When Albert Einstein arrived in the United States and was asked about his citizenship in 1940, on his immigration form, he entered "human" in the part dedicated to race. Scientists then agreed to say that the concept of race had no biological foundation. Nevertheless, this word remains and racism and communalism also.

What is Communalism?

The word "Communalism" is used to describe the feelings of rivalry, contempt and sometimes hate between ethnic and religious communities which often lead to discriminations, such as the constitution of ghetto, social and economic marginalization and are also translated by violent riots.

Amnesty International fights against racism, communalism or any other form of racial discrimination as it is described in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination : In this Convention, the term " racial discrimination " shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life ".

Communalism around the World

South Asia:

India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have the most fertile soil for communalism to grow and prosper. It was expected that after the partition of India in 1947 the hate campaign against minorities would disappear from both India and Pakistan. On the contrary the hate campaign has been on the increase. In India increasing communal riots over the years have been witnessed.

It was also expected that after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the Hindus, Buddhists and Christians would feel secure. That hope has been belied. The minorities in Bangladesh came under attack immediately after a caretaker government was installed on 15 July 2001 in the run-up to the general election. Attacks on and persecution of minorities have been on the increase after Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to lead a coalition government in October 2001.
Supporters of Jamait-e-Islami in Bangladesh have indulged in cruel murders; they, for instance, killed the Principal of a college in Chittagong in broad daylight.

Slovakia:

Romani children in Slovakia are being denied the right to a proper education by a system that routinely discriminates against them. Huge numbers of children are being segregated into Roma-only schools, while others are being placed in 'special' schools despite not having any mental or learning disabilities. Amnesty International's 2007 report "Still separate, still unequal - Violations of the right to education of Romani children in Slovakia Romani" tells a story of pervasive and yet avoidable discrimination against children.

Communalism in Mauritius

The history of community in Mauritius:

Date Classification used 1735 Frenchmen   Indian   Madagascan 1766 White   Freeman   Slave 1846 White and coloured   Indian 1861 White and coloured   Indian   Chinese 1952 Indo-Mauritian   Sino-Mauritian   General Population 1962 Hindu   Muslim   Sino-Mauritian   General Population

One main feature of Mauritius's "rainbow society" is its ethnic, cultural, religious, and social heterogeneity. The Growing communalism and communalization of politics in the country, despite the image of a population living in harmony, is preoccupying especially as the Mauritian Constitution was drafted with special attention focused on maintaining the cultural and racial diversity of the island and was made to make ethnicity a central organizing principle of the state. The Constitution defines four categories of citizens according to communal membership: Hindu, Muslim, Chinese and General Population.

Further more, recently, Fathers Grégoire and Fanchette opened a debate as they wanted to classify people into more detailed ethnic and religious groups, changing the words General Population to Creoles and other Christians. This change could lead to many more requests, creating more conflicts. Once there is the category of Creole, surely, some people would feel that they are better represented by the term Afro-Kreol, Indo-Kreol, etc. Also, the other religious groups (Buddhists, Bahais, Atheists, etc) would eventually need to be represented…

The Constitution and its approach institutionalize ethnicity, differentiate citizens, stratify the Mauritian society and thus facilitate the existence of ethnic communities.

Best loser system

The Best loser system is a legalized practice of communalism. It involves the State in race and religious classification of candidates for General Election as these candidates, when they fill up the application form, have to indicate from which category they belong. Then, the system reserves eight seats for non-elected candidates who are part of ethnic or religious groups sub-represented by electoral vote.

It's an obstacle to national unity so are the four population categories as they render difficult the cultivation of patriotic sense of belonging to the Mauritian nation and as they facilitate discrimination between those groups.

What Rights?

International law guarantees human rights to all without distinctions based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of racial Discrimination (Mauritius ratified this Convention on May 30th 1972)
- Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice
- Convention against Discrimination in Education

Thus, racism is not the only fact of the State. It exists at all levels of the society. The fight against racism therefore is the responsibility of everyone.

What will the Amnesty International Mauritius Section do?

Communalism is one of the major social scourges of the Republic of Mauritius. Communalism will therefore be one of AIMS major struggles four years to come in order for us to forge a stronger identity on the local front. In this context, we just began a 3 year project which will lead us to longer term work on this crucial issue. We already started in April 2008 by presenting a theatre play, "Baraz". We will also organize and give training courses and discussion on this issue and develop a sensitization campaign in schools and around the country.