{{Ethnic group|
|group=Malaysian Indians
|image=|image =
|
|
|
{{Ethnic group|
|group=Malaysian Indians
|image=|image =
|
|
|
{{Ethnic group|
|group=Malaysian Indians
|image=|image =
|
|
|
{{Ethnic group|
|group=Malaysian Indians
|image=|image =
|
|
|
Janaky Athi NahappanPuan Sri Janaki Athi Nahappan, also known as Janaky Devar, is a founder member of the Malaysian Indian Congress and one of the earliest women involved in the fight for Malaysian independence....
|
Karpal Singh Karpal Singh is a Malaysian lawyer and politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the neighbourhood of Bukit Gelugor in the state of Penang since 2004...
|
Ravichandran Ravichandran was a Tamil film actor who played lead roles in Tamil movies of the 1960s and 1970s. He has also acted in supporting roles in some recent Tamil movies, and had also directed a number of films.- Life :...
|
|
|
|
|
Jaclyn VictorJaclyn Joshua Thanaraj Victor is a singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She is under the management of The 8 Unit. She represented...
|
Mahathir Mohamad |
|caption=
|poptime=c. 1,250,000
|popplace=Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
|langs=Mainly: TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
{{·}}English,Almost 90% of Malaysian Indian can speak EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
{{·}}HindiThe Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu...
{{·}}Bahasa Malaysia
Also: TeluguTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
{{·}}Malayalam{{·}}PunjabiPunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
{{·}}BengaliBengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
{{·}}GujaratiGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
{{·}}Portugese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
{{·}}HokkienHokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
|Hokkien,Mainly by Chindian"Chindian" is a compound word used to refer to an Indian restaurant within the village of Chinnor, Oxfordshire. It is formed simply, yet ingeniously, by putting the "ch" from "Chinnor" in front of the word "Indian"....
|related=Indians in Singapore{{·}}ChittyThe Chitty are a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly in Malacca and Singapore , who are also known as the Indian Peranakans. As of today, their population stands at 2,000.-Language:...
{{·}}Chindian"Chindian" is a compound word used to refer to an Indian restaurant within the village of Chinnor, Oxfordshire. It is formed simply, yet ingeniously, by putting the "ch" from "Chinnor" in front of the word "Indian"....
|rels=HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
{{·}}ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
{{·}}SikhismSikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
{{·}}Bahá'íThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
{{·}}IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
{{·}}JainismJainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
}}
Malaysian Indians are Malaysians of Indian origin. Many are descendants from those who migrated from India during the British colonization of Malaya. Prior to this, Indians have been present in the Malayan archipelago at least since the period of the influential Indian dynasty of the Cholas in the 11th century. Today, they form the third largest ethnic group in Malaysia after the Chinese and the Malays, and constitute 8% of the Malaysian population
History
The Arab and Indian traders had traveled this region including the southern tip of South East Asia the peninsula with maritime trade, the SailendraSailendra is the name of an influential Indonesian dynasty that emerged in 8th century Java.The Sailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world famous Borobudur.The Sailendras are considered to be a...
kings of JavaJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
originating from Kalinga(India)Kalinga is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the north...
were able to take control of the PeninsulaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
and part of southern [Siam].The kings welcomed Buddhist missionaries from IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, accepting their teaching of the MahayanaMahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
sect, which spread through their territories. However, central and northeastern Thailand continued to adhere to the Hinayana teachings of the Theravada sect, which had been introduced by missionaries sent by the emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC.
Another theory of the introduction of Buddhism after Indian arrived to the Peninsula is that after Kalinga conquered lower Burma in the 8th century their influence gradually spread down the peninsula.
KelingKeling is a word used to describe people originating from the Indian subcontinent by native Malaysians and Indonesians. It is now generally considered offensive by majority of Indians....
is a word used to describe people originating from the Indian subcontinent by native Malaysians and Indonesians. The origin of the term is rooted in the former cultural and economic influence of the KalingaKalinga was an early state in central-eastern India, which comprised most of the modern state of Orissa/Utkal , as well as the Andhra region of the bordering state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a rich and fertile land that extended from the river Damodar/Ganges to Godavari and from Bay of Bengal to...
kingdom over south east Asian kingdoms. The ancient Indian KalingaKalinga is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the north...
was located in southeastern India occupying modern day Orissa and northern Andra Pradesh. In the 7th century an Indonesian kingdom was named Kalingga after the aforementioned Kalinga in India. Chinese sources mention this kingdom (Holing) as a center for Buddhist scholars around 604 before it was overshadowed by the Sanjaya or Mataram KingdomThe Medang or Mataram Kingdom was a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 10th centuries CE. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the founder of the Sanjaya dynasty, the kingdom was ruled by the Sailendra and Sanjaya families...
