Malaysian Indian
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From Johor Bahru Directory
Malaysian Indians are a group of Malaysians citizens, largely descended from those who migrated from southern India during the British colonization of Malaya. However, they had been conspicuous in the archipelago much earlier, especially since the period of the powerful South Indian kingdom of the Cholas in the 11th century, and were among the most important trading peoples of maritime Asia.[1] In 1901, the Indian population in Malaya was 120,000 but by 1957, the population had reached 820,000. As of 2008, there are about 2.2 million Malaysian Indians, comprising 7.8% of the total population.[2]
| Fast Facts | |
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| Malaysian Indians | |
| Total population | |
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c. 2,160,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
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Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Bahá'ís | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ethnic Indians protest in Malaysia (24 Nov 07) (Video credit: AlJazeeraEnglish) |
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2. There is evidence of the existence of Indianized kingdoms such as Gangga Negara, Old Kedah, and Srivijaya in the Malay Peninsula since approximately 1,500 years ago. Early contact between the kingdoms of Tamilakkam and the Malay peninsula had been very close during the regimes of the Pallava Kings (4th - 9th century) and Chola kings (9th - 13th century). A very essential cultural element needed to carry out commercial transactions is a common language understood by all parties involved in early trade. Historians such as J.V. Sebastian, K.T. Thirunavukkarasu, and A.W. Hamilton record that Tamil was the common language of commerce in what is now Malaysia and Indonesia during historical times.[3] In Melaka and other seaports up to the 19th century, Malay terminology pertaining to bookkeeping and accountancy was still largely Tamil.[1]
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3. The overwhelming majority of migrants from India were ethnic Tamil and from British Presidency of Madras. British acquisition of the Straits Settlements (Penang, Melaka and Singapore) from 1786 to 1824 started a steady inflow of Indian laborers, traders, sepoys, and convicts engaged in construction, commercial agriculture, defense and commerce. But large scale migration of Indians from the subcontinent to Malaysia followed the extension of British formal rule to the West coast Malay states from the 1870s onwards as British brought the Indians as workers to work in the rubber plantations. A significant minority, however, worked in Government public works departments. The North Indians, with the exception of the Sikhs, were mainly merchants and businessmen. The Sikhs were either in the police force or employed as watchmen. This close correspondence between the ethnic and occupational divisions of the Indian community was inevitably reflected in the community's geographical distribution in Malaya. The South Indian Tamils were concentrated mainly in Perak, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan on the rubber estates and railways. In recent times, however, most Telugus has shifted to high-end profession like doctors, lawyers, and businessmen in major cities.
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4. Malaysian Indians practise a number of religions and faiths. Islam found its way to the Malayan Peninsula not from Arabia, but from Tamil country.[3] The practice of Hinduism, however, began to rise during the second wave of people from the Indian subcontinent during British rule. A minority among them practise Christianity, with roughly 10% practising Islam, while Sikhism is practiced amongst the Punjabis.
