Editing Mauritius (section)

=== Independence and constitutional monarchy (1968–1992) ===
{{Main|Independence of Mauritius}}
{{See also|Mauritius (1968–1992)}}[[File:Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.jpg|thumb|upright|Sir [[Seewoosagur Ramgoolam]], first [[Prime Minister of Mauritius]] at Lod airport, Israel 1962]]

At the Lancaster Conference of 1965, it became clear that Britain wanted to relieve itself of the colony of Mauritius. In 1959, [[Harold Macmillan]] had made his famous "[[Wind of Change (speech)|Wind of Change Speech]]" in which he acknowledged that the best option for Britain was to give complete independence to its colonies. Thus, since the late fifties, the way was paved for independence.<ref>{{Cite news|date=12 March 2014|title=Why independence was irresistible (by Anand Moheeputh)|work=L'Express|url=http://www.lexpress.mu/node/243359/}}</ref>

Later in 1965, after the Lancaster Conference, the [[Chagos Archipelago]] was excised from the territory of Mauritius to form the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] (BIOT). A general election took place on 7 August 1967, and the [[Independence Party (Mauritius)|Independence Party]] obtained the majority of seats. In January 1968, six weeks before the declaration of independence the [[1968 Mauritian riots]] occurred in Port Louis leading to the deaths of 25 people.<ref name="mg">{{Cite web|date=6 October 2011|title=An eye witness account of the 1968 riots|url=http://www.mauritiusmag.com/?p=598|access-date=15 August 2018|website=mauritiusmag.com|language=en-US|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816030958/http://www.mauritiusmag.com/?p=598}}</ref><ref name="eisa">{{Cite web|title=EISA Mauritius: The road to independence (1945–1968)|url=https://www.eisa.org.za/wep/mauoverview7.htm|access-date=15 August 2018|website=eisa.org.za}}</ref>

[[File:Stamp Mauritius 1954 5c.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Elizabeth II]] was [[Queen of Mauritius]] from 1968 to 1992.]]

Mauritius adopted a new constitution, and independence was proclaimed on 12 March 1968. Sir [[Seewoosagur Ramgoolam]] became the first prime minister of an independent Mauritius – with [[Queen Elizabeth II]] remaining head of state as Queen of Mauritius.

In 1969, the opposition party, [[Mauritian Militant Movement]] (MMM), was founded, led by [[Paul Bérenger]]. Later, in 1971, the MMM – backed by unions – called a series of strikes in the port, which caused a state of emergency in the country.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mauritius profile|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13882731|access-date=27 November 2012}}</ref>

The coalition government of the Labour Party and the PMSD (Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate) reacted by curtailing civil liberties and curbing [[freedom of the press]].<ref name="Dinan" /> Two unsuccessful apparent assassination attempts were made against Paul Bérenger in 1971, killing his supporter Fareed Muttur<ref>{{Cite web|title=Déjeuner à Rose Hill: Fareed Muttur est mort à ma place|date=18 July 2017|url=https://www.lemauricien.com/le-mauricien/dejeuner-rose-hill-fareed-muttur-mort-ma-place-declare-paul-berenger/151890/|access-date=18 July 2017|publisher=Le Mauricien}}</ref> and dock worker and activist [[Azor Adelaide|Azor Adélaïde]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=25 June 2015|title=Affaire Azor Adélaïde|work=Le Mauricien|url=http://www.lemauricien.com/article/affaire-azor-adelaide-reedition-du-livre-d-eric-bahloo-fils-l-des-condamnes/}}</ref> General elections were postponed and public meetings were prohibited. Members of the MMM, including Paul Bérenger, were imprisoned on 23 December 1971. The MMM leader was released a year later.<ref>{{Cite news|last=K.A. Cassimally|date=17–23 March 2016|title=Why are we not taught our own history?|work=Weekly Magazine}}</ref>

In 1973, Mauritius became the first country in Africa to be free from diagnoses of [[malaria]].

In May 1975, a student revolt that started at the [[University of Mauritius]] swept across the country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=HISTOIRE: Un des hommes derrière le 20 mai 75 raconte|url=http://www.lemauricien.com/actualites/magazine/histoire-des-hommes-derriere-20-mai-75-raconte/31853/|website=Le Mauricien|date=8 June 2015}}</ref> The students were unsatisfied with an education system that did not meet their aspirations, and that gave limited prospects for future employment. On 20 May, thousands of students tried to enter Port-Louis over the Grand River North West bridge, and clashed with police. An act of Parliament was passed on 16 December 1975 to extend the right to vote to 18-year-olds. This was seen as an attempt to appease the frustration of the younger generation.<ref name="Selvon" />

The next general elections took place on [[1976 Mauritian general election|20 December 1976]]. The Labour-CAM coalition won only 28 seats out of 62.<ref>''Untold Stories, A Collection of Socio-Political Essays, 1950–1995'', Sir Satcam Boolell, EOI. {{ISBN|99903-0-234-0}}</ref> The MMM secured 34 seats in Parliament but outgoing Prime Minister Sir [[Seewoosagur Ramgoolam]] managed to remain in office, with a two-seat majority, after striking an alliance with the PMSD of [[Gaetan Duval]].

