SOAS Research Online

Abstract

As the title indicates, the thesis is concerned with the establishment and cultivation of modern standard Hindi (KhB.) in Mauritius. It treats, by way of background, the history and nature of Indian immigration to Mauritius in the 19th century and the spread and development of the Indian community there. The linguistic and cultural position of the immigrants is considered in detail. Against this background the introduction and establishment of KhB. is investigated, initially up to 1935, having particular regard to educational and religious developments, especially the opening of schools, the visits of M.K.Gandhi and M.Doctor, the foundation of the Arya Samaj, its linguistic and missionary activity and the reaction it provoked among orthodox Hindus. Account is also taken of the various individuals in Mauritius who were instrumental in effecting its establishment. The period 1935-1950 is then examined in detail and attention paid to the personalities, institutions and processes which were responsible for the further cultivation of KhB. especially the Hindi Pracarint Sabha (H.P.S.), B. Bissoondoyal and the effect of Government policy towards oriental languages. A similar examination is made of the period 1950 to the present day where particular attention is paid to the Arya Samaj, the H.P.S., the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, the Hindi Lekhak Sangh, the Parisad, the Hindi film, the role of broadcasting, and Government educational policies. A substantial section of the thesis is devoted to a critical survey of the entire corpus of Mauritian Hindi literature treated by genre: drama, poetry, essay and general works, the short story and the novel. Finally some assessment is offered of the present position of Hindi in multilingual Mauritius. The thesis begins with an introduction which considers all previous work in the field, of which there is little, and concludes with a bibliography.