Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam often referred to as Chacha Ramgoolam, was a Mauritian politician, statesman and philanthropist. He was a leader in the Mauritian independence movement, and served as the first Chief Minister and Prime Minister of Mauritius, as well as its sixth Governor-General. He was the Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 1976 to 1977.
Background
Ethnicity:
Father was an Indian immigrant, while mother was from Mauritius
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, also known as Kewal, was born on 18 September 1900 at Belle Rive, Mauritius, in the district of Flacq. Ramgoolam is a Mauritian of Indian origin, that is, an Indo-Mauritian.
His father, Moheeth Ramgoolam, was an Indian immigrant labourer. Moheeth came to Mauritius aged 18 in a ship called The Hindoostan in 1896. His elder brother, Ramlochurn, had left the home village of Harigaon in Bihar in search of his fortune abroad. Moheeth worked as an indentured labourer and later became a Sirdar (overseer) at La Queen Victoria Sugar Estate. When he got married to Basmati Ramchurn in 1898, he moved to Belle Rive Sugar Estate. Basmati was a young widow born in Mauritius. She already had two sons: Nuckchadee Heeramun and Ramlall Ramchurn.
At the age of seven, Ramgoolam lost his father and at the age of twelve,he suffered a serious accident in a cowshed that cost him his left eye.
Education
Ramgoolam had his early grounding in Hindi, Indian culture and philosophy, in the local evening school of the locality (called Baitka in Mauritian Hindu term), where children of the Hindu community learnt the vernacular language and glimpses of the Hindu culture. The teacher would teach prayers and songs. Sanskrit prayers and perennial values taken from sacred scriptures like the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita were also taught.
He was a precocious student and enrolled in the neighbouring R.C.A. School, run by Madame Siris without his mother's knowledge. He learned History, Geography, English and French. After leaving the pre-primary school, he went to Bel Air Government School, travelling by train, until he passed the sixth standard. He continued his scholarship class at the Curepipe Boys’ Government School while taking up boarding with his uncle, Harry Parsad Seewoodharry Buguth, a sworn land surveyor, in Curepipe. He would listen to the political discussions between his uncle and his circle of friends on local politics and on the current struggle for Indian independence under Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rash Behari Bose. These initial conversations were to form the basis of his political beliefs years later.
The scholarship classes, which formed the basis of lower secondary schooling, permitted Ramgoolam to go straight for the Junior Cambridge at the Royal College, Curepipe, where he fell under the influence of the English tutors, Reverend Fowler and Mr Harwood. He was charmed by British culture and manners and became a devoted admirer of English language and literature; he also acquired a liking for French literature. After secondary school, Ramgoolam worked for three months in the Civil Service, despite racism within the organization. His encounters with poor people, and the death of his mother, inspired Ramgoolam to help those who were less fortunate than him, and these experiences had a deep influence on his future life. With the financial help of his brother Ramlall, Ramgoolam went to study medicine in England.
In 1921, Ramgoolam set sail by the Messagerie Maritime for London with a transit of a couple of days in Paris when he rushed into the bookshop to purchase copies of the books of André Gide and André Malraux with both of whom he struck friendship. He graduated from University College London and attended lectures at the London School of Ecohe London School of Economics.
Ramgoolam served as Chief Minister from 1961 to 1968. The Colonial Office considered Dr Ramgoolam as a capable and far-sighted leader but they were also aware of his political ambition. In 1963, the British Conservative government was relying heavily on him to form an All-Party Government in Mauritius and to facilitate this issue, he was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 12 June 1965.
Ramgoolam was an ardent admirer of the late Mahatma Gandhi of India and worked to ensure that there would be no bloodshed in the campaign for independence. He led the Mauritian Labour Party from 1959 to 1982 having taken the leadership from Emmanuel Anquetille and Maurice Cure. He was finally granted independence on 12 March 1968, and remained Prime Minister, heading a series of coalition governments, up to 1982. In the general elections that year, his government was finally defeated by a Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM)-led coalition; Ramgoolam lost his own seat. Anerood Jugnauth became Prime Minister. In 1983, however, the MMM split and a new election ensued. Ramgoolam and the Labour Party supported Jugnauth and his new party, the Militant Socialist Movement. In return, Jugnauth, who won the election, had Ramgoolam appointed Governor General. He held this office till his death at the State House in 1985.
Ramgoolam was succeeded as leader of the Labour Party by Sir Satcam Boolell, who later passed it to Ramgoolam's son, Navin Ramgoolam, who has since served as Prime Minister twice (1995-2000 and 2005-2014).
During his years in public service, particularly those as Prime Minister after independence was realized, Ramgoolam created the dreams he had dreamed for his people as a young man. With the University of Mauritius, he offered universal education; he opened hospitals, created village councils; built housing for workers; and instituted old age pensions, along with family allowances, and widows' pensions and a national pension plan. Workers also began to enjoy the benefits of workers in other democratic countries from electricity in their homes to trade unions that moderated wages and employee benefits such as sick leave and holiday pay. He helped oversee the building of banks, hotels, industries, and an airport, that would come to bear his name, honoring him even in death. In an obituary of Ramgoolam for the New York Times, reporter John T. McQuiston discussed how the end of his power came to be. He noted that, "Sir Seewoosagur's difficulties with the electorate grew as the economy of Mauritius fell sharply into decline. By 1981, the buying power of the Mauritian rupee had eroded by two devaluations in two years and it became difficult to arrange commercial credit with Western banks." The support he relied on from the rural Hindi population was overwhelmed by a landslide of the left. They took every seat in Parliament. At the time, even the United States was concerned by the election outcome. The island of Diego Garcia, a British-owned island that was claimed by Mauritius, was home to the United States military presence there. During the campaign they had been vocal in their opposition to it.
Personality
He was a man with honor and virtue. Despite the challenges he faced, he never gave up fighting for the independence of his country.
Quotes from others about the person
John T. McQuiston: "Sir Seewoosagur's difficulties with the electorate grew as the economy of Mauritius fell sharply into decline. By 1981, the buying power of the Mauritian rupee had eroded by two devaluations in two years and it became difficult to arrange commercial credit with Western banks."