Birth Centenary of Sookdeo Bissoondoyal (1908-2008)

Sookdeo Bissoondoyal was born on 25 December 1908 in Tyack, Rivière des Anguilles in the south of the island. He was a primary school teacher, journalist, prolific writer, parliamentarian, Government Minister and Leader of the Opposition who helped to shape the history of modern Mauritius.

During his long and distinguished life of public service, he struggled for social justice, the right to vote for his fellow citizens, the protection of their civil rights and for poverty alleviation. He founded the Independent Forward Bloc, and was instrumental in the creation of the Jan Andolan (People's Movement) which initiated campaigns in order to fight for the social and political rights of the poor.

"We all know how hard a country has to struggle before it establishes its identity. We know equally that a proper education is an integral part of that struggle." This statement of Sookdeo Bissoondoyal clearly shows that one of the major objectives of his life-long struggle was promoting the education of the Mauritian people. He firmly advocated and fought for free access to education for all children irrespective of their social background.

Between the 1920s and 1970s, he taught more than three generations of Mauritians with some among them eventually playing an important role in the country's history as public and political figures. Furthermore, during the 1940s and 1950s, he initiated campaigns to safeguard and expand the educational opportunities of young Mauritians.

As an influential member of the Legislative Council and later on of the Mauritian Parliament, Sookdeo Bissoondoyal fought hard to secure social welfare programs for the poor and was against corruption and the abuse of power in the civil service.

Sookdeo Bissoondoyal has been closely associated with the following historic government decisions:

1. The move towards the country's independence

2. The implementation of state subsidies for all religions

3. The implementation of old-age pension

4. The creation of an Ombudsman to act as a guardian of public rights

5. Free access to education for young children in primary schools

In 1965, Bissoondoyal attended the London Conference where he helped Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam make the case for Mauritian independence. At the same time, he is also credited with coining the term "Parti de l'indépendence" or Independence Party.

During his political career, which lasted almost three decades, Sookdeo Bissoondoyal served as the Minister of Local Government and Cooperative Movement, a Member of Parliament, Leader of the Opposition and as a party leader.

Sookdeo Bissoondoyal passed away on 18 August 1977.

The two stamps affixed on the Special Commemorative Cover are the 40 cents and the Rs16 stamps of the Inland Transport ans Stone Buildings sets respectively. The 40 cents stamp shows the Rivière des Anguilles bridge, located close to the birth place of Sookdeo Bissoondoyal. The Rs 16 stamp depicts the Carnegie Library, Curepipe, symbolising the value the latter gave to education.

The illustration on the cover shows a portrait in medallion of Sookdeo Bissoondoyal as the Minister of Local Government and Cooperative Movement with a background picture of the Sookdeo Bissoondoyal Memorial Museum in Tyack, Rivière des Anguilles.

Source: insert

Technical Details

Release date: 17 December 2008

Stamps: 40cs - Railway Locomotive (from the Inland Transport issue of 15 June 1998)

             Rs 16 - Carnegie Library, Curepipe (from the Stone Buildings issue of 9 October 2005)

30th, 40th and 45th Anniversaries of Independence of Mauritius

The Mauritius Postal Services issued a Special Commemorative Cover on 12 March 1998 to mark 30 years of independence of Mauritius.

The paille-en-queue (a.k.a. phaéton) featured on the cover and in the special cachet.
Two indigenous species in Mauritius: the White-tailed Tropic Bird and the Red-tailed one.

Mauritius gained independence on 12 March 1968 from the United Kingdom with Queen Elizabeth II as Monarch; Mauritius was previously also a Dutch (1638-1710) and a French colony (1715-1810). On 12 March 1992, Mauritius attained the status of Republic within the Commonwealth with the President of Mauritius as Head of State.

Some remnants of the British period are our judiciary, the First-Past-The-Post electoral system and our driving on the left.

The Mauritius Post issued Special Commemorative Covers on 12 March 2008 and in 2013 to celebrate the 40th and 45th anniversaries of independence respectively.

Special cachet with 40th anniversary slogan in Mauritian Creole:
"Nou pays, nou fierté." Our country, our pride.

Note the difference in spelling of the Mauritian Creole word for 'country': "pays" like in French in 2008 and "pei" in 2013, and the use of accents in 2008 (for "fierté") and not in 2013 (for "pei").

"Enn Pei, Enn Nasion, Enn Destin." One Country, One Nation, One Destiny.

