The Lady who shaped cultural scape of Mauritius while strengthening Hindu culture in the scape of Humanity

PARTHA ROY, KOLKATA: Dr. Sarita Boodhoo (née Sarita Makhan) was born in Port Louis, Mauritius, and from her earliest years displayed an extraordinary commitment to education, culture, and social service that would define her entire life. Completing her secondary education at Queen Elizabeth College, Rose-Hill (1955–1962), she earned a Government of India Cultural Scholarship that took her to Lady Brabourne College, Calcutta University, where she obtained a First Division B.A. Honours in Geography (1963–1966). She later pursued an M.A. in Hindi from Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Jaunpur, and was awarded a PhD in Hindi by the University of Kashi Vidyapeeth, Banaras, in 2004.

Her professional journey began in education: she served briefly as Principal of New Vacoas College (1967–1968), then as Education Officer teaching English and Geography at prestigious institutions such as Royal College Curepipe and Queen Elizabeth College. From 1980 to 1995 she worked as Inspector of Private Secondary Schools, while simultaneously contributing to the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, the Mauritius Institute of Education, and various government advisory committees. A gifted journalist, she earned top honours with a Diploma in Journalism from the Berlin Institute of Journalism (1978) and a one-year Fellowship in Advanced Journalism at the Centre de Formation et de Perfectionnement des Journalistes in Paris (1979). She later became Managing Editor of the Hindi weekly Jan Vani and contributed regularly to Mauritius Times and other publications.

Yet it is her lifelong dedication to preserving and promoting Indian diasporic heritage — particularly the Bhojpuri language, folklore, and the memory of indentured labourers — that has made Dr. Boodhoo a legendary figure in Mauritius and beyond. In 1982 she founded the Mauritius Bhojpuri Institute, producing ballets, CDs, and nationwide Bhojpuri weeks that restored pride in a language long marginalised. She conceived and drove landmark national projects: the creation of the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund, the declaration of 2 November as a public holiday commemorating the arrival of Indian indentured workers, the 150th anniversary celebrations twinning the end of indenture with the abolition of slavery, the erection of monuments at Antoinette Phooliyar and Pointe Canon, and the successful inscription of Mauritian Bhojpuri Geet Gawai on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016 — an achievement for which she led the official delegation to Addis Ababa and established 51 Geet Gawai schools across the island.

From 2012 until November 2024, she served as the inaugural Chairperson of the Bhojpuri Speaking Union, an institution created by an Act of Parliament, where she reintroduced Bhojpuri into the school curriculum, organised international Bhojpuri Mahotsavs, launched short-film competitions, and elevated folk traditions to national esteem. Earlier, she had been the key adviser (1996–2001) in establishing the World Hindi Secretariat in Mauritius, fulfilling a vision first articulated by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam in 1975.

Dr. Boodhoo’s monumental contributions have been crowned by a constellation of the highest national and international honours. In 2012 she received the prestigious 9th Vishwa Hindi Samman from the Government of India; in 2013 the Vishwa Bhojpuri Samman from the Government of Bihar; in 2016 the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations; in 2023 the Republic of Mauritius conferred upon her its second-highest distinction, Grand Officer of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GOSK); and on 10 January 2025, at the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the President of India, Shrimati Droupadi Murmu, bestowed upon her the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) — the highest honour accorded to overseas Indians — in recognition of her lifetime of extraordinary service to language, culture, and the global Indian diaspora.

Married to Mr. Harish Boodhoo, former Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius and noted political analyst, Dr. Sarita Boodhoo continues to be a towering scholar, social activist, writer, and guardian of Mauritian Bhojpuri and Indo-Mauritian heritage — a living bridge between the ancestral villages of the Bhojpuri belt and the vibrant multicultural nation she has helped shape for more than six decades.