Virtual Shradhanjali in memory of Sir Anerood Jugnauth, G.C.S.K., K.C.M.G., Q.C 25 June 2021

His Excellency Ambassador Virendra Gupta, President of Antar – Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad Secretary General, Mr Shyam Parende Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentleman

Good Afternoon

It is with deep sorrow that we are attending this virtual Shradhanjali Sabha being held in memory of our beloved Sir Anerood Jugnauth, G.C.S.K., K.C.M.G., Q.C., former President and Prime Minister of Mauritius, who passed away on 03 June 2021.

I would like to commend the Antar-Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad for organising such a touching ceremony. Sir Anerood Jugnauth’s association with the Parishad goes a long way back, and I particularly recall that he personally inaugurated the current headquarters of the Organisation in New Delhi.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth was a towering leader and statesman who has shaped the political, social and economic landscape of modern Mauritius. We have all benefited from his leadership, from dire times into better times.

I had the immense privilege of knowing him, sharing his experience, and inspiring myself from his work ethics for more than 40 years. And I am proud to have been associated with this political giant, one of the most illustrious political mind of this country.

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Indeed, we both hailed from the same legal and political background. I first met Sir Anerood Jugnauth in the 70s when he had just left the Judiciary to practise as a Barrister. I recall having had the honour to appear against him in a few cases, and I had the opportunity at that time to appreciate and to learn from his talents as a Barrister and his skills as a ruthless cross-examiner.

Our path met again in the early 90s and 2000s when I had the privilege of serving him as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, and in 2000 as his Minister of Public Utilities respectively. In my capacity as Attorney General, I had the immense pleasure of working closely with him to amend the Constitution to make of Mauritius a Republic. In so doing, he displayed his commitment to turn Mauritius into a stronger democracy with strengthened institutions.

From the early days of his Prime Ministership in 1982, he demonstrated his talents, and all of us who had lived these days with him would remember his stoicism, determination and foresightedness, which I believe, stemmed from his modest background as a village boy and paved the way for the great statesman he was to become.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth has spearheaded the most important stages of the modernisation of the Mauritian economy. His first premiership saw the development of infrastructures and administrative reforms which quickly led to job creation and economic growth despite the adverse prevailing conditions. In order to do so, he personally toured several countries seeking investors and foreign skills thereby laying the ground for the industrialisation of the country. This “tour de force” led him to be recognised at the father of the Mauritian economic miracle.

His constant strength of character, hard work and sense of equity has left a firm imprint in most aspects of public life and national policies such as funding education and extending social protection to all. He introduced a social housing scheme to assist the under- privileged who were left without a roof following natural calamities. He had the welfare of

2 his people at heart and ensuring that each and everyone had their “roti, capra and makan” remained his top priority throughout.

Padma Vibhushan Sir Anerood Jugnauth, whose grandfather had migrated from the Indian State of Bihar, has been the primary architect of the special relationship which now exists between Mauritius and India.

He always had confidence in India as the special friend of Mauritius. And, his years in office saw increasing cooperation with substantial Indian assistance to many sectors including infrastructure, medicine, transportation and national security. He will be remembered by his people for having given the opportunity to the less privileged to pursue further higher education through the setting up of a bilateral agreement in the educational field with India. Many of these scholars now occupy some of the highest posts in Mauritius, and some have shined in the political arena.

As a proud Pravasi Bharatiya, he devoted his life towards building people-to-people ties through the promotion of a better understanding of Indian cultural and societal values.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth has, since assuming the post of Prime Minister again in 2014, developed a close working and personal relationship with Prime Minister Shri Modiji. This special relationship was epitomised when Prime Minister Shri Modiji attended the launch ceremony of the first phase of the light railway in 2019 and inaugurated our New Supreme Court Building in 2020.

Relations between Sir Anerood Jugnauth and Indian leaders have always been unique and outstanding. I still remember that as soon as he assumed his function as Prime Minister in 1982, Sir Anerood Jugnauth invited Shrimati Indira Gandhi to pay an official visit to Mauritius. I was then the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

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I also recall the State Visit Sir Anerood Jugnauth paid to India from 15-17 January 2001 during which he was hosted by the highest personalities in New Delhi; it was his first bilateral visit to a foreign country after assuming office as Prime Minister in September 2000.

In fact, this official visit, during which he toured several InfoTech companies in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, was a turning point in the development of the strategic relationship which exists today between our two countries in the Information Technology sector. Sir Anerood Jugnauth’s vision allowed Mauritius to keep the pace of modernisation by setting up the Cyber City in Ebene thus embarking the Innovative Information and Communication Technology as a new pillar of the economy.

Also, under his watch, Mauritius never missed an opportunity to support India in various international Forum, including India’s legitimate claim for a permanent seat on the Security Council. Likewise, India has always supported Mauritius in its struggle with respect the Chagos issue.

India’s tribute to Sir Anerood Jugnauth was epitomised by the decision of the Government of India to declare a day of mourning on 05 June 2021, while the Jugnauth family and Mauritius was receiving countless messages of condolences from India and other parts of the world.

The memory of Sir Anerood Jugnauth will ever be present with me as I attend to my duty as a representative of the people of Mauritius, and as a Government Minister responsible for foreign affairs. He remains present through his inspiration and sense of service to the nation which he imparted to those around him. For him, service to mankind meant service to God.

It is the duty of all those who have had the privilege of knowing Sir Anerood Jugnauth to continue the work he has started and build on his success, for a still better Mauritius. We

4 are also confident that the friendship between Mauritius and India will continue to grow and advance on the path drawn by him.

Before concluding I wish share with you my tribute to SAJ which I borrowed from Jawaharlal Nehru’s eulogy to Mahatma Gandhi, and I quote – “He has gone, and all over the country there is a feeling of desolation and forlornness. All of us sense that feeling and I do not know when this will dissipate. And yet, together with that feeling, there is also a feeling of proud thankfulness that we owe to this mighty person.”

“The Atma is neither born nor does it die – it ever remains” so will Sir Anerood. Om Shanti.

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