1968 Mauritian riots

The 1968 Mauritian riots refers to a number of violent clashes that occurred in the Port Louis neighbourhoods of Bell Village, Roche Bois, St. Coix Cité Martial and Plaine Verte in Mauritius over a period of ten days, six weeks before the country's declaration of independence on 12 March 1968. The riot was the result of communal conflict between Creoles and Indo-Mauritian Muslims, and had its roots in gang warfare and concerns arising from the country's future following independence.[1]

1968 Mauritian Religious & Race riots.
Date22 January 1968 (1968-01-22)
Location
Bell Village ('Venus' Cinema where there were early disturbances), Plaine Verte, Roche Bois, St. Croix & Cité Martial/ , [Western suburbs of Port Louis, Mauritius].

20°09′37″S 57°30′54″E
Caused byGangs supported by politicians, attacked, provoked and killed Creoles and Indo-Mauritian Muslims.
GoalsGangwarfare escalated into racial violence.
MethodsRace riots, looting, protests, street fights.
Resulted inUnconfirmed number of dead
Hundreds injured
Thousands driven from their homes.
Part of a series on the
History of Mauritius
  • Discovery of Mauritius
Portuguese
  • Portuguese in Mauritius
Dutch
French (1710–1810)
British (1810–1968)
Independence (1968)
Specific themes

Riots

Political tension was high at the time due to uncertainty about the future political situation in the country after independence. With about half the country being against independence due to concerns that they might lose out in the new government.[2][3]

Order was restored by a company of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry called in from Singapore after a state of emergency was declared by the British authorities on 22 January 1968 and lasted for ten days.[2][4] In their effort to restore order the British deployed three Bell H-13 Sioux helicopters and around 150 troops.[3] Violence was contained to the urban areas of Port Louis and did not spread to the rest of the island.[3]


See also

References
  1. "Port Louis - Rioting against Independence at the General Elections of 1967 - Vintage Mauritius". Vintage Mauritius. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  2. "HISTORY : Independence and post-colonial Mauritius (1968-1982) - Le Mauricien". Le Mauricien. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  3. "An eye witness account of the 1968 riots". www.mauritiusmag.com. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. "EISA Mauritius: The road to independence (1945-1968)". www.eisa.org.za. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
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