On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Parti Travailiste (Labour Party – PTr), Prime Minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam paid tribute to the party’s historical personalities, who according to him shaped the face of Mauritius.

Ramgoolam recalled that the first PTr gathering on February 23, 1936 at Champ de Mars, was attended by thousands of people from all walks of life and different parts of the country.

The objective of the first meeting was to promote the fight for social, political and economic rights of the working class.

“During its existence, the PTr has always respected its fundamentals which are the preservation of human dignity, social, economic and political emancipation,” said Dr Ramgoolam.

In 1948, the then party leader decided to militate for the establishment of a responsible and autonomous government.

“The most important achievement during those times of struggles against repression and domination was winning all votes in 1958 under the leadership of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR),” the Prime Minister said.

Ramgoolam said that winning all votes paved the way, nine years later through the general elections in August 1967, for independence.

Enumerating the main achievements of his party, the PM said that SSR was the one who opened the right to vote to the youth and added that the PTr also set up free education in 1977. The Welfare State was also set up.

The PM added that the party went through difficult times after the death of Guy Rozemont, which was followed by a campaign by opponents that aimed at distancing Creoles from the PTr.

“This created sparks among Creoles in the party and worried SSR. This was a classical divide and rule strategy by opponents, which is still used by them nowadays,” Ramgoolam added.

However, SSR was able do deal with this issue together with the problems that cropped up following Renganaden Seeneevassen’s death.

Speaking about the 1967 elections, Ramgoolam said, “It is easy to now analyse the campaign as observers of the general elections. But those who have experienced the realities of that time will tell you that SSR achieved a miracle.”

He added, “I’m sure that if my father had not formed this alliance the Independence Party led by the Labour Party we would not have won the elections for the independence of Mauritius.”

The PM pointed out that even after the elections, a few weeks prior to the country becoming independent, there were racial fights.

On March 12, 1968, the Union Jack flag was pulled down and replaced by the four-colour Mauritian flag at Champ de Mars. “It was a very emotional moment. I was so proud of my country. I was proud of my father,” said the PM.