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The Hindu
The Hindu
National
PTI

Mauritius grants special break to officials for Ram temple inauguration

In a significant move, the Mauritian Government has decided to grant a one-off special leave for two hours to public servants of the Hindu faith to attend prayers marking the "landmark" inauguration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

The Pran Pratishtha at the Ram temple will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders. The ceremony will be telecast live.

"Cabinet has agreed to the grant of a one-off special leave of two hours on Monday 22 January 2024 from 1400 hours to public officers of Hindu faith, subject to exigencies of service, in the context of the inauguration of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir in India, which is a landmark event as it symbolises the return of Lord Ram in Ayodhya," the Mauritian Cabinet led by Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said in a statement on Friday.

Also Read | Ayodhya temple receives 2,100-kg bell, 108-feet-long incense stick, other gifts from across the world

Hinduism is the largest religion in Mauritius, with Hindus representing approximately 48.5% of the population in 2011.

Mauritius is the only country in Africa where Hinduism is the most practised religion. In terms of percentage, the nation ranks third globally in the prevalence of Hinduism, following Nepal and India.

Hinduism came to Mauritius when Indians were brought as indentured labour to colonial French and later in much larger numbers to British plantations in Mauritius and neighbouring islands of the Indian Ocean.

The migrants came primarily from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

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