It's a miracle which has worked its magic for the Indian community in Mauritius (and in the curious...
Miracle Isle
JUST because Indians are the majority community in Mauritius and Hinduism is the predominant religion, don't imagine that this palm-fringedIndian Ocean island is anything like the mother country. There are no bullock carts, no cycle rickshaws, no auto-rickshaws, no Ambassadors, no potholes, no cows on the road, no paan stalls, and no station coo-lies. What's more, no one plays cricket and no one tries to sell you tissues at the traffic lights. The simple fact is, little Mauritius, 1,500 km east of the African mainland, has a lot of money. It's made the leap from a one-crop country entirely dependent on sugar to a diversified economy with a strong textiles sector, upmarket tourism, offshore banking and finance, and trans-shipment facilities for the countries of the Indian Ocean rim. Unemployment, inflation, population growth are all remarkably low, while economic growth and business confidence are high. No wonder Mauritians speak rather smugly of their economic miracle.
JUST because Indians are the majority community in Mauritius and Hinduism is the predominant religion, don't imagine that this palm-fringedIndian Ocean island is anything like the mother country. There are no bullock carts, no cycle rickshaws, no auto-rickshaws, no Ambassadors, no potholes, no cows on the road, no paan stalls, and no station coo-lies. What's more, no one plays cricket and no one tries to sell you tissues at the traffic lights. The simple fact is, little Mauritius, 1,500 km east of the African mainland, has a lot of money. It's made the leap from a one-crop country entirely dependent on sugar to a diversified economy with a strong textiles sector, upmarket tourism, offshore banking and finance, and trans-shipment facilities for the countries of the Indian Ocean rim. Unemployment, inflation, population growth are all remarkably low, while economic growth and business confidence are high. No wonder Mauritians speak rather smugly of their economic miracle.
