoyal were "Life in Greater India: An Autobiography" (1984), "The Truth about Mauritius", "The Essence of the Vedas and Allied Scriptures" (1966), "They Loved Mother India" (1967), and "France Looks at Modern India" (1966). Another initiative of his movement

510-1198: The activities of his Jan Andolan movement in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. It is also expected that the new Act will provide for talks, seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and other activities on the life, work, and writings of Professor Bissoondoyal. Anjalay Coopen Look for Anjalay Coopen on one of Misplaced Pages's sister projects : [REDACTED] Wiktionary (dictionary) [REDACTED] Wikibooks (textbooks) [REDACTED] Wikiquote (quotations) [REDACTED] Wikisource (library) [REDACTED] Wikiversity (learning resources) [REDACTED] Commons (media) [REDACTED] Wikivoyage (travel guide) [REDACTED] Wikinews (news source) [REDACTED] Wikidata (linked database) [REDACTED] Wikispecies (species directory) Misplaced Pages does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Anjalay Coopen in Misplaced Pages to check for alternative titles or spellings. You need to log in or create an account and be autoconfirmed to create new articles. Alternatively, you can use

540-403: The capital city Port Louis as well as in the village of Cottage. The Anjalay Stadium was also named after one of the four who died, Anjalay. Basdeo Bissoondoyal Basdeo Bissoondoyal (15 April 1906 – 23 June 1991) was a Mauritian social worker, educator and writer who played an important role in the pre-Independence politics and independence movement on the island of Mauritius. He

570-426: The deadline of 29 September approached the owners and Labour Department had made arrangements with the local police to put an end to the strike. On 27 September 1943 the workers organised a sit-in within the premises of the sugar estate. Police Constable Thancanamootoo disguised as a labourer was sent to the meeting to check on the striking labourers. However his cover was blown and the workers assaulted him. He fled to

600-410: The estate manager's office and waited for his boss to arrive. Deputy Commissioner of Police Allan Bell and Assistant Superintendent of Police Fondaumière eventually arrived with several armed policemen. They decided to proceed to the arrest of PC Thancanamootoo's aggressor but encountered a crowd of between 200 and 300 men, women, and children armed with sticks and stones. They surrounded and outnumbered

630-453: The funeral ceremonies of the 4 labourers who had been shot dead by the police following a strike in protest against low wages and poor working conditions. The mass gathering of Jan Andolan at "Marie Reine de la Paix" in Port Louis on 12 December 1943, four years prior to the proclamation of the new 1947 Constitution was an indication of the mass support that he had gathered. Colonial rulers jailed Basdeo Bissoondoyal on four occasions due to

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660-522: The funeral ceremony of the four victims of the police shootings and it was attended by more than 1500 individuals. The 1943 Belle Vue Harel Massacre took place 6 years after the Uba riots of 1937 in the same part of the world. Although the root causes are not the same they highlight the struggles and vulnerability of the Indo-Mauritian labourers and planters whose ancestors migrated to Mauritius under

690-523: The impact of his movement's educational campaign on the working poor. Following Mahatma Gandhi's example he opted to spend time in jail rather than paying the fines. However Basdeo remained an influential character on the political scene and its only after consultation with Basdeo that Guy Rozemont put forward a motion in Legislative Council to make the First of May a Public Holiday. In 1943 Basdeo Bissoondoyal and his Jan Andolan volunteers successfully organised

720-478: The island to promote the need for education, self-expression and liberation of the mass. Basdeo trained several volunteers and encouraged young people to voice their concern against growing corruption. He spent a significant amount of time in the villages of Lallmatie, Bon Acceuil, Laventure and Brissée Verdière (Flacq) to spread his message. Following the September 1943 Belle Vue Harel Massacre Basdeo organised

750-654: The modern day Legislative Assembly. His younger brother Sookdeo , who had become fully involved in politics by 1946 after quitting his 22-year career as a school teacher, was elected to the Legislative Council in the Grand Port - Savanne constituency in the August 1948 elections . He was re-elected in 1953 . By April 1958 the Jan Andolan movement was transformed into the Independent Forward Bloc (IFB), led by Basdeo's younger brother Sookdeo. IFB

780-541: The police and refused to give up their sticks and stones. In an attempt to disperse the crowd police fired 16 shots and even a tear gas grenade at the crowd, resulting in 3 deaths, 5 labourers with bullet wounds and 12 others with slight injuries. Nine days later on 6 October 1943 a fourth labourer (Marday Panapen) died at the Civil Hospital in Port Louis, as a result of his bullet wounds. The three dead labourers were Soondrum Pavatdan (better known as Anjalay Coopen,

810-678: Was an important partner in the coalition of parties that formed part of the Independence Party (Mauritius) which won the 1967 General Elections. By 1932 Basdeo published an article in the journal L'Idée Libre in France. He eventually wrote in excess of 275 articles in addition to 20 books in Hindi, 14 in English, 5 in French, and also in Sanskrit over 6 decades. His works have been published in Mauritius, India, Great Britain, France, and

840-409: Was no response to their letter labourers at Belle Vue Harel Sugar Estate started to strike on 13 September 1943 in protest. They nominated Hurryparsad Ramnarain and Sharma Jugdambee to represent their interests on the Conciliation Board. In those days the interests of owners and growers of sugar cane were represented by the Labour Department and it was common practice for such conflicts to be resolved via

870-617: Was not yet a republic Basdeo Bissoondoyal refused Harish Boodhoo 's offer to become the first President of a contemplated Republic of Mauritius. On 8 February 2005 the Basdeo Bissoondoyal Trust Fund Act was passed by the Parliament of Mauritius to help preserve the legacy of Basdeo Bissoondoyal. One of the objectives is to create a Basdeo Bissoondoyal Memorial Library and Documentation Centre at Vallonville Street in Port-Louis where Basdeo lived and planned

900-602: Was the fortnightly newspaper Zamana which was published in Standard Hindi, English and French. Occasionally Zamana also contained articles in Marathi, Tamil and Urdu. In the capital city of Port Louis a statue of Basdeo Bisssondoyal was erected by the municipal council and the Basdeo Bissondoyal Esplanande is also named after him. Following the 1982 general elections and when Mauritius

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