Both SCCs portray on the left the lowering of the Union Jack and the hoisting of the new Mauritian flag at  the Champs de Mars racetrack where thousands gathered.

On the right, Sir John Shaw Rennie, the last Governor, i.e. the acting Head of State, of colonial Mauritius congratulates Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the first Prime Minister of independent Mauritius. After independence, the former became Governor-General of Mauritius.

The recurrence of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, dubbed by some 'The Father of the Nation,'  on these SCCs and in the corresponding inserts, unfortunately does not reflect the work and efforts of other founding figures of independent Mauritius.

Private philatelic cover serviced at the Philatelic Bureau, Port Louis on 12 March 2013.

12th of March being a public holiday in Mauritius, all outlets of the Mauritius Post are closed, with the only exceptions of the Postal Museum in Port Louis and the Philatelic Bureau, located in the Museum, opened to tourists and philatelists who wish to have their covers or mail serviced with datestamps indicating 12 March, independence day.

Commemorative stamps were released for the 5th, 20th and 25th anniversaries of independence, and definitive stamps (the 'History of Mauritius' set) for the 10th anniversary.

P.S.: The Postal Museum and, by extension, the Philatelic Bureau are open on public holidays; unless the public holiday is on a Sunday in which case the Postal Museum is closed. The last time the Postal Museum was exceptionally open on a Sunday was on 9 October 2011, World Post Day, when two stamps were being released. Selected Post Offices throughout the island also opened for business for limited hours on that day.

Technical Details

30th Anniversary Cover

Release date: 12 March 1998

Stamp: Rs10 - 'POST OFFICE' 1d. and 2d. on silver background

            From the '150th Anniversary of the 'POST OFFICE' Stamps' issue of 22 September 1997.

40th Anniversary Cover

Release date: 12 March 2008

Stamp: Rs15 - Painting published by Harrison, 1798

            From the 'Dodo (Raphus cucullatus)' issue of 25 June 2007.

45th Anniversary Cover

Release date: 12 March 2013

Stamp: Rs8 - Anthurium andreanum var tropical

            From the 'Anthurium' issue of 1 December 2004

Mauritius in World Literature

Here is one of the most beautiful set of stamps ever issued in Mauritius!  The Mauritius Post Ltd issued this set of 5 postage stamps on 8th December 2008 to highlight the presence of Mauritius in World Literature.  Five of the world's renown novelists who wrote on or visited the island between the 18th and 19th centuries have been portrayed, namely:

Rs5 - Bernardin de Saint Pierre (1737-1814)

Jacques Henri Bernardin de Saint Pierre is a renown author and novelist of 18th century France for his novel Paul et Virginie which he wrote in 1789 having been inspired by the enchanting environment of Isle de France (Mauritius) during his stay in 1768. 

Rs10 - Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)

Alexandre Dumas (Davy de la Pailleterie) père, one of the world's most versatile writers and novelists, of mixed origin, his father of French nationality and his mother of African slave ancestry, is a gifted genius with a prolific style and author of a series of novels depicting the French heroic times.  His novel Georges (le mulâtre) published in 1843 has for background Mauritius.

Rs15 - Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)

Charles Baudelaire is one of the most prolific writers and poets of 19th century France.  On hids way to India, his sailing vessel stopped over in Port Louis in September 1841, he found the island and its inhabitants awe-inspiring and wrote a sonnet for a charming lady, entitled A une Dame Créole.

Rs22 - Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Samuel Langhorne Clemens better known by his pen name Mark Twain born in Florida on the 30th Novembr 1835 is one f the most important figures in American literature and one of th greatest humorists.  Through his humour and his shrewd power of observation, he immortalised 19th century life.

The author of Tom Sawyer, came in Mauritius in 1896.  In his book entitled More Tramps Abroad or Following the Equator xpublished in 1897, he wrote "... you gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven and that heaven was copied after Mauritius".

(It should be noted however that this phrase was taken out of its context)

Rs25 - Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

Joseph Conrad is one of the most famous British novelists of polish origin of his true name Teodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski.  He started his career as a sailor in the French Navy, as such made a stop over in Port Louis for 2 months and 1888 where he fell in love with a Mauritian girl who refused him marriage.  He was for long considered as the greatest living novelist.  His tale A Smile of Fortune was inspired by his visit to Mauritius which he described as "a pearl distilling sweetness upon the world".