Indian Malaysian

The Indian Malaysians are a group of Malaysians largely descended from those who migrated from South India during the British ruling of Malaya.

History

Indians have been migrating to Malaysia for the past 2000 years. Groups such as the Malaca Chitty and the Mamak communities are descendants of these historic migrations occuring during the Melaka sultanate and afterwards during the Portuguese and Dutch occupation of Melaka. British acquisition of Penang,Melaka and Singapore-the Straits Settlements from 1786 to 1824 started a steady inflow of Indian labourers,traders,sepoys and convicts engaged in construction,commercial agriculture,defence and commerce. But large scale migration of Indians from the sub continent to Malaysia followed the extension of British formal rule to the west coast Malay states from the 1870s onwards and the subsequent growth in the rubber plantation economy. The Indian population in pre independent Malaya and Singapore was predominantly adult males who were single with family back in India and Sri Lanka. Hence the population fluctuated frequently with the immigration and exodus of people. As early as 1901 the Indian population in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States was approximately 120,000. By 1931 there were 640,000 Indians in Malaya and Singapore and interestingly they even outnumbered the native Malays in the state of Selangor that year. The population was virtually stagnant until 1947 due to many leaving for Burma during the Japanese occupation as recruits for the Indian National Army and coolies for the Death Railway.' At the time of Independence in 1957 it stood at a little over 820,000. In this last year Indians accounted for approximately 7 per cent of the total population of Malaysia (around 1.8 million) and 8 per cent in Singapore (250,000). There has also been a significant influx of Indian nationals into Singapore and Malaysia in recent years to work in construction,engineering,restaurants,IT and Finance with many taking up permanent residence in Singapore where they account for about a quarter of the Indian population.

Tamil migration

The overwhelming majority of migrants from India were Tamil speakers from Tamil nadu state (see Tamil diaspora). In 1947 they represented approximately 77 per cent of the total Indian population in Malaya and Singapore. Other South Indians, mainly Malayalees and Telugus, formed a further 14 per cent in 1947, and the remainder of the Indian community was accounted for by North Indians, principally Punjabis, Bengalis, Gujaratis, and Sindhis.

Occupational divisions

These ethnic divisions corresponded closely to occupational specialization. For example the Tamils were predominantly estate workers, the majority being employed on rubber estates, though a significant minority worked in Government public works departments. The Telegus were also mainly workers on the estates, whilst the Malayalee community was divided into those who occupied relatively more skilled laboring positions on the estates and those who were white collar workers or professionals. The North Indians, with the exception of the Sikhs, were mainly merchants and businessmen. For example, the Gujaratis and Sindhis owned some of the most important textile firms in Malaya and Singapore. The Sikhs were either in the police or employed as watchmen.

Other ethnic groups

There were, in addition, three further ethnic and religious groups whose political and economic importance in Malayasia far exceeded their numerical strength. Two were important business communities the Tamil Chettiars, a mercantile and money lending caste from Tamil Nadu, and the South Indian Muslims namely Moplahs from Kerala and Marakkayar from Tamil Nadu who were mainly wholesalers. The third group were the Sri Lankan Tamils also known locally as Ceylonese Tamils who were employed principally in the Civil Service and in the professions.

Geographic distribution

The close correspondence between the ethnic and occupational divisions of the South Asian 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, though a significant proportion found employment on the docks in Penang and Singapore The Telugus were mainly on the rubber estates of Lower Perak and parts of Selangor, while the Malayalees were located predominantly in Lower Perak, Kuala Lumpur, parts of Negri Sembilan, and Johore Bahru. The business communities, the Gujaratis, Sindhis, Chettiars, and Tamil Muslims, were concentrated in the urban areas, principally Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, and Singapore. The Ceylon Tamils were also mainly an urban community, though some were found in rural areas working as staff on the estates.

Derogatory names for Malaysian Indians

Keling is a degrading slang for Tamils or hindu in Malaysia. The term was originally used to describe migrants from the Kelinga district in central India. However, there is a theory that it started during the British colonial days when the country was known as Malaya.

Being the world’s biggest rubber supplier, contract workers were brought in through British India Company to work in the rubber plantations of Malaya mainly from southern states of India.

Recently, this was used by Members of Parliament in Malaysia, resulting in uproar by the Malaysian community accussing the MPs of racism. Popular usage in Malaysia also suggests a tone of general disrespect to Indian Malaysians.

External links

Ethnic groups in Malaysia | Indian diaspora | Tamil diaspora