Word: mauritius
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...last week, however, when India's Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, flew into Mauritius' tiny Plaisance Airport for an official five-day visit, the island was beginning to look more like the place that Mark Twain described. Indira's visit was a major event, not just because she was the first chief of state to pay a call since independence, but also because about 67% of Mauritius' 807,000 people are of Indian origin. So, for that matter, is roly-poly Premier Sir See-woosagur Ramgoolam...
...Gandhi's state visit pointed up the fact that Mauritius-situated some 2,400 miles south of the Indian subcontinent and 1,400 miles off the coast of East Africa-has become an object of interest to the great powers. The closing of the Suez Canal in 1967 forced merchant shipping back onto the round-Africa routes to Asia, turning Mauritius into a regular port of call...
Racial Problem. At independence, Mauritius seemed all too vulnerable to overtures from Moscow and Peking. The island's population is wildly mixed -421,390 Hindus, 227,129 Creoles descended from European plantation owners and imported African slaves, 133,441 Moslems, 25,067 Chinese and a handful of British and French. Most previous attempts to form parties that crossed communal lines had been ineffective. The tensions have now eased considerably, largely because fiery young
...plans aimed at alleviating the island's problems and ending its near-total dependence on sugar. He hopes to make the entire island a Hong Kong-style free zone, and to lure foreign capital with tax concessions and tax holidays. Duval hopes to develop tourism-and lovely, mountainous Mauritius, lined with coral reefs and frequently framed by giant rainbows, has much to offer...
Seeking to ease the island's difficulties, Mrs. Gandhi last week offered technical aid in improving the island's airport and expanding its agriculture. That should solidly anchor New Delhi's presence on Mauritius. With Britain committed to a military withdrawal east of Suez, which will turn the Indian Ocean into a 28-million-sq.-mi. power vacuum, other nations are soon likely to be seeking footholds for themselves...