In 1981, [[United States]] newspapers reported that the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) was planning a covert operation to support the government of Mauritius as part of CIA strategy in the larger [[Cold War]]. According to the Washington Post, citing U.S. government sources, the planned operation was "mainly a quiet CIA effort to slip money" to the Mauritian government.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Getler |first=Michael |date=15 August 1981 |title=Target Was Mauritius, Not Mauritania... |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/08/15/target-was-mauritius-not-mauritania/1eac44a7-bc39-4a99-9474-4ec43a9bdbcf/ |access-date=7 March 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> This claim was repeated in a 1987 book by journalist [[Bob Woodward]], who further wrote that the U.S. government feared that Mauritius could become a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] naval base if a "pro-Western" government did not remain in power.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Woodward |first=Bob |title=Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1987 |isbn=0-671-60117-2 |location=New York, NY |pages=158–159}}</ref>

In 1982 an [[Mauritian Militant Movement|MMM]]-[[Parti Socialiste Mauricien|PSM]] government (led by [[List of prime ministers of Mauritius|PM]] [[Anerood Jugnauth]], [[Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius|Deputy PM]] [[Harish Boodhoo]] and Finance Minister [[Paul Bérenger]]) was elected. However, ideological and personality differences emerged within the MMM and PSM leadership. The power struggle between Bérenger and Jugnauth peaked in March 1983. Jugnauth travelled to New Delhi to attend the [[7th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement|7th Summit]] of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] summit; on his return, Bérenger proposed constitutional changes that would strip power from the Prime Minister. At Jugnauth's request, PM [[Indira Gandhi]] of India planned an armed intervention involving the [[Indian Navy]] and [[Indian Army]] to prevent a coup under the code name [[Operation Lal Dora]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=10 March 2013|title=When India drew Top Secret 'red line' in Mauritius|work=The Hindu|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/when-india-drew-top-secret-red-line-in-mauritius/article4493495.ece|access-date=22 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Medcalf|first=Rory|date=19 March 2013|title=When India (Almost) Invaded Mauritius|work=The Diplomat|url=https://thediplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2013/03/19/when-india-almost-invaded-mauritius/|access-date=22 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=David|last=Brewster|url=https://www.academia.edu/7992843|title=India's Ocean: the Story of India's Bid for Regional Leadership}}. Retrieved 13 August 2014</ref>

The [[Mauritian Militant Movement|MMM]]-[[Parti Socialiste Mauricien|PSM]] government split up nine months after the June 1982 election. According to an Information Ministry official the nine months was a "socialist experiment".<ref>{{Cite news|first=John D.|last=Battersby|date=28 December 1987|title=Port Louis Journal; Land of Apartheid Befriends an Indian Ocean Isle|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/28/world/port-louis-journal-land-of-apartheid-befriends-an-indian-ocean-isle.html|access-date=29 December 2016}}</ref> [[Harish Boodhoo]] dissolved his party [[Parti Socialiste Mauricien|PSM]] to enable all PSM parliamentarians to join Jugnauth's new party MSM, thus remaining in power whilst distancing themselves from [[Mauritian Militant Movement|MMM]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Lodge|first1=Tom|last2=Kadima|first2=Denis|last3=Pottie|first3=David|title=Mauritius: General election of August 1983|url=https://www.eisa.org/wep/mau1983background.htm|access-date=28 November 2020|publisher=EISA}}</ref> The MSM-Labour-PMSD coalition was victorious at the [[1983 Mauritian general election|August 1983]] elections, resulting in [[Anerood Jugnauth]] as PM and [[Gaëtan Duval]] as [[Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius|Deputy PM]].

That period saw growth in the EPZ (Export Processing Zone) sector. Industrialisation began to spread to villages as well, and attracted young workers from all ethnic communities. As a result, the sugar industry began to lose its hold on the economy. Large retail chains began opening stores in 1985 and offered credit facilities to low-income earners, thus allowing them to afford basic household appliances. There was also a boom in the tourism industry, and new hotels sprang up throughout the island. In 1989 the stock exchange opened its doors, and in 1992, the freeport began operation.<ref name="Dinan" /> In 1990, the [[List of prime ministers of Mauritius|Prime Minister]] lost the vote on changing the Constitution to make the country a republic with Bérenger as president.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Jane|last=Perlez|date=27 August 1990|title=Mauritius' Political Quarrel Saves the Queen|work=The New York Times|location=Great Britain; Mauritius|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/27/world/mauritius-political-quarrel-saves-the-queen.html|access-date=6 September 2016}}</ref>