Time to annihilate this archaic version of the MMM… let the vitriol from my Parker Sonnet flow…

My faith in the Purple Heart has not wavered since I chose to be part of it. Has not faltered, despite the hateful salvos of the arrogance-inebriated propagandists so keen on reducing the party to néant and has not vacillated in the face of accusations of our supposed surgically-precise partitioning of different communities. But the fact that we are stuck in that damning navel gazing mode where we celebrate our past glories and overlook the many inglorious episodes that have led us to be branded as obsolete have made the last few months the nadir of my young political days.

Succinctly, before our eyes, plagued by an abysmal absence of vision, the party mires into fibrillation with an intellectual side that has stopped pumping for far too long. What we should ask ourselves at this defining moment of the party’s existence is how we never managed to shake off that infamous “Le Parti des Minorités” tag that others slapped on us or how when in power we failed to bring much needed changes with electoral reforms or more transparency in the public and private sectors and as importantly in political financing, or as from 1983 onwards how everything that we stood for became confined to the realm of ideas and was never translated into action (bar the reform of the education sector), how corruption that lynchpin of so many other societal wrongs was seen to be tolerated by us…or that the self-professed Noble Party witnessed backroom shenanigans where worthless candidates were promoted in favour of more able ones for positions of power to suit the whims and wishes of some of the party heads.

Trapped in culpable inaction, the Militans, guardians of the moral sacredness of the MMM need to understand that if they follow this treacherous path, no return to the genesis of the party can be achieved. No longer can they let themselves be frogmarched into accepting the unacceptable; the promotion of insipid figures chosen because of their past affiliations, the loss of ideological foundations to our lutte. Or the relinquishing of that ingredient that was at the origin of this whole journey; the fight against all forms of racial divisions and the celebration of Mauritianism (Ene sel lepep, ene sel nation). Indeed, has the party that advocated class warfare stooped so low that our winning formula for the next elections resides in the return of that crucial missing piece that led to our defeat in the 2005 elections? (“Aujourd’hui la désillusion de l’électorat musulman face à l’Alliance Sociale est totale et il revient en masse vers le MMM.” Bérenger/ Week-End 20/09/09).

But maybe I am veering away from what I should be doing as the archetypal ‘militan’, going beyond merely being a beni-oui-oui and engaging in something that is so rare within the MMM ranks these days; thinking. My interest in and subsequent decision to be a contributor to Mauritian politics was strongly motivated by the Kaya Riots and l’Affaire Amicale, both incidents showing the sinister side of Paradise Island. The first one reminding us of the frailty of our society and the second one demonstrating the intolerance the human kind was capable of. In 2008, I joined the MMM. Convinced that if there was one party that could prevent our motherland from falling prey to intestinal divisions, it would be one that combined the teachings of former Labour greats with that of Marx and which had an unrivalled history in its formative years of fighting for the proletariat.

Listening to the self-professed opinion leaders pullulating on our radio waves, the conclusion would be that Bérenger is the root cause of all woes within the MMM. With his place alongside the likes of such illustrious Mauritians like Anquetil, Curé ,Rozemont, Bissoondoyal and SSR now firmly enshrined, the leader of the MMM might have slipped into solipsism choosing to heed only to himself and has failed (until recently, with le retour aux sources) to give the needed strategic thrust to the party. And in the meantime, philanderers of the MMM temple abounded, all indulging in some form of ideological molesting with a party conceptualised by utopians.

The time has come for us to change the way we do politics. We should refrain from mechanical mudslinging and abstain from what Navin did back in 2005, rely on demagogic “Le Grand Soir” style discourses and foster ideas that are adapted to modern realities. Let us genuinely strive to alter how party members view their role and ensure that the now famous line “Dans la lutte pena recompense” is an ode to meritocracy and not simply used to thwart those petits copains that the party fails to serve. Let us stop playing the ostrich game and question ourselves and start from scratch with militans that genuinely care about the future of this nation.

