Dr. Sarita Boodhoo

Dr. Sarita Boodhoo is a social activist, writer, and journalist, well versed in Indology and Indian diasporic studies. She has an in-depth knowledge of Bhojpuri language, culture, and heritage, having conducted significant grassroots research in the Bhojpuri belt of India and elsewhere, and her publications from this work are widely cited and well received by academics, linguists, and researchers worldwide.

Dr Boodhoo established the Mauritius Bhojpuri Institute as an NGO in 1982. As Founder Director she presented several ballets, conducted Bhojpuri Weeks across Mauritius, and produced recordings, helping bring esteem to the Bhojpuri language, its folklore and oral traditions, and ensuring their transmission. She took the initiative to research the first settlement of Girmitiyas at Antoinette Phooliyar, where she created a temporary immigrant village and organised a major seven-day national celebration, and was instrumental in proposing to the National Organising Committee the establishment of a monument dedicated to the Girmitiyas there.