The renowned children and grand-children of Mahomed Osman

Mahomed Osman, arrived in Mauritius in February 1879, at the age of three only, is the 'founder' of the Osman family in Mauritius. He went to school, worked as timekeeper at the Bon Air Sugar Estate (next to Plaine des Papayes and Morcellement St André) in the north of the island, and got married successively four times after the death of the previous wives. A few of Mahomed's children and grand-children have shaped the history of Mauritius: Abdoollatif Mahomed Osman, Sir Abdool Raman Osman, Hossen Mahomed Osman and Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra. 

 

Mahomed Osman pictured at the age of 19.
No. 387456 was his Immigrant Number.
Source: MGI Archives (Mauritius).

 

Abdoollatif Mahomed Osman

Abdoollatif Mahomed Osman is first Minister of Agriculture of Mauritius. He was appointed Minister while the country was still a British colony. Abdoollatif, the eldest son of Mahomed, was also a a large landowner and he was known for his sugar estate at Belle Isle, Bambous. He was the one who helped to build the first mosque at Morcellement St André. A popular road in the town of Quatre-Bornes bears his name.

Sir Abdool Raman Osman

Sir Abdool Raman Osman is very well-known. He was a comrade of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Mauritius' first Premier and first Prime Minister. They went to the Royal College of Curepipe and travelled together to England by ship for their further studies. While Seewoosagur read medicine, Abdool Raman opted for law.

Abdool Raman is first Muslim lawyer and barrister in Mauritius, the first Muslim Supreme Court Judge and the first Mauritian Governor-General appointed three years after the Independence of the country. Sir Abdool Raman was passionate about botany and horticulture, and he settled in rural Le Goulet, Baie du Tombeau, where his iconic house stood at the intersection of a river and the sea. A State College in Phoenix has been named after him.

 Hossen Mahomed Osman

Hossen Mahomed Osman, the eldest son of Mahomed of his fourth marriage, is one of the very first Muslim attorneys in Mauritius. At the end of his life, he was the most senior attorney-in-law in the country. Hossen, also known as Dayas, is the first Town Clerk of the Municipality of Vacoas-Phoenix. A street in Vacoas, next to his house, bears his name.

 Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra

Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra, grand-daughter of Mahomed Osman, is the first female Muslim lawyer and barrister in Mauritius, the first female Muslim Member of the Legislative Assembly (now called MP), the first female Muslim Minister and Attorney-General, the first female Muslim Ambassador and also the first Ombudsperson for Children of the country.

"The Vigilant", la revue d'Abdool Raman Osman

Beaucoup ne savent pas qu'Abdool Raman Osman, premier gouverneur général mauricien et premier avocat musulman mauricien, avait fondé une revue en 1929 dont le premier numéro fut publié en juin 1929! Intitutlée, The Vigilant, la revue publiait des papiers d'opinion, de réflexion et d'analyse essentiellement, en anglais. Éditée et imprimée par Raoul Coquet de la Nouvelle Imprimerie Co-opérative de la rue Sir William Newton, à Port Louis, la publication se décrivait comme "une revue mensuelle consacrée à la littérature sociologique" (traduction).

 

Le premier numéro de la revue "The Vigilant", paru en juin 1929.

 

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Abdool Raman Osman is the son of Mahomed Osman.