What can a nation expect when it sends a bunch of communalistic minds to negotiate its independence? A permanent heartache for itself.

This is what the Chagos has become for us. And this pain is understandably more acute for the Chagossians . In the not too distant future there is the chance we will compound this pain by adding that of the Agaleans to it because it will be the same type of poisoned minds which will decide their fate. History always repeats itself.

Did we not have world war two after world war one? Some are saying that world war three is overdue! For more than four decades we refuse to admit that Mauritius chief negotiator, being more concerned with his own interests and those of his community, made a decision that tainted our independence forever. Without the Chagos we do not feel completely free and our Independence Day will be forever not a totally joyous day. There is an indelible stain on our flag. Why not accept and forget this stain and move on? Why do we go out of our way to turn the knife in the wound?

We think that the stain can be washed away with all kinds of legal gymnastics, protests both at the local and international level and online. But the world has not changed to our advantage with regard to the Chagos. Nowadays natural resources are scarcer. We will never be given the key to decrypt what we willingly allowed others to encrypt. Unfortunately our chief negotiator''''s brain was devoid of vision. When are we going to realise that it is simply too late?. God only knows why we cannot accept this fact and stop behaving like an ''enemy'', uttering unfriendly words like ''military squatters'' and ''why don''t they get the hell out of there'' etc etc. Is this the way a mouse tickles an elephant to stimulate it to cough up some concessions? Let''s beware of the destructive force of nationalism. Watch out if the US loses patience with us one day! As China and India compete with each other to spread their influence in this part of the world, I am of the opinion that future generations of mauritians will become apprehensive of both. And we will be thankful that a US presence is located strategically not too far away ready to curtail the ambitions of both.

It is interesting to read that the Chagossians  seem to be moving away from the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos (…donnant l’impression que les Chagossians  préfèrent la formule du droit de s’autodéterminer) and would prefer to fend for themselves if given the opportunity. Is this the seed of a new country in the Indian Ocean in the unlikely event that the US vacates Diego Garcia? The Chagossians  are slowly seeing the light. With Mauritius calling the tune they most probably will cop a second dose of pain…. coming from the East this time!

One gets the feeling that they don''t trust Mauritius anymore and the ONLY reason for this is communalism and caste-ism. They are also aware that the government is using their sorrow to bolster its case for the return of these islands. It will continue to waste taxpayers money until the East (hopefully India) becomes the world''s top dog. But this could take a hundred years or more. So why don''t they protest about out chronic water shortage instead, the fixing of which, unlike the Chagos problem, is not a pipe-dream.

Nagarjuna