India and the geopolitics of Mauritius: The 'Star and Key' to the Indian Ocean

Few countries are closer to India than Mauritius. The ties that bind Delhi to Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, are many. They include the island's large Indian-origin population, constituting nearly 70 per cent of its 1.3 million people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to the island state, almost exactly a decade after his last visit in March 2015, is about lending deeper strategic substance to this special bilateral relationship. Modi's 2015 visit to Mauritius and Seychelles marked a recognition of the renewed geopolitical significance of the Western Indian Ocean islands. Modi's speech outlining India's SAGAR (security and growth…