Pahlad Ramsurrun: the pioneer of Hindi teaching in secondary schools
Inking a nation’s history on paper is indeed a noble work and not to mention a tedious one. And Pahlad Ramsurrun has devoted himself to this passion and profession since 1970. Currently aged 83, Pahlad Ramsurrun just does not want to stop writing. He is one of the pioneer educators to teach the Hindi Language in the same line as the English and French language in Secondary schools; a stepping stone for the Hindi Movement. Pahlad Ramsurrun continues in his expedition to enlighten the minds of people and especially the youth on the history of Mauritius before and post independence with some seventy books to offer to the historical and cultural Heritage of Mauritius.
Who is Pahlad Ramsurrun?
Pahlad Ramsurrun is an inexhaustible writer with publications entailing thorough research on the period of Pre-independence to post-independence of Mauritius. Upon arriving at his residence, we were greeted by a man with a frail silhouette, who without hesitation took us to his personal library enriched with rare books, newspapers, journal and his literary works. That man was Pahlad Ramsurrun. However, don’t get yourself fooled by his age and his small stature, Pahlad Ramsurrun is in himself a living library. During our two hours of conversation, he spoke in such a vigorous way about the political relationships that existed between the great leaders who shaped Mauritius in the 60s and 70s. He shared his best souvenirs on the political rally in 1967 and the arrival of eminent personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi and Manilall Doctor on the Indian Ocean Archipelago.
Our writer was born in 1937 in Amaury, a small village in the North in the house of a laborer. Herding cows was a common practice at that time and the young Pahlad Ramsurrun would often help his father in taking care of their small plantations. Yet, the importance of education was known to them and Pahlad Ramsurrun did go to school. Nevertheless, the frequent absence of teachers in schools led him to complete his sixth class at the age of 16.
After primary school, Pahlad Ramsurrun was longing to be admitted in a Secondary school but the financial conditions of the family couldn’t possibly allow this. He would pray that someone would help him study but as they say God has a perfect timing, never early and never late. His prayer was fulfilled. When he was strolling towards the local shop and he encountered a “Pandit”. The latter seeing his calm nature, proposed him to come and learn Hindi in the local social center (baitka). It was from there on, that his temperament as a writer started to take form. At the age of 20, he started teaching Hindi in the “baitka”.
Being proficient in Hindi was not enough for him and he wanted to excel in English and French as well. So he studied hard for it for the next five years and he was subsequently met with a reward. In 1966, he was appointed as a primary teacher in a government school.
His contribution to Hindi Language
The Hindi language is the cultural heritage left by our ancestors from Bihar and other Indian immigrants from different part of the Great Peninsula. The Arya Samaj started the movement of teaching our Oriental language in Baitkas, which was very popular long ago. The Baitkas were village clubs where young people use to attend in order to learn the teachings of the sacred books of Hinduism as well as the Hindi Language. Classes were held on a weekly basis and were supervised by a Guruji or a Panditji. As unfortunate as it is, younger generation cannot relate to this movement and benefit from it.
Coming back to our local prolific writer, there is a saying that goes “where there is a will, there a way” and indeed this is perfectly manifested in his career path. It’s his will that took this young villager of a working class family to fly to India. Following his win at an essay competition, the Indian Council for International Cooperation (ICIC), Pahlad Ramsurrun flew to India with the savings he gathered through his job as a primary teacher. His intention was not limited to receiving his reward India. In fact, he successfully enrolled himself to the University of Delhi to pursue a Bachelor in Hindi. He came back to his homeland in July 1973.
In that same year, a motion was tabled in legislative assembly by the late Sharma Jugdambi. His motion called for Hindi to be studied officially in secondary schools. A grand ceremony was held in the presence of Shivmangal Singh Suman, a much acclaimed Indian poet at the Municipal Theatre of Port Louis to announce the introduction of Hindi Language in State secondary and junior secondary schools.
The dissemination of the Hindi language in secondary schools started with five carefully chosen teachers, reserved for five prestigious colleges. Five Hindi Education Officers were appointed by the government namely Mr. Devnarain Autar to Royal College, Port Louis, Mr. Prahlad Ramsurrun to Royal College, Curepipe, Mr. Permeshwar Chady to John Kennedy College, Miss Dhanwantee Reekaye to Queen Elizabeth College and Miss B. Busgeet to Rose Belle State Secondary College. In one of his interviews, Pahlad Ramsurrun mentioned that there was a certain enthusiasm among his fellow teachers and the college’s caretakers to hear Hindi language for the first time. They would come to the class window to listen with amazement the Hindi language for the first time.
His works
Our writer proudly has seventy publications until now. Pahlad Ramsurrun, a man who is faithful to his roots, tells the history of our small island in the Indian Ocean through his books. In an effort to keep alive the stories of our ancestors, Pahlad Ramsurrun has edited and published books such as “The Histroy of Mauritius; British perspectives”, “Mauritius ka Itihaas” and “Mauritius Ka Subodh Itihaas”. He has also produced some 13 folk stories books nested with the cultural richness of Mauritius.
Visibly very inspired by some of our leaders in Mauritius, Pahlad Ramsurrun has dedicated quite a few books to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Mahatma Gandhi, Manilal Maganlall Doctor, Swami Dayanand and the Arya Samaj Movement in Mauritius. “Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Battles for a Democratic Constitution of Mauritius”, “Manilal Doctor: His political Activities in Mauritius”, “Gandhi et son impact sur l’île Maurice”, “Swami Dayanand and His Impact on Hindusim” and “Mauritius Arya Samaj Aur Shuddi Andolan” are among his notable literary works.
Pahlad Ramsurun also undertook the felicitous task of translating The Bhagavad Gita- the Lord’s Song of the Scottish author and poet, John R. de Lingen from Sanskrit to English. These are some of his notable works. Even now, he continues to write for an international trilingual magazine called “Indradhanush” meaning rainbow, certainly to say that this is a magazine dedicated to a nation with linguistic pluralism. Each publication of Indradhanush recalls the social life and philosophy of a great personality in depth. Previous issues have been on John De Linsgen, Manilal Doctor, Leoville L’Homme, Sri Aurobindo, Dookhee Gungah, Aunath Beejadhur, Pandit Cashinath Kistoe, Marcel Cabon, Mohunlall Mohith, Malcolm de Chazal, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Robert Edward Hart and Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. The international popularity of the magazine is reflected in its orders.
Pahlad Ramasurrun’s writings are eternal. In his scripts great epochs are narrated, leaders are admired and realities of life the past are transmitted from one generation to another. What makes Pahlad Ramsurrun even more special is his contribution to the Hindi language in Mauritius. He was one of the first secondary school teachers to teach Hindi. Today, we notice that there is a certain stigma attached to this language, describing it as outdated, boring with no future. What we should not forget is that Indo-Mauritians, Hindi is not only a language, but a linguistic recognition in memory of our ancestors who came from certain regions of India. As the sayings goes no matter where life takes you don’t forget where you came from…