I am not worried about what lies ahead. The MMM will rise again from its present ideological and intellectual blackout. Having read with optimism the paper “Qu’est-ce qu’être militan en 2009” and having spoken to some of my peers, I know that there are other inhabitants of Planet MMM that share my views. Yet, more than ever now, there is the need to discard those ideas and people that have made us so hollow over the years. The ambition of the party at its creation was to eradicate the trenches between the different communities and was based on socialist principles such as the establishment of a more egalitarian society… ideals that like the MMM simply will never die.

Here is my cri de coeur, “Thinking militans, unite”

Chetan Ramchurn

A Young Member of the MMM

C’est l’histoire d’un homme qui tombe d’un immeuble de cinquante étages.

Le mec, au fur et à mesure de sa chute se répète sans cesse pour se rassurer : jusqu’ici tout va bien, jusqu’ici tout va bien, jusqu’ici tout va bien.
Mais l’important ce n’est pas la chute, c’est l’atterrissage.
(“La Haine” de Mathieu Kassovitz)

Rethinking Mauritius

Like most of you reading this column, it pains us to see our nation trapped in a tortuous downward spiral with no one bothering to send even so much as a lifesaver to it. We should all be worried, lest there should not be any sand left in the hourglass to salvage the destiny our motherland from what awaits it.

No need to be a modern day Pythia to see what lies ahead; the greater divide between the wealthy and the needy, the complete loss of trust in our political leaders (government and opposition alike, even more now when distinguishing them would require a combination of Sherlock Holmes’s and Miss Marple’s sharp minds), the burying of meritocracy, the absence of thinkers in the future (A country without thinkers is one that is bereft of a moral compass, it sails aimlessly towards an illusory destination) and the death of Mauritianism.

Those enjoying the benefits of this flawed system (the political nominees, the hardened capitalists and the conformists) will choose to believe that the views of the ones penning this article are grossly exaggerated and offer an Orwellian portrayal of our society. Yet the advocates of progressionism will recognize that if we fail to act now, we run the risk of reaching a point de non retour…For this is not only about us; this has to do with what we bequeath to the upcoming generations. Either we leave them with a society in a state of advanced moral decomposition or we choose to act now.

Here are two young idealists’ take on issues that warrant our urgent attention.

·

For a transparent political finance regime: The creation of a truly balanced mixed economy with a government that can act as the champion of the oppressed can only materialise if and when our decision makers are no longer mere puppets of financial juggernauts. In the same vein, the democratization of the economy, a must go through path to create a better society, will be translated into reality when power is effectively placed in the hands of the people and where their representatives in the Legislative Assembly are truly concerned about the lives of the masses instead of the bank accounts of their financial benefactors. The need for a truly independent political finance regulator is a must for a more prosperous nation.

·

Where education would no longer be about, what Einstein has dubbed, “the crippling of individuals”: No longer can children be mere robots trained to puke what they’ve memorised. Now is the time for young souls to finally experience the joys of learning; where one’s desire would be fueled by curiosity and where imagination and creativity would no longer be banned from classrooms. Education, if limited to the mere amassing of paper credentials, defeats its purpose. It is only when moral and ethical values gain prominence in schools and universities that we shall have a nation of responsible citizens. Another negative trait of the present Mauritian society lies in the way those that fail to achieve academically are treated. A truly humane society thrives on giving those outcasts other paths than academia where they would feel valued and respected. The makings of an ‘intelligent’ society would require that we do away with an archaic method and embrace an educational system that would reap thinking individuals.

·         The creation of a real rainbow nation:.. Where strength to love shall be possessed by one and all where we would learn to understand and tolerate the differences that exist between us and celebrate the common traits that bind us. Of equal importance is the understanding that until we ostracize religious leaders that have at heart only their personal gratification and create a laical society where socio-cultural organizations would not dictate the future of a country, we will remain divided.

·

Ode to meritocracy: With clear examples of those at the end of the ladder having to foot the bill for the poor decisions of unmeritorious people grabbing headlines on a daily basis, our country can no longer afford to let those who have failed be entrusted with new positions of power. No more can the private and public sectors be allowed to operate opaquely. Herein lies our doom…

To those that share our hellish view of the present situation, now is the time for them to come forward and start making a telling difference. Yes a Sisyphean task awaits us, but there is still hope. Together, we definitely can.

Chetan Ramchurn & Arnaud