Goodbye 1960

From Our Archives- A Glimpse into 1960

Editorial

Within two days, 1960 will be over: one year will end and another will start. It is but natural that we pause and take stock of our position. It is the time for an appraisal of the past, just as it is the right time for planning the year ahead. The end of a year — or of any period for that matter — is one of those moments in human life that shows there is, after all, a break in everything; it unmistakably illustrates that a respite is inevitable. Nothing is truly static, and so it has been with 1960 — a fateful year for Mauritius.

People have already stopped talking of the terrific cyclone of 1892; Carol has now superseded it. “Carol” has come to mean “terrific” in the superlative. In view of the devastation and misery that followed, it will be difficult indeed to forget the year 1960.

1960 will go down in our history as a very sad year. People have already stopped talking of the terrific cyclone of 1892; Carol has now superseded it. “Carol” has come to mean “terrific” in the superlative. In view of the devastation and misery that followed, it will be difficult indeed to forget the year 1960. Those who lost their lives during the cyclone will be mourned for years to come, and those who have been made homeless may only find their memories mitigated once they have a sound roof over their heads. Beyond individual misery, the economy of the country will take years to recuperate. What has been lost is well and truly lost; to make it good, great efforts are needed.

Although 1960 will be remembered for the misery suffered by the people, it will also be remembered for the fortitude and equanimity with which most faced those difficult hours. A people is known by its moments of trial. It must be deplored, however, that certain political upstarts, hankering after cheap publicity, have been misleading the people by telling them that everything must be done by the Government alone. But we do not despair; one encounters such phenomena during periods of instability and transition. With the passage of time, there will be no more room for upstarts.

Another very important reason why 1960 will be remembered is the political climate it fostered. Politics has taken on a new look during the outgoing year: the Mauritius Labour Party came out with flying colours at Quatre Bornes but lost the Municipality, while the Parti Mauricien, which was a decaying party, has emerged with added strength. The Parti Mauricien has succeeded in dividing the Muslim community, and the capitalists have shown that their money can be freely used to destroy the Labour Party.

And what about the Labour Party? It presents a pitiable sight. It has no proper organisation and is being defeated both from within and from without. We have, on many previous occasions, urged in these very columns that the Labour Party — its Chairman and Executive — should try to organize the constituencies and maintain more frequent contact with the people. But neither the Chairman nor the Party has ever paid any heed to our warnings. Will anyone pay heed now?

The Labour Party is being defeated on four fronts. First, it is not keeping contact with the people — here, the Opposition is simply walking over them. Secondly, the press is totally against the Party: every day the Opposition carries articles against the Party and others boosting the Opposition, while the Labour Party is busy writing poetry! When, during the last two years, has the Labour Party replied to the systematic press campaign against it? Thirdly, the Labour Party is being belittled in the Legislative Council: every Council meeting becomes a day of rejoicing for the Opposition. What the Party does is being twisted, distorted, and misrepresented by the Opposition in the Council and on the platform, yet the Labour Party keeps mum; no answer is made. The Labour Party does not realize that the Opposition has turned the Legislature into a political platform; until it does so, it will be difficult to beat the combined forces of the Parti Mauricien and the Independent Forward Bloc. Fourthly and lastly, a good section of the trade union movement has been turned against the Labour Party, and the Party has never cared to look into this matter or take action.

How, then, can we expect to be popular with the people? Have the leaders of the Party not yet realized this? Are we going to remain cloistered in our homes and offices and call it politics? Mr. Bissoondoyal has written about 20 articles against the Labour Party, each replete with nonsensical arguments, yet no one replied to him. Le Mauricien, under the editorship of Mr André Masson, attacks us every day; what do we do except write poetry? The time has now come for a drastic change in the Party’s approach. We repeat: if this is not done now, we shall merely be asking for independence under a Parti Mauricien and IFB coalition government. We hope that the new year, 1961, will bring about the necessary awakening, and that as the year starts, new decisions will be taken and the groundwork will already be in hand.

1961, therefore, offers many prospects, but not without difficulties. The Party structure must be reorganized to ensure direct and constant contact between the Party and the people. There will possibly be a by-election in Port Louis, which is bound to take much of the Party’s time and energy. Besides, the Legislative Council will have as crowded a programme as it had for the 1960 Session. There will be a large number of important Bills, the Estimates, the Meade and Titmuss Reports, and the Commission of Enquiry requested by Mr. Rault will have started its work. Last but not least, there will be the preparation for the London constitutional talks. It is not yet known whether there will be a debate in the Legislative Council on the future constitution, but we know there will be plenty of talk in public meetings. Be that as it may, 1961 has much in store for us; if Nature is kind, we can look forward to interesting and important days.

7th Year – No 330
Friday 23th December, 1960

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 27 March 2026