Previously, the articles were at http://www.lexpress.mu/extra/12mars/…

As a matter of fact, there is an ongoing discussion on the new version of L’Express.mu.

It might even be the longest comment ever submitted on my blog

I’ve just checked a number of definitions on Wikipedia (yes, it’s not authoritative but, for me, it’s good enough).

You wrote “we must work on defining a pristine Mauritian nation”. I remember a radio programme a few days before the 12th where some people were arguing about the definition of the word “nation”. For some people, Mauritius is a nation whereas for some other a “a nation is a form of self-defined cultural and social community” (as seen on Wikipedia). Mauritius being full of so many culturally and socially different people therefore cannot be a nation, only a state…

The Wikipedia article explicitly states that people from the same nation have generally the same descent, language, culture and religion.

On the other hand, “A state is a political association with effective sovereignty over a geographic area (called a country).”

Food for thought…

As one people, as one nation…

Patriotism…a word difficult to define but still gratuitously employed in mundane conversations. Even the Oxford dictionary fails to provide a clear and concise definition. Even more appalling is the fact that when I asked around me to students on what patriotism means, in the midst of all the blank looks and lame excuses of being too busy or too-tired-to-think, all I was able to extract from them were mechanical and flimsy references to ‘loving your country or sacrificing yourself for your country.’ Conclusion, youngsters have no inkling what patriotism is all about.

Maybe they are not to be blamed altogether: Mauritius is too young a nation to foster Bhagat Singhs and Martin Luther Kings. Singing the national anthem does not make us Mauritians, neither does supporting the Mauritian team (Club M) in inter-island competitions. A stark lack of patriotism latent in youngsters and sceptics is the overt and naïve belief that things would have been better had Mauritius still been under British jurisdiction. Our nation is only forty years old but independence is already an alien concept, vulgarized and too often taken for granted. Such thoughts are detrimental to building up our sense of belonging and to defining Mauritianism.

What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that Patriotism denotes positive and supportive attitudes to a ‘motherland’, or to be politically correct, to the ‘parentland’. In this tradition, patriotism is often synonymous with public spiritedness. However, the belief in the superiority of one’s own and a concomitant disdain for others is not a necessary element of the concept of patriotism. Nor does patriotism require that one refrains from criticizing one’s land. In fact, Patriotism is in many ways treated like an abstract concept more than a way of life.

Of course, there is no prescriptive way to patriotism but what is deplorable is the committal sense of belonging sadly lacking in today’s youths. Today we talk about ‘brain drain’, that is the ready acceptance that the grass is greener elsewhere in terms of opportunities and avenues and the alienation of our efficient and professional resources accordingly. What youngsters fail to realize is that the socio-politico-economic situation should in no way influence one’s attitude towards patriotism. More and more youngsters nowadays have a bleak view of the prospects Mauritius holds. They think in terms of what Mauritius has to offer. My question to them is what do they have to offer to the country?

As representatives of the next generation, youngsters have the responsibility to define themselves in terms of their nation. Our history is undeniably complicated because of our double colonisation and our identity problematic because of our diverse origins. Instead of swearing allegiance to alien countries we are only attached to because we share similar cultures, we must work on defining a pristine Mauritian nation. Our pressing responsibility is to create a better Mauritius and the onus is on youngsters.