The School of Indian Studies has traveled a long way since its inception. From a Unit with a skeleton staff involved in the production of teaching materials for the primary level, it has grown, today, into the most important School of the Institute with more than 30 highly qualified and trained academic staff at the Grade of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor.The School of Indian Studies comprises seven departments: Hindi Studies Department, Urdu Studies Department, Tamil Studies Department, Telegu Studies Department, Marathi Studies Department, the Department of Creative Writing and Publications and the Language Resource Centre. Each Department is headed by a Senior Lecturer and offers diploma, degree and post-degree programmes. Besides teaching, the staff members are also involved in supervision of students registered for M.Phil/Ph.D. Programmes of studies set up with the participation of renowned Indian experts in their respective languages are at par with those offered by other institutions of repute. These programmes include modules in areas related to language, literature, linguistics and philosophy. What is more, fields of study pertaining to aspects of Mauritian history and Society, information Technology and Media Studies have been included to ensure that prospective students develop an overall competence which will equip them for the demands of the job market.In so far as Teacher Education is concerned, the main activity is the Teacher Training Programme at primary and secondary levels run in collaboration with the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) for the Ministry of Education and Human Resources. The School also conducts the Advanced Certificate in Education Course and other ref4resher courses for the primary and secondary school teachers at the request of the Ministry.In the field of Research, studies undertaken by members of staff range from language teaching/learning and literature to advanced Sociological and Applied Linguistic studies. The School encourages its staff to embark on research projects individually or in teams. This activity helps the Departments in their mission and also constantly refreshes the staff in terms of know-how. As an academic body, the School often takes the initiatives of revisiting and reviewing its activities and academic programmes through seminars, workshops and brainstorming sessions.Thanks to this philosophy of constant growth, the services of the staff of the School are today much sought after by the public and private institutions in a multiplicity of academic fields. They are involved, for example, in the setting up and moderation of examination papers prepared at the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate as well as the marking and analysis of scripts at various levels.The expertise and experience of the Departments are also solicited by institutions in the South West Indian ocean region. The School of Indian Studies also provides support to Indian Culture, philosophy and collaborates with various socio-cultural bodies in enhancing the quality of their input. To broaden its perspectives and join the main stream of the development at a more global level, the Departments have established links with various universities outside Mauritius. Join us. It will be an experience of enrichment. More details about the seven departments are as follows:

Dr. R. Gokhool, Senior Lecturer

Mr A. Ramtally, Senior Lecturer

Mrs S. Rasmally, Lecturer

Miss Z. Joomun, Lecturer

Dr. J. Chemen, Senior Lecturer

Mrs U.D. Allaghery, Lecturer

Mrs S. Manikkam, Lecturer

Mrs K. Mooneegadoo, Lecturer

Mrs Madhumati Koonjul, M.A - Lecturer

Tel.: (230) 403 2000, (230) 2022

The Department of Creative Writing and Publications forms part of the School of Indian Studies.  It is actively involved in promoting and disseminating creative writing in Hindi for the general public and also contributes to maintaining the dynamism of both writing and reading Hindi.  The department represents a perspective in anthologies and magazines produced, the promotion of publication through competitive schemes and the promotion of translation for the important work of comparative Mauritian literature.  The Department’s regular publications are Vasant and Rimjhim.

Mrs S.D. Ancharaz Nawosah (Lecturer)

The Language Resource Centre forms part of the School of Indian Studies.  It was set up following  a memorandum of understanding between the Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) and the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in August 2006.  The idea of setting up a Language Resource Centre (LRC) emerged from discussion for the development of a language industry in Mauritius.  The Ministry of Education gave its approval for the Language Resource Centre to be based at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, given the fact that the MGI caters for 9 languages on its campus.  The 3 main pillars of Language Resource centre are Language Pedagogy, Development of new tools for Language Teaching and Research to respond to the needs of policy matters, language planners and language users.

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Central Institute of Indian Languages to help the Mahatma Gandhi Institute to plan, design and implement various projects decided jointly by the two institutions. The Government of India, through the Central Institute of Indian Languages, has also sanctioned a grant for the promotion of Indian Languages and Culture to be used by the LRC. At present, the Language Resource Centre has 18 computers and is operating with a skeleton staff comprising 1 senior lecturer, 1 lecturer, 1 confidential secretary and 1 clerical officer. Activities regarding capacity building, development of teaching/ learning materials and research have already started. In this regard, three workshops have been organised as per 'Project Advisory Committee'. Six panels for textbook writing have been set up and the activities have already started. A research team is currently working on a research project 'Patterns of Borrowing in Mauritian Bhojpuri.' The Language Resource Centre is meant to bring the added value needed to various language activities in Mauritius.