ALIF Society

OBITUARY
Dr. Mohamed Ebrahim Iqbal Ghanty
Iqbal Ghanty, a laureate of the Classics side of the 1960s, was strongly advised by his family to study medicine in England. How could it be otherwise? Families wanted to carve a name in society and one sure way was to have a professional carrying the name, namely a lawyer, but more preferably, a doctor.
Iqbal obliged. No son worthy of the name would dare go against the wish of the father. And he blazed the trail and returned to his native land with an MBBS. He opened his clinic, adjacent to that of Dr. Atchia, his father-in-law, on Desforges Street. At first, the going was slow, which allowed him to read his most preferred paper, the Manchester Guardian.
Iqbal was an avid reader and a practicing Muslim: during Ramadan, he would read the whole Quran several times and kept a prayer rug in the cupboard of his office. He had a keen interest in local affairs and would discuss local politics with his patients with similar interests.
Gradually and slowly, this “timid” man became a fixture in Desforges Street. His waiting room overflowed and patients had to queue up in the shade of the Dauphine mango tree. As a professional with British bedside manners, he would take a long time to diagnose his visitors so much so that his patients started complaining about the duration of diagnostic. However, the treatment prescribed gave satisfactory results and became the talk of the town. Iqbal had won the hearts of his patients and become a most popular name in the field of private medicine.
Iqbal used to take two hours off for lunch which allowed him to exercise, lunch and pray Zuhr. During one of his exercises, he told me, he used to jump from a certain height without realising he was no longer 18. He damaged his back and could no longer walk upright. He decided to reduce his professional commitments to finally retire. I felt strongly about this decision and told him so, believing that he was duty bound to serve humanity with the gift that the Almighty had bestowed on him. And I was pleased he followed my advice as more and more lives were saved.
Iqbal’s health deteriorated slowly as he was getting less “young” and finally passed away peacefully and was laid to rest in Riche Terre cemetery after Asr on Thursday 26 March 2026. So long my dear friend and doctor. I am convinced that you have been blessed also by the multitude of those on whose faces you have put a smile during their sufferings. May Allah swt give you Jannat-ul-Firdaus.
Dawood Auleear

La France ne doit jamais laisser ses amis douter de son amitié…
Monsieur le Président de la République française,
Il y a 35 ans, le président François Mitterrand, affectueusement surnommé Tonton, posait le pied sur le sol mauricien. Depuis, les Mauriciens se demandaient si la boussole de la diplomatie française n’avait pas perdu le cap.
L’annonce de votre visite est une bouffée d’air frais, qui ravive l’espoir d’un partenariat renouvelé entre la France et l’île Maurice.
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La France ne doit jamais laisser ses amis douter de son amitié, surtout ceux qui la connaissent depuis ses premières heures d’existence. L’adage dit que l’absence fait l’oubli, or les liens tissés entre nos deux pays méritent d’être entretenus avec constance.
Comme le reste du monde, nous avons traversé une période difficile avec la pandémie de Covid-19. Notre insouciance face à la pandémie a aggravé notre situation économique.
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Les jeux géopolitiques dans l’océan Indien nous inquiètent. Vers qui nous tourner ? Qui seront nos alliés en ces temps incertains ? Historiquement, la France a toujours été à nos côtés.
Lorsque le sucre, notre plante nourricière, était en danger, la France nous a soutenus en alignant les prix sur ceux dont bénéficiaient les producteurs de betterave. Pour lancer notre industrie touristique, un pilier de notre économie, tout le glitterati français s’était déplacé sur notre sol pour en assurer la promotion.
Dans ce contexte, de nombreux Mauriciens s’interrogeaient sur le silence récent de la France.
Cette visite présidentielle dissipe ces doutes et confirme que notre relation est vivante.
Alors, nous vous accueillons avec un immense plaisir, au nom de cette relation née à l’époque de l’Isle de France et qui perdure. Une relation faite de respect, de coopération et de confiance.
Certes, la durée de cette visite est courte, mais l’essentiel est ailleurs : dans la profondeur et la sincérité de nos échanges. Nous souhaitons que les accords à venir témoignent d’une volonté commune d’avancer ensemble, dans une logique gagnant-gagnant, que le volet culturel ait une place de choix dans les discussions bilatérales, car nous croyons que la culture est un pilier fondamental du lien entre les peuples et mérite évidemment une place de choix dans nos accords de coopération.
Monsieur le Président, avec l’aide précieuse de pays amis, et en premier lieu la France, l’île Maurice a su poser les bases d’un modèle démocratique et résilient. Aujourd’hui, alors que nous aspirons à un avenir plus prospère, nous espérons pouvoir compter sur la France pour rester à nos côtés face aux défis à venir.
Nous saluons enfin chaleureusement la délégation qui vous accompagne, et nous vous souhaitons à toutes et à tous un excellent séjour parmi nous,
De la part de ceux qui œuvrent avec détermination au succès de la coopération entre nos deux pays.
Dans l’espoir que cette visite renforcera les liens entre nos deux pays, je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur le Président de la République, l’expression de ma haute considération.
Vive la France ! Vive l’île Maurice !
DAWOOD AULEEAR
Président
Président ALIF Society
Ile Maurice

Mr. Indrarjeet Babooa, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius to Ethiopia presenting copies of credentials to Aziza Geleta,the Director General of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.
The Mauritian diplomat, has a crucial role to play as the newly appointed Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union for engaging with the AU on governance, peace, security and development issues across Africa.

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His Excellency Mr. Fayez Meshel B. ALTEMYAT,
Ambassador of the KSA in Mauritius,
Dear Ambassador,
On 26th September you will be hosting Mauritian guests at a reception to celebrate your first Public Holiday to commemorate the establishment of the Saudi State. Your guests will miss the folk music and dance, your traditional food and drink and fireworks which form part of your celebrations in your land.
Many Mauritians already realise the importance of your country: the second biggest in proven oil reserve, with a young and dynamic population, your ambitious development projects and the influence you have in the Muslim World.
Your leverage on the world economy cannot be ignored: your judicious intervention to stabilize the price of petroleum ensures stability of the world economy and all eyes are turned towards Riyad expecting your signal to bring peace in your region when the Israeli genocide does not give any sign of ending.
The Muslims are looking with excitement upon HRH, Mohammad Bin Salman 2030 Vision, proposing to accommodate 30m Umrah pilgrims while improving Makkah’s Road and railway connectivity with the rest of the Kingdom. We understand that you will have to expand the Haram and areas around it for accommodation and to allow the expected 2m people pray simultaneously and comfortably in air-conditioned spaces when they leave their world class hotels. They will have the pleasure to visit leisurely uncrowded streets of eco-friendly and world class Makkah.
The focal point on Saudi Arabia remains your Vision 2030 which is an ambitious program of modernisation of your economy, your tourism, your leisure industry, other novel industries, to create over 1m jobs to benefit your growing young population,
Unifying a nation to lead it to modernisation is a Herculean process. Undeniably, you are writing a new chapter in your history. We would like to wish you well in your new adventure and success in your quest to stand at the 62nd place in the group of developed countries.
Long Live Saudi Arabia.
20 September 2025

There was a 23-minute standing ovation along with chants of ‘Free Palestine’ at the Venice Film Festival premiere of The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film recounting the harrowing final moments of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.