From Mauritius to Pakistan, Edun presents ‘Apni Zameen’

A 12-member Urdu speaking Mauritian delegation in city.

KARACHI: Deep in the heart of the Republic of Mauritius - an island state located some 5,800 km from the coast - lives a Muslim population that settled there about 200 years ago.

Though Mauritius is known for being the only country once inhabited by dodos, its diversity is also one of its main attractions. Among its many influences, Pakistani culture has a strong place in the tiny country and it is replete with a Sharae Quaid-e-Azam, an Allama Iqbal Club and a renowned ‘Pakistan restaurant’.

Now, the country has its own Urdu novel authored by Enayat Hossen Edun, a professor of Urdu in the country, to write an Urdu novel ‘Apni Zameen’. The fictitious prose narrative depicts life of the indentured labourers that came to settle on the island in the early 1850s, especially those from the sub-continent. The novel was first launched in Delhi and Mauritius.

Discussing the novel, the writer said that he had written about the struggle faced by the early settlers, from signing a three to four year work contract in return for food, clothing and transportation to settling in.

His inspiration is his ancestral connection with Urdu - something he shares with many other people in the country who had learnt to read and write in Urdu because of their ancestors.

He told The Express Tribune that at the moment Urdu was being taught in nearly 200 primary and secondary schools in the country whereas at the University of Mauritius Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Languages there are about 60 students learning Urdu.

“Edun’s novel is living proof that the Urdu language is loved in the country,” said University of Karachi Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqi. He added that Mauritius was a wonderful country and was glad that Pakistan and Mauritius were collaborating in the field of education and research. “It is a strange relationship these Mauritians share with Urdu, it is as if they are listening to a holy book” said Dr Mohammad Iqbal Choudhary, Director International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences. “When they settled in Mauritius, Pakistan had not been created and so it was interesting to see how they changed the names of their roads and places after famous Pakistanis.”

Urdu writers including Dr Zafar Iqbal and Dr Fatima Hasan were also present at the launch

A 12-member Mauritian delegation is currently visiting the country including Urdu students and the Urdu speaking union president Dr Shehzad Abdullah Ahmed.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2011.