Kher Jagatsingh

Keharsingh Jagatsingh, more commonly known as Sir Kher Jagatsingh (23 July 1931 – 19 July 1985) was a Mauritian politician and Labour Party (Mauritius) minister.[1]

Sir

Keharsingh Jagatsingh

Knights Bachelor, MP
Minister of Education
In office
1977–1982
Minister of Planning & Economic Development
In office
1967–1976
Member of Parliament
In office
1959–1963
Personal details
Born(1931-07-23)23 July 1931
Punjab, British India
Died19 July 1985(1985-07-19) (aged 53)
England
Political partyMauritian Labour Party
OccupationJournalist

Early life

Keharsingh was born in India, the 14th child of a family of 16 children.[2] The family migrated to Mauritius and his father was a prison warden at Beau Bassin who retired in 1940. Although he did not attend secondary school Keharsingh joined the Teachers Training College in 1950, but left for the Civil Service where he worked as clerk in the Ministry of Health before starting a newspaper.[3]

Political career

As a young journalist of Mauritius Times Jagatsingh was mentored by social worker Bikramsingh Ramlallah who was also later elected to parliament in 1959. At the 1959 elections Jagatsingh was elected in Constituency No.40 Petite Rivière.[4][5] Labourite Guy Forget (Mauritius) encouraged Jagatsingh to join politics.[6] However at the October 1963 general elections Jagatsingh was not elected to Legislative Council as he was defeated by his rival Noutun Parsad Puduruth at Constituency No.40 Petite Rivière.[7] At the General Elections held on 7 August 1967 Kher Jagatsingh was elected to Parliament in Constituency No.10 Montagne Blanche-Grand Rivière Sud Est (GRSE). In 1967 he campaigned under the banner of the Independence Party(coalition of IFB-Labour-CAM) with his running mates Satcam Boolell and Abdool Wahab Foondun within Constituency No.10.[8] He became Minister of Planning & Economic Development until 1976. He was not elected at the 1976 General Elections although his running mate Satcam Boolell and rivals Ramduth Jadoo and Jagdish Goburdhun were elected in Constituency No.10.[9] But in 1977 he became Member of Parliament without any elections following the resignation of Heeralall Bhugaloo, the Minister of Education under the Labour government.

From 1977 onwards Sir Kher Jagatsingh was Minister of Education. He implemented "free education" throughout the island of Mauritius to fulfill the electoral promises of his leader Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam in response to the major disturbance caused by the 1975 Mauritian student protests. As a result, school fees were abolished for all secondary schools and the quality of education was improved. However following the electoral defeat at the 1982 General Elections Sir Kher Jagatsingh retired from politics. He died on 19 July 1985 in England.[10]

Publications

In 1954 Kher Jagatsingh was a co-founder of the weekly newspaper Mauritius Times.[11] Jagatsingh wrote a book titled "Petals of dust" which was published in Mauritius in 1981.[12][13]

Recognition

Kher Jagatsingh was knighted in December 1980. Other Mauritians who received the same title in 1980 were Gaetan Duval and Rabindranath Ghurburrun.[14] In 1967 the Sir Kher Jagatsing Training Centre (SKJTC) was established in the town of Beau Bassin. The technical institution offers training programmes to develop skilled tradesmen for the construction sector such as electricians, plumbers, welders, masons, scaffolders and wood workers.[15]

References
  1. "Il y a 41 ans, le 15 janvier 1977: Kher Jagatsingh remplace Heeralall Bhugaloo comme ministre de l'Education". www.lexpress.mu. L'Express. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. Gordon-Gentil, Alain. "Le mauricianisme selon Kher Jagatsingh (2006)". L'Express. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. Kalla, Abdool Cader. "Mauritius:Curriculum Reform in the Process of Decolonisation". www.academia.edu. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  4. "Results of 1959 elections". Office of Electoral Commissioner. Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  5. "Results of 1959 elections". Office of Electoral Commissioner. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  6. Gordon-Gentil, Alain. "Le mauricianisme selon Kher Jagatsingh (2006)". L'Express. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  7. "Results of 1963 General Elections". Office of the Electoral Commissioner. Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  8. "Results of 1967 elections". Office of Electoral Commissioner. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. "Results of 1976 elections at Constituency No.10". Office of Electoral Commissioner. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  10. "Il y a 33 ans: un dernier hommage à Sir Kher Jagatsingh". lexpress.mu. L'Express. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  11. KALLA, Abdool Cader. "Mauritius:Curriculum Reform in the Process of Decolonisation". www.academia.edu. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  12. Jagatsingh, Kher (1981). "Petals of dust".
  13. "Le mauricianisme selon Kher Jagatsingh (2006)". lexpress.mu. L'Express. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  14. "The London Gazette 30 December 1980" (PDF). www.thegazette.co.uk.
  15. "Sir Kher Jagatsingh Air Training Centre". www.mitd.mu. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
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