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 is also sometimes referred to as "Pandit Basdeo Bissoondoyal" or "Professor Basdeo Bissoondoyal".
Early life
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.
Education
In 1933 he travelled to Lahore and Calcutta in India where he studied philosophy, history, Sanskrit literature, Bhagavad Gita and the Vedas. Six years later Basdeo returned to Mauritius by 1939 after graduating with a Master of Arts degree from Calcutta University in the same year that his elder brother Soogrim had died at the age of 35.
Social work
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 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 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 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.
Political impact
Colonial rulers jailed Basdeo Bissoondoyal on four occasions due to 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 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 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 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.