Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

The majority of the worlds societies are structured around one or more divisions and hence, by default, everyone has to experience the divisions their particular society prioritizes. The Mauritian society, from a social perspective, is known to be multi-lingual, multi racial and multi cultural and generally there is an awareness of these differences. Mauritius is credited with a good record of stable and dynamic democracy. This work seeks to analyse whether conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multi cultural societies, taking Mauritius as an example. In a global world we are all living, with an upward movement of migration, the consolidation and debates on cultural identity and multi-culturalism is on rise. Multi-culturalism can be defined as a doctrine that gives right to those ethnic groups that are culturally different from the mainstream culture of its particular society (Bilkiss Atchia). According to Eriksen, a successful society is one where individual rights are balances with tolerance and cultural diversity, where religious differences go along with economic growth, patriotism prevails, where inter-ethnic marriages are accepted readily and where no single ethnic group would be said to have taken over the whole state apparatus. Mauritius is a multi ethnic and multi cultural state with more than a million populations. For some historical reasons, Mauritius contains a population ethnically very diversified, with four main religions and no indigenous population. There exist normally four main types of ethnic community in Mauritius, illustrated as follows:Hindus Muslims Creole Chinese
Source: CSO website (census 2000)

51.2% 17.1% 30.2% 0.7%

As being seen from this table, we can find the percentage of population of different ethnic groups. Mauritius is therefore, undeniably a multi-ethnic country where these ethnic groups live in peace and harmony generally. Respect of different cultural and religious practices is a basic principle of Mauritian life and is guaranteed by the Constitution. As Eriksen (1998) states: the kind of socio-cultural complexity peculiar to Mauritius, compared to virtually and ethnically less
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Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

heterogeneous society, is the kind of complexity that entails more than a score of national holidays. It can also be pointed out that the social organization of the Mauritian population continues to evolve on parallel lines go back to colonial days. On an individual basis, it is hardly found that two people are always agreeing with each other. There is always a sort of conflict in ideas and tensions whenever more than one people are concerned in whatever issue. Now coming to a society, even if a society is mono-ethnic, conflict and tension within it is bound to happen at any point of time. Thus, it becomes quite obvious that conflicts and tensions are well present or inevitable in a multicultural society like Mauritius. In fact, there have been several cases where ethnic tension has been severely felt in the Mauritian community. The functionalist school of thought posits that multi-cultural societies reduces consensus, increases the chances of conflict and threatens the equilibrium of a society but it also promotes group formation and cohesion which are good for the well functioning of the society. Thus, as per the functionalists, multi-cultural societies help maintain a democratic order. On the other side, conflict theories say that prejudice and discrimination can best be understood in terms of tension and conflict among competing groups in multi-cultural societies. Several authors have tried to explain the cause of the rise of tension in societies. The American Sociologist Merton has developed the thesis that anomie in society results from the imperfect co-ordination between means and goals. According to him, anomie has resulted from the rising aspirations of oppressed and/or underprivileged groups. It is the authors thesis that solution of problems of race antagonism is dependent on acknowledgement of their existence and of the social/cultural and political reasons underlying tensions. Willingness to recognize the existence of problems in race relations may require willingness to meet the rising aspirations of previously submerged racial groups and to deal with the conflicting nationalist aspirations of ethnic minorities. At this point, it becomes quite clear that tensions arise in multi-cultural societies because there is always one dominant group gaining all the benefits all the time at the expense of an oppressed group. This feeling of hostility and alienation leads to
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Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