. The most famous Kalingga ruler is Ratu Sima.
There is evidence of the existence of Indianized kingdoms such as Gangga NegaraGangga Negara is believed to be a lost semi-legendary Hindu kingdom mentioned in the Malay Annals that covered present day Beruas, Dinding and Manjung in the state of Perak, Malaysia with Raja Gangga Shah Johan as one of its kings...
, Old KedahKedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...
, SrivijayaSrivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...
since approximately 1700 years ago. Early contact between the kingdoms of TamilakkamThe Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...
and the Malay peninsula had been very close during the regimes of the PallavaThe Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...
Kings (from the 4th to the 9th century CE) and Chola kings (from the 9th to the 13th century CE). The trade relations the Tamil merchants had with the ports of MalayaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
led to the emergence of Indianized kingdoms like Kadaram (Old KedahThe Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately 224 square km. Situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south, it is the richest archaeological area in Malaysia.These archaeological remains show that...
) and LangkasugamLangkasuka was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula...
. Furthermore, Chola king Rajendra Chola IRajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I and was one of the greatest rulers of Tamil Chola dynasty of India. He succeeded his father in 1014 CE as the Chola emperor...
sent an expedition to Kadaram (Sri Vijaya) during the 11th century conquering that country on behalf of one of its rulers who sought his protection and to have established him on the throne. The Cholas had a powerful merchantThe Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
and naval fleetA fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
in the Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and the Bay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. Three kinds of craft are distinguished by the author of the Periplus – light coasting boats for local traffic, larger vessels of a more complicated structure and greater carrying capacity, and lastly the big ocean-going vessels that made the voyages to MalayaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
, SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, and the Ganges.
Inscriptions and place names
{{Main|Tamil and Sanskrit inscriptions in Malaysia|Tamil place names in Malaysia}}
A good number of Tamil inscriptions as well as HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Buddhist icons emanating from South India have been found in Southeast Asia (and even in parts of south ChinaNorthern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
). On the Malay PeninsulaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
, inscriptions have been found at Takuapa, not far from the Vishnuite statues of Khao Phra Narai in Southern ThailandSouthern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
. It is a short inscription indicating that an artificial lake named Avani-naranam was dug by nangur-Udaiyan which is the name of an individual who possessed a militaryA military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
fief at Nangur, being famous for his abilities as a warrior, and that the lake was placed under the protection of the members of the Manikkiramam (which according to K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, was a merchant guild) living in the military camp.
An inscription dated 779 AD has been found in LigorNakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom was one of the major constituent city states of the Siamese kingdoms of Sukhothai and later Ayutthaya and controlled a big part of the Malay peninsula...
, Malay Peninsula. This refers to the trade relationship between the Tamil countryThe Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...
and MalayaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
. In ancient KedahThe Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately 224 square km. Situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south, it is the richest archaeological area in Malaysia.These archaeological remains show that...
there is an inscription found by Dr. Quaritch Wales. It is an inscribed stone bar, rectangular in shape, bears the ye-dharmma formula in South Indian characters of the 4th century AD, thus proclaiming the Buddhist character of the shrine near the find-spot (site I) of which only the basement survives. The inscriptions are on three faces in Pallava Grantha script. The Ruler Raja Ganga fled from his empire into the forests with his queen and an infant heir. Raja Ganga left traces of hideout on a nearby hill in form of artifacts on stones.
All these inscriptions, both TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
ones, relate to the activities of the people and rulers of the Tamil countryThe Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...
of South India. The Tamil inscriptionsThe Tamil script is a script that is used to write the Tamil language as well as other minority languages such as Badaga, Irulas, and Paniya...
are at least 4 centuries posterior to the Sanskrit inscriptions, from which the early Tamils themselves were patronizers of the Sanskrit language.
The Cherok Tokun Ancient Inscriptions were first documented by Colonel James Low, a British army officer, in 1845. In his log, Low recorded his disappointment of not finding a more spectacular ruin, expecting to find an ancient temple ruin. He documented what he made out to be "a group of seven inscriptions". The inscriptions were believed to be in pre-Pallava script and written in Sanskrit. They were attributed to the ancient Kingdom of Kadaaram, which flourished in northern Malaysia in the 5th to 6th centuries. However, according to J Laidlay, who translated the text in 1848, the inscription was in fact written in Pali
- another ancient language of the Indian subcontinent.
Various place names in Malaysia contain the word keling for historical reasons, e.g. Tanjong Keling., Kampong Keling, and Bukit Keling, etc.
