Lalit
Encyclopedia
Lalit is a left political party
in Mauritius
. It is opposed to private or any other undemocratic control of the means of human survival on the planet. Lalit traces its origin to workers' and students' protests in the country in 1975.
The party opposes the Anglo-American occupation and military base on Diego Garcia
, outlying Mauritian island.
Lalit is working for an alternative political economy, towards care for ecology, against repression and torture, towards women's liberation and the emancipation of the Kreol language. Lalit strongly opposes communalism
and the use of ethno-religious labels for official purposes. Its candidates in the 2005 National Assembly elections each drew the legally compulsory classification he or she would use from a hat, regardless of candidate's actual supposed "ethnicity" or religion. The party failed to win seats in the Assembly.
Lalit has loose links with other left parties all over the world, with anti-war movements, women's associations, ecology groups, and with organizations against military bases world-wide.
It draws its inspiration from the broadest philosophical and political traditions that aim for individual human fulfillment for everyone in the context of a caring, peaceful society where avarice and war-mongering no longer have their place. Lalit builds on the collective experience of generations of disinherited people, including on their oral traditions. Lalit is also indebted to the dialectical way of thinking of the Orient, and to political thinkers from Europe like Karl Marx
, Rosa Luxembourg, Antonio Gramsci
, Leon Trotsky
, Raymond Williams
. African thinkers that influenced Lalit include Frantz Fanon
.
(Lalit's name means "struggle" in Mauritian Creole
and, as a happy coincidence, "beautiful" in Hindi.)
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. It is opposed to private or any other undemocratic control of the means of human survival on the planet. Lalit traces its origin to workers' and students' protests in the country in 1975.
The party opposes the Anglo-American occupation and military base on Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....
, outlying Mauritian island.
Lalit is working for an alternative political economy, towards care for ecology, against repression and torture, towards women's liberation and the emancipation of the Kreol language. Lalit strongly opposes communalism
Communalism
Communalism is a term with three distinct meanings according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary'.'These include "a theory of government or a system of government in which independent communes participate in a federation". "the principles and practice of communal ownership"...
and the use of ethno-religious labels for official purposes. Its candidates in the 2005 National Assembly elections each drew the legally compulsory classification he or she would use from a hat, regardless of candidate's actual supposed "ethnicity" or religion. The party failed to win seats in the Assembly.
Lalit has loose links with other left parties all over the world, with anti-war movements, women's associations, ecology groups, and with organizations against military bases world-wide.
It draws its inspiration from the broadest philosophical and political traditions that aim for individual human fulfillment for everyone in the context of a caring, peaceful society where avarice and war-mongering no longer have their place. Lalit builds on the collective experience of generations of disinherited people, including on their oral traditions. Lalit is also indebted to the dialectical way of thinking of the Orient, and to political thinkers from Europe like Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Rosa Luxembourg, Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
, Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
, Raymond Williams
Raymond Williams
Raymond Henry Williams was a Welsh academic, novelist and critic. He was an influential figure within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the mass media and literature are a significant contribution to the Marxist critique of culture and the arts...
. African thinkers that influenced Lalit include Frantz Fanon
Frantz Fanon
Frantz Fanon was a Martiniquo-Algerian psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and writer whose work is influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism...
.
(Lalit's name means "struggle" in Mauritian Creole
Mauritian Creole
Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. In addition to the French base of the language, there are also some words from English and from the many African and Asian languages that have been spoken on the island.- Sociolinguistic Situation :Mauritian Creole is the...
and, as a happy coincidence, "beautiful" in Hindi.)