tensions within the society; when the minority group feels they are being marginalized and there is no such thing as social integration for them. Mauritius has witnessed many events which had revealed that ethnicity as a factor can be a very sensitive topic to the Mauritian society. It sometimes appears still taboo in the society. The society is fragile of ethnic cohesion as this can manifest in riots:In October 1956 there was the beginning of a riot between the admirers of Marshal and those who favoured MaoTse Tung; in 1956 there was racial tension of political nature; in 1968 there was racial rioting between the Creole and the Muslims. Educational decisions such as the introduction of oriental language did create a tension in the society. In October 1998, the Central Bank of Mauritius issued newly printed ban notes which positioned Tamil scripts after that of the Hindu and they became very infuriated. In sports there are cultural and ethnic tensions as well. The Muslims people once openly supported the zamaleck (Egyptian team) and this broke out into a riot on this event. Eriksen (1989) points out that the diverse groups populating the island do not collectively make up a nation. The few examples mentioned above are the proof that cultural tensions are well present in the Mauritian society. This led Eriksen (1996) to the observation that Mauritian society can be a very fragile one. Remarkable though Mauritius maybe in its relative ethnic tranquility against every odd as it were, there is always latent tension, which manifests in particular situations. We have already, from a functionalist point of view, shown that conflicts are inevitable in multi-cultural societies. That is they serve certain purpose for the well-being of the society even if it sounds ironic. But the question that arises beyond this point is that, are conflicts and tensions really inevitable in multi-cultural societies? Do they serve the purpose of specific groups of that society? Can they be avoided or resolved? How do these conflict and tensions arise? To answer these questions, we shall now adopt a much Marxist point of view by limiting ourselves to the Mauritian society. The history of Mauritius bears evidence that the first factor that led the ethnic and cultural diversity and tensions is colonization. Ever since colonization, Mauritius has continued to perpetuate ethnic, racial and cultural inequalities through differential treatment of ethnic or cultural groups. In some way or the other,
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Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

colonization ensured a persistence of the marginalization of certain ethnic groups across several generations. The most affected ethnic group in Mauritius is the Creole community who do not enjoy much social tolerance as compared to other community groups. In Mauritius, where a highly developed form of multi-cultural pluralism has become the modus Vivendi of the society, Creoles of African descent have developed the weakest sense of group identity among the various cultural communities (William F.S Milles). The Creole people have been the most laborious people during the preindependence period. They have endured several types of atrocities. After independence, they adopted a much more relaxed life and suited themselves among coastal areas. Meanwhile indentured labourers from Asian countries were brought and gradually stepped in politics also. It can be seen from history that Creoles were marginalized mainly for political reasons. If one does not have a say at the top, he will not be able to make his voice heard; in the case of the Creole community, the political parties formed to combat the difficulties endured by the minority group did not get much visibility. Politics has a great role to play in the marginalization of the Creole community (William F.S Miles). The Malaise Creole in February 1999 explain the deplorable plight of some sections of the Creole community and it is regarded as a major cause of social explosion. However, much smaller groups managed to make themselves visible, for example Franco-Mauritians and the Sino-Mauritians but the Creoles remained the largest single minority group in the country. In addition to that the Mauritian constitution adopted the best loser system within the parliament to ensure the representation of minority groups. This system continues to show its success and it has helped to allay Creole and Muslims against the fear of the Hindu political monopoly. Mauritian politics is identity politics in the sense that the ethnic identity of voters is crucial for their voting behaviours. The best loser system, with all its negative connotations like culturally demeaning, should not be banned unless the electoral reform comes with another measure that ensures the voice of the minority groups. If a substitute cannot be found, then the best loser system must be maintained at all cost.

Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

History sheds light on the fact that just after independence, tensions on the basis of race, ethnicity or culture was not the problem. Every community was in touch of their culture but this was not affecting the Mauritian social fabric. There was the sense of sharing and co-operation among the Mauritians. People were living in peace and harmony. If there was any problem, it was with the one at the top. The mass were somewhat against the ruling politicians because it was flagrant that the political were not fighting for the cause and welfare of the poor people. Thus, it was easier and more profitable for the politicians to spread misunderstandings and tensions among the mass instead of them reacting against the former. Consequently, conflicts and tensions started taking place in the face of ethnicity and race. People started giving the ethnic appurtenance great importance. This was put in front of everything and the sense of Mauritian-ness started drowning. These tensions among the people on the island were needed for the sustenance of the political parties at the top. For them to maintain their positions, conflicts among the common people were important. It is from then on that ethnic appurtenance started taking another face. This is why nowadays we can see many groups like voice of Hindu, Muslim union and so on. At the end of the day, would it not be more appropriate to qualify social tensions, instead of a reaction against communities within the country, to that of a product by the politicians! The fresh news of the PPS Dhiraj Khamajeet and the Med-point issue, speak for themselves that Mauritius is under the rule of what kind of political figures. Recent ethnic unrest in Mauritius includes those of other ethnic community as well. The Creole community is not the only one who has the feeling that they are living in minority in the country. Not very far though, the Muslim community united because there were complaints that their call to prayer was disturbing the latter. This became another issue which provoked hostile feelings among the Muslim community. Now, very recently as well, a law was to be passed that Mauritians of Muslim faith performing the slaughtering of cows in their backward should be in possession of a license in order to do so. This is another example of marginalization which can have severe unwanted impacts. A different anecdote is the case of light ministries. What was supposed to be a big concert by a well known comedian in Triolet to mark Mauritius Independence celebration surprisingly turned a mere
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Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

