Sir Satcam Boolell GCSK, MP, QC, Kt (September 11, 1920 – March 23, 2006) was a Mauritian politician who served as member of the Legislative Assembly in Mauritius. He died on March 23, 2006 in Curepipe. He was also known as "Somduth" by his peers and family members.

Early life and education

Born in 1920 on the Gros Billot sugar estate (between New Grove and GrosBois in Grand Port, to his father Sahadewoo Boolell and mother Cossilah Choony, Satcam Boolell grew up with five siblings. In the mid 1800s his grandfather had migrated from the village of Singarmau located in Jaunpore, now a district of Uttar Pradesh, India. His father Sahadewoo (born in 1879 and died in 1940 in New Grove, Mauritius) worked as a policeman and supplemented his income as a trader and supervisor at the Dookhee Gungah property where he grew vegetables and traded nursery plants. Sahadewoo Boolell joined the

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...

Socio-Cultural Group Socio-Cultural Group is a term which is used on the island of Mauritius to refer to private organisations whose primary objectives are to consolidate human and moral values, strengthen the family unit and promote religious and cultural values. The ...

where his son Satcam remained active throughout his life. Boolell completed his primary school education at Rose Belle Government School and completed his secondary school education through private tuitions in Mauritius. In 1938 he started his teaching career as a volunteer before securing a teaching position at Plaine des Papayes Government School. Subsequently he became a teacher at Cassis Government School and later at Aryan Vedic School in Vacoas. From 1943 to 1947 he worked in the Civil Service at the Treasury Department and Department of Agriculture. In 1948 he travelled to England to start his tertiary education at the London School of Economics. After graduating with a law degree he was called to the bar at the

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1952, before returning to Mauritius.

Family

Satcam Boolell married Premila Indurjeet in Port Louis in 1946 and they had 3 children Arvin, Satyajit (Ajit) and Mira. Premila Boolell died in 1986 and later Satcam married Myrtha Poblete, a Polish national. Their son

Arvin Boolell Arvin Boolell (born आर्विन बूलेल्ल; May 26, 1953) is a Mauritian politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition. Early life Boolell who was born in an Arya Samajist Indo Mauritian family in Port Louis, is the s ...

is an active politician. His son

Satyajit Boolell Satyajit Boolell, also known as ''Ajit Boolell'', is a Mauritian lawyer who is the current Director of Public Prosecutions (Mauritius). Under the Asset Recovery Act he is considered as the Enforcement Authority of asset recovery in Mauritius. ...

was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in February 2009. His nephews

Anil Gayan 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 Bo ...

an
Satish Boolell
have also been active politicians in Mauritius. Satcam's daughter Mira is the wife of

Sushil Khushiram Sushil is a first name often found in Hindu and Buddhist community. It is also a common adjective found in South Asia :such as in Nepali , Hindi, Oriya, Marathi, and Gujarati. The word has its root in Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; ...

who has been Minister of Industry and is a bank executive. His nephe
Prakash Boolell
was a lawyer who was candidate at the 1976 General Elections. Satcam's sister was married to Somdath Bhuckory, a lawyer, writer and Town Clerk of Port Louis who perished in an airplane crash. Satcam's elder brother Boomitre Boolell died in July 2022 at the age of 104.

Political career

During colonial times preceding 1968 he was elected to the Legislative Council of British Mauritius following the 1953 elections as an independent candidate. Satcam Boolell then joined

Sookdeo Bissoondoyal Sookdeo Bissoondoyal (25 December 1908 – 18 August 1977) was a Mauritian politician and one of the leading figures in the independence movement. Early life Sookdeo Bissoondoyal was born in Tyack in 1908. He had two brothers Basdeo and Soogr ...

's party the Independent Forward Bloc (IFB) which had dissociated itself from the Labour Party (Mauritius) which had been taken over by a group of Hindu intellectuals (led by

Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (in traditional Hindi: Shivsagar Ram Gulam) (18 September 1900 – 15 December 1985; often referred to as ''Chacha Ramgoolam'' or ''SSR'') was a Mauritian physician, politician, and statesman. He served as the island's o ...

) who collaborated with the British governor of the colonial British Mauritius. After being elected at the 1959 elections he became Minister of Agriculture in the colonial government of Mauritius. At the general elections of 7 August 1967 he became part of the new cabinet of ministers led by

. From 1967 to 1968 he was Minister of Education. Following the 12 March 1968 accession of Mauritius to Independence he became Minister of Agriculture from 1968 to 1974. During this period he participated in the negotiations for the Sugar Protocol in Yaoundé and Lomé which were critical for the survival of the sugar industry. At the 1982 elections he was defeated but in 1983 Satcam Boolell was elected to Parliament. Thus in the cabinet led by Anerood Jugnauth he became Minister of Economy and Planning until 1984. From 1986 to 1990 he served as Deputy Prime Minister. Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Justice in various governments led by Anerood Jugnauth. In 1990 Satcam Boolell was dismissed from the ruling government after refusing to support the project to make the island a Republic. Following the electoral defeat of 1982 Sir Satcam Boolell was dismissed from the Labour Party, and he thus formed a new party Mouvement Patriotique Mauricien (MPM) before returning to the Labour Party in 1983. He was president of the Labour Party (Mauritius) from 1984 to 1991. Satcam Boolell was a candidate of Labour Party in Constituency No. 10 - Montagne Blanche and Grand River South East at the General Elections held on September 15, 1991. However he was defeated and did not take part in subsequent elections. Before retiring he was High Commissioner of Mauritius in London until 2000. He is credited for having led innovations at the Agricultural Marketing Board and facilitated agricultural diversification. Satcam Boolell also supported the

Young Farmers Club Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

, an initiative of Dr

Clovis Vellin Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

in the 1960s and 1970s to encourage small-scale and hobby farming in Mauritius.

Publications

Satcam Boolell published three books "Mauritius Through the Looking Glass: A Collection of Short Stories", "For the love of my country" and "Untold Stories et Reminiscences of travels abroad". He also wrote opinion papers which were published in Mauritian newspapers such as Mauritius Times and L'Express.

Recognition

In December 1976 Satcam Boolell was knighted. Satcam Boolell was elevated to the rank of Grand Officer of the Order of the Star and Key of Indian Ocean ( G.O.S.K.) in 1999. Subsequently in 2006 he was post-humously elevated to the rank of Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of Indian Ocean ( G.C.S.K.). A statue of Satcam Boolell has been erected at Place d'Armes in Port Louis in recognition of his contribution to the development of agriculture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boolell, Satcam 1920 births 2006 deaths Agriculture ministers of Mauritius Culture ministers of Mauritius Education ministers of Mauritius Economy ministers of Mauritius Foreign Ministers of Mauritius Justice ministers of Mauritius Members of the National Assembly (Mauritius) Grand Officers of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean Mauritian Hindus Mauritian politicians of Indian descent 20th-century Mauritian lawyers Mauritian Queen's Counsel Mauritian Knights Bachelor Independent Forward Bloc politicians Labour Party (Mauritius) politicians