Bihari Mauritians are the descendants of mainly Bhojpuri speaking migrants to Mauritius. A majority of Indo-Mauritians are of Bihari descent, and the majority of Mauritians are Indo-Mauritian. Castewise, most Bihari Mauritians are Vaishyas with significant Bhumihars, Brahmins, Rajputs, Koeris, Chamars, Yadavs, Kurmis, Banias and Kayasthas. All but one Mauritian Prime Ministers have been of Bihari Vaishya descent.[1][2][3]
The community includes a Hindu majority with a Muslim minority. About 65.7 % of the 1.3 million population of Mauritius is of Indian origin, most of them from Bihar, with Bhojpuri as their ancestral tongue.
Bihari Mauritians were mainly from the Gaya, Chhapra, Bhojpur and Gopalganj and East and West Champaran districts. In those early days of Migration, the labourers referred Mauritius as 'Marich'.
Amitav Ghosh's novel, Sea of Poppies, is set in this period. This fictional account describes how impoverished Bihari migrants were desperate enough to make the journey to Mauritius and even more distant colonies of the empire.
Though the island is divided on ethnic and religious grounds, 'Hindu' Mauritians follow a number of original custom and tradition, quite different from those seen in the Indian subcontinent. Some castes in 'Mauritius' in particular are quite unrecognizable from a subcontinental perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes from Indian setting into a single group. The title "Rajput" is used primarily by Shudra castes in Mauritius, which was usurped by this group in nineteenth century. The 'vaish' are the largest and most influential caste group on the island, in which Koeris, Kurmi, Yadav, Teli, Bania etc. are included. The former Brahmin elites together with former Rajputs and other Kshatriyas are called 'Babuji' and enjoy prestige conferred by high caste status, though politically they are marginalized and their place has been taken by the castes who identify themselves as 'vaish'.[3]
^ abBates, Crispin (2016). Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora. Springer. p. 14. ISBN978-0333977293. Retrieved 2020-07-01.Some 'castes' in Mauritius in particular are quite unrecognizable from a subcontinental perspective, and may incorporate mutually antagonistic castes from an Indian setting into a single group. A 'Rajput' in Mauritius is of a sudra caste, the title having been usurped by this group in the nineteenth century. Ethnolinguistic distinctions differentiate Bhojpuri/Hindi speakers from Tamil speakers. Telugu and Marathi Hindus maintain regional endogamy. Gujaratis are also seen as a separate community, from a trading rather than an indenture background, and maintain a social distance from descendants of 'coolies'. The former Brahmin elite are referred to as the Maraz and together with the former Rajputs and other Kshatriyas, now called 'Babujis', enjoy the prestige conferred by high-caste status, whilst politically they complain of marginalization.
