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1966–1977, 1980–1984
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Operation Lal Dora (lit. 'Operation Red Line') was conceived in 1983, with the thenPrime Minister of India,Indira Gandhi's approval and called for the secret landing of Indian troops inMauritius.[1][2] These troops were to be launched from the54th division and the purpose of doing this was to help the Mauritian Prime MinisterAnerood Jugnauth fight off a challenge from his rivalPaul Berenger whichGovernment of India feared might take the form of an attempted coup.
| Operation Lal Dora | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg) Islands of Mauritius labelled in black. | |||||
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| Belligerents | |||||
 India Jugnauth's faction | Bérenger's faction | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Indira Gandhi | Paul Bérenger | ||||
In February 1983, Jugnauth travelled to New Delhi to meet with Mrs Indira Gandhi, where he asked for military assistance in the event of a coup by Berenger. Gandhi assured him of Indian support. The power struggle between Berenger and Jugnauth came to a head in March 1983. OnMauritian independence day, while Jugnauth was in New Delhi attending aNon Aligned Movement summit, Berenger arranged for theMauritian National Anthem to be broadcast over Mauritian television in Creole, referring to Creole, instead of English, as the national language. On Jugnauth's return to Mauritius, Berenger proposed constitutional changes that would strip power from the prime minister. TheMMM-PSM government disintegrated with Berenger and most of the cabinet resigning from the government. Jugnauth was left with a small number of mostly Hindu followers.[3]
Gandhi ordered the Indian Army and Navy to prepare for a military intervention against a possible coup against the Jugnauth government. She chose to task theResearch and Analysis Wing’s then chief,Nowsher F. Suntook, with supervising a largely intelligence-led operation to reunite the Indian community whose fracturing along ideological and communal lines had allowed Mr. Berenger to mount a political challenge.[4]
