Anil Gayan

Gayan in 2015

Anil Kumarsingh Gayan (born 22 October 1948 in Triolet, Mauritius) is a Mauritian politician and lawyer.

Early life, education and marriage

Anil Gayan's ancestors migrated from India when the island was a British colony. He is the son of Socile Boolell (Sir Satcam Boolell's sister) and bus driver Deokaran Gayan.[1] Gayan completed his secondary education at Royal College Port Louis and was awarded a scholarship in 1968 to study in England as a "laureate". He studied law at the London School of Economics and University of London until 1974.[2][3]

Gayan married Sooryakanti Nirsimloo, an academic of the MGI, whose younger sister is writer Ananda Devi Nirsimloo-Anenden.[4][5]

Political career

He was the foreign minister of Mauritius from 1983[6] until 1986 and from September 2000 until a cabinet reshuffle in December 2003.

In 2009, he formed a new group called FNM (Front National Mauricien) in preparation for the by-elections during which he challenged rival cousins Pravind Jugnauth and Ashock Jugnauth. FNM had activist Atma Doolooa as deputy leader, barrister Ashley Hurrunghee as president, and comedian Hassen Rojoa as general secretary. However, Gayan was defeated at the Constituency No.8 by-elections when the FNM participated in such events.[7][8][9]

Gayan later joined the Muvman Liberater (a splinter group of the MMM) and was elected in the 2014 general elections in Constituency No. 20 (Beau Bassin-Petite Rivière). He was part of Cabinet as Minister of Health (2014-2017) and then as Minister of Tourism (2017-2019).[10]

Legal career

In 1974, Gayan joined the Attorney General’s Chambers as Crown Counsel. Since 1995 Gayan has been a Senior Counsel.[11]

In 2008, he was part of United Nations mediation in Guinea-Bissau. Gayan led a 20-member African Union group of observers during the 2010 Rwanda elections.[12]

Controversies

In 2015, the appointment of the head of the Cardiac Center, which is a department under Gayan's ministry, caused some controversy.[13] In May 2016, Gayan sent a "Freedom of Information" email to a newspaper to request the newspaper to provide information about the salary of its staff. The Director of Publications of the newspaper replied by disclosing his salary and commented that the newspaper is a private entity.[14] In June 2016, several Non-Governmental Organizations were concerned about the increase in usage of synthetic drugs in Mauritius while Gayan stated that the situation was not alarming.[15]

References

1. "Anil Gayan's sisters: «Proud to be daughters of the 'chauffeur d'autobus'»". L'Express. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
2. "Bio data Anil Gayan". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
3. "Anil Gayan biodata". Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
4. Savripène, Marie-Annick. "Harrikrishna Anenden: Écrire avec la lumière en restant dans l'ombre". L'Express. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
5. Rivet, Annick Daniella. "Mahatma Gandhi Institute et Rabindranath Tagore Institute : Soorya Gayan tire sa révérence". Defimedia. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
6. (28 August 1983) Government Formed On Indian Ocean Isle, The New York Times, retrieved October 29, 2010 ("One of the biggest surprises was the return of Anil Gayan to the Foreign Ministry.")
7. Julien Tuyau, Julien (14 February 2009) Quartier Militaire-Moka: 41 candidats en liste pour l’élection partielle Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, L'Express (Mauritius), Retrieved October 29, 2010
8. "Anil Gayan: fils de chauffeur d'autobus mais à l'arrogance marquée". L'Express. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
9. "Les méthodes, les arguments, le rôle de l'Alliance sociale". 5Plus. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
10. Gayan, Anil. "Anil Gayan, minister of Tourism: "My interest is not to lose interest in China"". L'Express. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
11. "Bio-data of Honourable Anil Kumarsingh GAYAN". Government of Mauritius. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
12. Raghavan, Sudaran (10 August 2010). Landslide victory for Kagame is predicted in Rwanda's presidential election, The Washington Post, Retrieved October 29, 2010
13. "ANIL GAYAN-VIJAYA SUMPUTH : Partenaires en affaires depuis 2012". Le Mauricien (in French). Retrieved 2021-12-08.
14. ""I want the salaries of la Sentinelle staff» : «No, Minister Gayan!"". 10 May 2016.
15. "Drogue synthétique: «Pas de quoi s'alarmer», selon Gayan". 30 June 2016.