This article covers the historical origins of the Indian-origin community in Mauritius, cultural institutions supported by India, youth exchanges, scholarships and the Indian community in Mauritius today. The information comes from the MEA bilateral brief on India and Mauritius of April 2026.

An Indian-origin population

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, a key reason for the special ties between the two countries is that Indian origin people comprise nearly 70% of the island's population of 1.2 million. The brief gives the other groups as 28% Creole, 3% Sino-Mauritian and 1% Franco-Mauritian.

Historical origins

Under the nearly century-long French rule, the first Indians were brought to Mauritius from the Puducherry region in 1729, to work as artisans and masons. Under British rule, about half a million Indian indentured workers were brought to Mauritius between 1834 and the early 1900s, and about two-thirds of them settled permanently.

The first batch of these workers, 36 persons, arrived in Mauritius on November 2, 1834 on board the ship 'Atlas'. The day is now observed in Mauritius as 'Aapravasi Diwas'.

Cultural institutions

India established the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture (IGCIC) in 1987. The brief describes it as India's largest cultural centre abroad, and elsewhere calls the Indian Cultural Centre in Mauritius India's biggest in the world. The IGCIC holds classes in Hindustani music, Kathak, Tabla and Yoga for over 2,500 Mauritian students every year.

The Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) was established in 1976 as a joint venture between India and Mauritius to promote Indian culture, and was set up with Indian assistance to promote the study of Indian culture, languages and Indology. It hosts the ICCR Chairs in Sanskrit and Indian Philosophy and in Hindi.

The Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI) was established with Indian assistance in 2000 as a Centre of Studies on Indian culture and traditions.

Mauritius also hosts the World Hindi Secretariat, a bilateral India-Mauritius organisation for the global promotion of Hindi. It was constructed with Indian funding and inaugurated during the visit of President Kovind in March 2018.

The brief states that the enduring cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries are nurtured by these institutions, together with over a hundred Mauritian socio-cultural organisations that preserve and promote Indian heritage and culture in Mauritius.

Youth exchanges

Since 2004, approximately 393 young people from Mauritius have taken part in 65 batches of the Know India Programme (KIP) of the Ministry of External Affairs.

Since August 2022, Mauritius has regularly taken part in the NCC Republic Day Camp as part of a Youth Exchange Programme, and has sent 46 young Mauritians in total. Since March 2025, Mauritius has been conducting an annual reciprocal youth exchange programme, in which 16 NCC cadets and 3 supervisors have taken part so far.

Scholarships and study in India

The brief lists the following schemes for Mauritian students:

  • ICCR India-Africa Maitri Scholarship Scheme: 40 scholarships each year for higher education in India.
  • Lata Mangeshkar Dance and Music Scholarship Scheme: 10 slots each year for study in fields tied to Indian culture.
  • e-Vidya Bharti Arogya Bharti (e-VBAB): scholarships for distance learning since 2020, with 86, 174, 229 and 53 enrolments in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively.
  • CV Raman Fellowship for African Researchers: funded by the Department of Science and Technology, MEA and FICCI; eight Mauritians have availed of it since 2010.

In addition, about 200 Mauritian students enrol in Indian universities every year on a self-financing basis.

The Indian community today

According to the brief, there are 26,786 Indian nationals and 16,877 OCI card holders currently in Mauritius. Changes to OCI eligibility for Mauritians of Indian lineage are described in this guide's practical article.