The National Flag of Mauritius also known as the Four Bands or Les Quatre Bandes (French for “the four bands”) was designed by a retired school teacher, Gurudutt Moher. This flag was adopted upon Mauritius’ independence on 12th of March 1968. Consisting of four bands of four different colors, the colors represent different things. The red color at the top represents the struggle for freedom and independence. Next comes the color blue, which represents the Indian Ocean, in which Mauritius is situated. The third band consists of color Yellow which represents the new light of independence. The fourth band consists of color Green which represents the agriculture of Mauritius and its color throughout the twelve months of the year.
It has also been said that the four colors also represented the main political parties which existed at the time in 1968 as an attempt to unite the nation after the divisive communal riots of 1965 and 1968. Red represented Labour Party or Parti Travailliste. Blue represented Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD) or Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate. Yellow represented Independent Forward Bloc (IFB). And Green represented Muslim Committee of Action, also known as the Comité d’Action Musulman or Comité d’Action Mauricien (CAM).
History Of Flags In Mauritius
- Dutch Mauritius; Flag of the Dutch East India Company (1638–1710)
- Isle de France; Royal Standard of the King of France (1715–1792)
- Isle de France; Flag of France (1792–1810)
- British Mauritius colonial flag (1810-1869)
- British Mauritius colonial flag (1869-1906)
- British Mauritius colonial flag (1906-1923)
- British Mauritius colonial flag (1923-1968)
- National Flag Of Mauritius (1968 – Present)