tactic to lure the Hindus to Christianity. This, again, provoked social unrest in the country for some days. Mauritians tend to say that they are proud to be Mauritians and are proud to live in a society where peace and harmony prevail. However, none will refuse to live in such a society where only their specific group reside in; mono-ethnic society. But as Mauritians have no choice than living together, some efficient measures must be adopted to that they all live in peace and harmony in its real sense. The first and foremost suggestion is good governance. The governments vision 2020 report states that we achieved economic success partly because of the strength of our welfare system. For it is free education, social security and health and welfare services which have given the high education levels, high health standards and above all the exceptional social cohesion which have underpinned our past economic development. Despite the positive depiction of Mauritius, it also faces a lot of social challenges like drug abuse, alcoholism, violence, sexual assaults and others. Many social problems arise because of poverty and exclusion. If poverty hits particular groups with a small multi-ethnic society, the country runs the risk of having to face diverse forms of conflicts and interculturality becomes threatened. Interculturality can be genuine if social justice prevails which again goes back to good governance. The violence of February 1999 can perhaps be attributed to the growing poverty and inequality. In multi ethnic societies there is higher need to create higher level of cultural convergences otherwise class or ethnic tensions may exacerbate. The Creole community is by far the one endowed with least resources and enjoy little opportunities. In a period of growing inequality and wealth getting accumulated in the hands of a few, interculturality is under great strain. They are heavily underrepresented in the public sphere and that opportunities are not the same in the supposedly democratic society we are living in. therefore, there is a need to develop cohesiveness and truly be a multi cultural society, equal opportunities must be given to everyone on the basis of meritocracy. Interculturality has not been given enough attention in Mauritius. It has always had like a taboo connotation. But the solution does not lie in suppressing the subject. This prevents the emergence of a Mauritian culture (Bunwaree). The fact that much
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Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

emphasis has been put on unity in diversity brought us to the situation we are in today. We ultimately found ourselves in the coexistence of diverse groups with very little relevant interaction, understanding and appreciation of the Other. The kind of social unrest we had to face sheds light on the importance people place on their ethnic identity and the threat it poses on social cohesion. Our education system is yet problematic. It fails to develop a strong Mauritian identity and contributes to the exclusion of many. If disparities persist on the island, this can be crucial for the economy whose education system fails to develop a sense of Mauritian-ness and emphasis competition. The syllabus has to be revisited and appropriate measures must be taken to avoid exclusion and prevent eliticism. Also, intolerance for human diversity, especially ethnic differences result in civil unrest. Thus, fostering social tolerance could help ease these tensions and create an environment conducive to economic growth. Well-informed policies need to be formulated to facilitate this. As conclusion it can be said that Mauritius addresses the inherent inequality of the system, promote a culture of sustainable human rights and ensures that the acceptance of other cultural groups takes a new importance, interculturality will remain nothing but a myth and development itself will not be on the right track. Everything might just break down again in the long run. Ending this essay on these powerful quotes

Beware the fury of the patient man Dryen, English poet. Respect existence or expect resistence Unknown author.

References

Conflict and tensions are functional and inevitable in multicultural societies.

Paul DArcy, Alastair Grig and Mark Turner. (2010), Island universals and local context in development agendas: Mauritius and social theory.

Sheila S. Bunwaree. (2002), Economics, conflits and interculturality in a small island state: The case of Mauritius. Volume 9, Numero Special. University of Mauritius.

Bilkiss Atchia-Emmerich (2005), La situation linguistique l Maurice. le Les dveloppements rcents la lumire dune enqute empirique.

Patricia N. Day-Hookoomsing (2000), Leadership Training for Improved in a Post-Colonial Multicultural Society. Volume 20 Number 8.

Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Ethnicity, Nationalismm and Minority Rights. Cambridge University press.

William F.S Miles (1999), The Creole Malaise in Mauritius. African Affairs, Vol. 98, No. 391 (Apr., 1999), pp. 211-228. L. Amedee Darga, (1998), Mauritius: Governance Challenges in Sustained Democracy in a Plural Society.