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In memoriam of Vijay Coomar Joypaul, a dedicated diplomat

25 novembre 2016, 12:34

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In memoriam of Vijay Coomar Joypaul, a dedicated diplomat

 

IT was a common saying at the Ministry of External Affairs, whenever a Minister had delivered a well-written speech, that “Ambassador Joypaul probably gave it his finishing touch”. He was a perfectionist of the pen. Once I had used the term “wordsmith” in some context, and he immediately replied that he preferred the term “wordcrafter” because of its association with those who could give life to marble or stone. His belief in the power of the written word is best captured by one of his favourite quotes from Omar Khayyam:

“The Moving Finger writes;

and having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,

Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a word of it”

Despite his being a demanding boss, I often spent many joyful moments in banter with him, and one day he told me that I should write his obituary. I thought it was a joke but he was very serious. In fact I had been pestering him to write his memoirs and he had decided to play “ping pong diplomacy” with me by giving me this assignment. This exercise is a humble attempt at sharing with the readers some glimpses of this distinguished diplomat.

***

Vijay Joypaul (1941- 2016) was born in Souillac of a humble background and I conjecture that the works of Robert Edward Hart and Malcolm de Chazal whose writings were influenced by the landscape of the Southern part of the island had a profound bearing on him.

After primary school, he moved to Rose-Hill to be closer to Royal College Curepipe, and stayed under the responsibility of his close relatives, Lutchmy Persadsing and Kalawtee Balgobin. His close friend was Jayen Cuttaree and both very often used to study under the light of the municipal street lamps.

He proceeded to India for tertiary education. He boarded a train in Bombay for Patna, Bihar. By the time he reached his destination, his white shirt was completely covered with soot, and he could hardly recognize his face. Various problems such as food and accommodation had to be sorted out but he managed to find his way. One of his peers from those days was Shyam Saran, who was to become the Indian High Commissioner to Mauritius, and later on Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi. They had a lot in common and shared stories on the past, present and future whenever they met.

Upon his return to Mauritius, Vijay joined the Civil Service and was posted to the Prime Minister’s Office. One of his most challenging tasks was to be the liaison between the Prime Minister, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Sir Harilall Vaghjee. It was on this assignment that he learned to keep diplomatic silence, whenever one of them would make remarks about the other.

THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE

He also recalled on a regular basis a particular instance when Mr Amédée Maingard called at the Prime Minister’s Office on an appointment, and he had asked him to wait. When the Prime Minister realized that he had not been informed of Mr Maingard’s arrival, he lost his temper. Poor Vijay had to run for his life and stayed away from work for a whole week! Later on he was made to resume, and understood that during the meeting that was scheduled, an important decision had been taken which was to change the economic landscape of Mauritius – Air Mauritius was born.

Soon afterwards he joined the newly minted Ministry of External Affairs, where I was to meet him.

I still clearly remember the day: it was on Monday 11 April 1988. After the usual courtesies and warm welcome by the affable Sandra Mootoosamy, Permanent Secretary, the new Second Secretaries were introduced to the senior diplomats, among whom were Vijay Coomar Joypaul, Navin Akaloo, Ashok Baichoo, Joseph Tsang Mang Kin, Vijay Makhan, Ramesh Fulena, Yousouf Khodabaccus, Gajam Thancanamootoo, Jagdish Koonjul, Gireesh Padya, Michel Wan Chat Kwong, Jagdeesh Goopt Fokeer, Parvez Hossen and Patrice Curé.

The unwritten policy was that we had to learn the ropes very fast as every effort was being deployed to ensure that desired objectives were reached in an effective manner. Everyone slowly got acquainted with senior officers who were very often seen in the media in the company of dignitaries at official functions, within the glamour associated with the world of diplomacy. It was an enthralling experience to know about the backstage work that gets done, before any event actually took place, in terms of briefs, speeches, speaking notes, identification of correct order of precedence, mode of address and toasts to be given.

There was a strong reading culture, a thirst for knowledge and creativity. The early Monday morning greeting was in the form of questions such as: “What have you read?” or “What are you reading?” Officers were both expected and required to take home reading material for the weekend, as well as publications related to the job. Progress was praised and mediocrity abhorred. Management was horizontal and communication direct.

It was in this challenging background that I started to work closely with Vijay Joypaul and our relationship matured in the course of time.

My friend Nanda Reddy was right when he told me that a library had disappeared with the passing away of Vijay. I remember his advice when I sought some guidance on India which is a wide topic. He told me to start with Mark Tully’s book No full stops in India. I would like to add that he was a very open library, as he was always accessible to colleagues of all ranks. He always had something interesting to say and he was willing to listen to others as well.

FILIAL DUTIES

 Vijay was blessed with eloquence and had a highly retentive memory. He had participated in school dramas and was at ease both in the language of Shakespeare and of Voltaire. He chaperoned President François Mitterrand when the latter visited Mauritius. He even quoted from one of the early poems of the President.

He understood the importance of the right gesture in diplomacy. When I was on my way to Canberra, I told him I would be transiting in Singapore and he immediately called Dr Wahab Owadally of the Forestry Department for an urgent assignment: the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, had been interested in one of our indigenous plants during a visit to our Botanical Gardens, and I was given the responsibility of delivering the plant to its very high destination.

Vijay served in London and Paris. He often used to mention Dr François Darné, under whom he worked when the latter was Ambassador to Paris. Dr Darné had a dignified personality who did not hesitate to dig deep into his own pockets every time the situation demanded, in order to project a proper image of Mauritius. As non-resident Ambassador to Singapore and Japan, he was knowledgeable and passionately interested in his countries of accreditation, and was always giving a fillip to any effort to enhance our relations with all friendly countries.

His knowledge of East Asian affairs was of great value in the organization of the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Mauritius in 2009. It was the crowning achievement of his career as a “China hand” which had started almost forty years earlier when, a few months after the Mao-Nixon meeting (“the week which shook the world”), Mauritius made a decisive move to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China on 15th April 1972.

Working round the clock, often carrying work home was a regular feature of his life. But this routine did not prevent him from attending to his filial duties, taking care of all family elders and loved ones. He would cook for his father and deliver food personally to him in Quatre- Bornes. He was caring and attentive to his brother-in-law, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam. In the pursuit of his work and family duties, he knew he could rely on the unwavering support of his wife, Sunita Ramgoolam Joypaul.

He was an animal lover and he and Sunita notably adopted “Magnus”, a fearsome dog, which nobody wanted in the family. I still recall his delight every time the horse “Princeton” snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after a dashing finish at the Champ de Mars.

 Life is full of tribulations. It not an easy exercise to measure the size of a man using the sum total of his experiences and achievements, combined with what in the eyes of others can be construed as imperfections. Suffice it to say that Vijay Coomar Joypaul served his country with total dedication and absolute loyalty. His career was exceptional and will be a continuous source of inspiration to those who knew him.