Election Day and Victory
On 22 January 1926, polling day in Grand Port, Dunputh faced Fernand Louis Morel (described as an "austere conservative") and Gaston Gébert (a "tottering liberal").
The results stunned the establishment:
Dunputh Lallah
424 Votes
Fernand Louis Morel
306 Votes
Gaston
Gebert
230 Votes
Three days later, Rajcoomar Gujadhur won in Flacq by a mere 37 votes over Pierre Montocchio.
"touching the finishing line by a neck" in traditional horse racing style.
The Celebration
The atmosphere was electric. Indo-Mauritians from across the island poured into Mahebourg, the focal point of celebrations. A caravan of cars toured the entire district of Grand Port, stopping at every village for festivities, then continued to Flacq. Meetings lasted until late in the night, with inflamed speeches reverberating throughout the districts.
Banners proclaimed: "Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves, Indians shall no more be slaves!"
A colonial despatch noted Dunputh's political astuteness: Morel and Gébert had quarrelled, and if one had withdrawn, the other might have won. But Dunputh skillfully exploited the split.
The Reaction
Conservative newspapers reacted with alarm. Le Cernéen raised the spectre of the "Indian peril," declaring Lallah's election "a crime against the homeland" (un crime de lèse-patrie).
Lallah and Gujadhur countered firmly: "It is a legitimate right for Indo-Mauritians to have a proper share in the administration of the country."
Gujadhur stated he was inspired by the 1909 Royal Commission report's observation that the Legislative Council could not claim to be fairly representative without the presence of Asiatic elements. Yet both men emphasized they would defend the cause of the people "irrespective of class, colour or creed."
Interestingly, they enjoyed support from progressive Franco-Mauritians. Maxime de Sornay and Maxime Boullé filed Gujadhur's nomination papers; Ernest Leclézio encouraged him to run; Edgar Laurent and Arthur Rohan (elected in Port Louis) joined the celebrations at Flacq.
Legislative Council Tenure
(1926-1931)
The elected representatives following the 1926 elections were:
Port Louis
Black River
Moka
Plaines Wilhems
Pamplemousses
Rivière du Rempart
Flacq
Grand Port
Savanne
Dr. E. Laurent, A. Rohan
J.P Raffray
L.H.A Noël
R. Pezzani
S. Fouquereaux
M. Martin
R. Gujadhur
Dunputh Lallah
L. Rouillard
Five Franco-Mauritian elected members were connected with the planting industry (Noël, Raffray, Fouquereaux, Martin, Rouillard), two represented the Coloured element (Laurent, Rohan), and two were Indo-Mauritians (Gujadhur, Lallah). Pezzani was deemed a Franco-Mauritian supporter. For the first time since 1885, the Oligarchs' hold on the Legislative Council faced serious challenge.
Standing for the Voiceless: Key Political Battles
Perhaps no case better illustrates Dunputh Lallah's commitment to justice than his intervention on behalf of Rohenee Rughoo. In 1928, Rughoo won the Junior Scholarship but was refused admission to L'Ecole des Soeurs (Loreto Convent) in Curepipe because she was not Catholic. When the Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Lalouette, refused to reconsider, Dunputh took decisive action.
​
He informed Lalouette that he would table a motion in the Legislative Council to abolish government subsidies to L'Ecole des Soeurs. The threat worked. A delegation headed by Lalouette visited Dunputh, and Rughoo was granted admission—opening the door for non-Catholics to attend Catholic educational institutions for the first time. This episode demonstrated Lallah's progressive values. At a time when Indo-Mauritians faced widespread discrimination and girls' education was barely prioritized, he used his position to ensure justice for a helpless individual. Rohenee Rughoo went on to become a respected scholar, married historian Jay Narain Roy, and together they founded Mauritius College, which continues educating boys and girls today.
1928
The Rohenee Rughoo Case
Dunputh also championed Marcelin Savrimoutou, a brilliant Civil and Electrical Engineer who was passed over for the position of Assistant Director of Public Works in favor of X. Koenig, whose qualifications were questionable at best. In a Legislative Council debate, Dunputh did not mince words: this was "nothing more than a question of colour prejudice."
He pointed out that Koenig had been under Savrimoutou's supervision and was now being promoted as his chief - a blatant injustice symptomatic of the systematic discrimination non-whites faced despite superior qualifications.
1927
The Savrimoutou Case
Fighting Constitutional Manipulation
In 1927, Pezzani tabled a motion for "Representative Government," proposing a Council of 23 members (5 officials, 6 nominated, 12 elected). Dunputh refused to support it, recognizing it as a scheme to maintain minority rule:
"It would be absolutely rash at this stage of our political development given the heterogeneous composition of our population to grant representative government to this colony. Representative government in such circumstances would be nothing less than government by a minority of the people... I must also lay stress on the deliberate attempts made against the Indian population of this island by certain members of the Revision committee to keep the Indian population in perpetual subjugation." He warned that granting voting rights based on shareholdings in companies would disadvantage Indo-Mauritians, who invested in property rather than corporate shares. A confidential British despatch confirmed his analysis: "The chief feature about those proposals is that they represented a compromise between the Franco-Mauritians and the Creoles from which they would both benefit and were almost openly directed against the Indians." Pezzani's motion was rejected 10-5, with Dunputh's leadership crucial in defeating this attempt to permanently entrench minority rule.
Advocating for the Masses
Dunputh and Gujadhur proposed establishing a regular steamer service between India and Mauritius to reduce the cost of rice and other foodstuffs. Though unsuccessful due to opposition from the majority of elected members, the debate revealed their commitment to improving living conditions for ordinary Mauritians.​
Dunputh argued: ​ "We must not forget that there are in Mauritius more than four hundred thousand inhabitants who have their interests in India and they have no means of communication at all with India except on four or five occasions during the year and it is the duty of those responsible for the good Government of the colony to see that all its subjects receive equal treatment." ​ They were more successful in other initiatives: ​​ Obtaining government permission for teaching Indian languages in primary schools Reducing water rates and similar taxes, relieving the burden on poorer Mauritians
Constituency Service
As representative for Grand Port, Dunputh implemented numerous projects:
• Created Union Park cemetery (1926)
• Constructed a reservoir in Nouvelle France (1929), with public taps fixed in several villages
• Revived the tradition of regattas in Grand Port, which became a national attraction organized "with great splendour"
• Served as founder member and treasurer of the Tombeau Bay Yacht Club
Every Sunday, Dunputh toured his constituency, meeting the public in his office and documenting their grievances.
The 1931 Defeat:
Victory Through Chicanery
Dunputh Lallah and Rajcoomar Gujadhur proved helpless against the Oligarchs' cunning tactics at the 1931 elections.
Gujadhur was defeated by his old adversary Pierre Montocchio. Dunputh did not seek re-election; his nephew Dhiraj Seetulsingh ran but was defeated by André Raffray (628 votes to 280).