In Penang, the Kapitan Keling Mosque, situated on the corner of Buckingham Street and Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Pitt Street), is one of the oldest mosques in George TownGeorge Town was voted as one of the best cities in Asia by Asiaweek, ranked 6th in 1998 and 9th in 2000. More recently, George Town has improved a notch to rank as the 9th most liveable city in Asia in a survey of 254 cities worldwide according to an international location ratings survey by , an...
. Various other Penang Hokkien street names contain the word keling, e.g. Kiet-leng-a Ban-san (Chowrasta Road), Kiet-leng-a Ke (King Street/Market Street).
In Singapore, there is a road in Jurong Industrial Estate called Tanjang Kling Road which is probably deprived from the word 'Keling'.
Tamil words in Malay
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 Malaysia and Indonesia during historical times.
The maritime Tamil significance in Sumatran and Malay Peninsula trading continued for centuries and borrowings into Malay from Tamil increased between the 15th and 19th centuries due to their commercial activities. In the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company was obliged to use Tamil as part of its correspondence. In Malacca and other seaports up to the 19th century, Malay terminology pertaining to book-keeping and accountancy was still largely Tamil.
Borrowings from Tamil include such everyday words as:.
| Tamil |
Malay |
English |
| akka |
kakak |
elder sister |
| kadai |
kedai |
shop |
| kappal |
kapal |
ship |
| muthu |
mutiara |
pearl |
| vagai |
bagai |
kind |
Indian migration
{{Main|Tamil Malaysians}}
The overwhelming majority of migrants from India were ethnic TamilTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
and from British Presidency of Madras. In 1947 they represented approximately 85 per cent of the total Indian population in Malaya and Singapore. Other South Indians, mainly Telugus, and Malayalees, formed a further 14 per cent in 1947.
Large scale migration
British acquisition of PenangPenang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, Melaka,and SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- the Straits Settlements from 1786 to 1824 started a steady inflow of Indian labour. This consisted of plantation labour, traders, policemen and colonial soldiers (see sepoyA sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier in the service of a European power. In the modern Indian Army, Pakistan Army and Bangladesh Army it remains in use for the rank of private soldier.-Etymology and Historical usage:...
s). Apart from this there was also substantial migration of English-speaking Indians to work in the British colonial government.
The Indian population in pre-independent MalayaBritish Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
and SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
was predominantly adult males who were single with family back in IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Sri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. 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 SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and interestingly they even outnumbered the native Malays in the state of SelangorSelangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
that year. At the time of Independence in 1957 it stood at over 820,000. Today, Malaysian Indians account for approximately 8 to 12 per cent of the total population of Malaysia (in the range 1.8 to 2.5 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 nearly a quarter of the Singapore population. Overseas emigration for educational and professional reasons among Malaysian Indians is also increasingly commonplace.
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 PerakPerak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, SelangorSelangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
, and Negri Sembilan, on the rubber estates and railways, though a significant proportion found employment on the docks in PenangPenang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
and Singapore. The Telugus are concentrated in lower Perak,northern Selangor,Negeri sembilan,Kulim and Sg Petani in Kedah and Pahang.The Malayalees were located predominantly in Lower Perak, Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, parts of Negri Sembilan, and Johore Bahru where they were usually in the estates or in the civil service in the earlier days.While the business communities, the Gujaratis, Sindhis, Chettiars, and Tamil Muslims, were concentrated in the urban areas, principally Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, PenangPenang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, IpohIpoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
, and SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The Ceylon Tamils were also mainly an urban community, though some were found in rural areas working as staff on the estates as well being well known in dominating the railways. In SabahSabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and SarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, the Indian population is concentrated around the major cities and towns in both states, with representations from the Tamil Muslims, Punjabis, Malayalees, Sindhis, Ceylonese, South Indian Tamils and other Indian ethnic groups, taking up careers in the private and government sectors or running businesses.
Education
The economic state of Indian Malaysians is stratified and the distribution of wealth is uneven. However, while many Indians are part of the Malaysian working classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, there also exists a large group who consist of Malaysia's educated middle classThe middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
and professionals and are part of Malaysia's upper middle classThe upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
.
Indians are well represented in Malaysian medical and legal fraternities. Indians also form a large portion of English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teachersTeachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers , one of the five Ascension Gift Ministries* Teachers , a British sitcom* Teachers Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers (ministry), one of the...
in Malaysia. LawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and medicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
have traditionally been the preferred career choices in Indian families although more young Indian Malaysians are now venturing into other fields such as engineering, finance and entrepreneurship. Ananda KrishnanTatparanandam Ananda Krishnan is a Malaysian businessman and philanthropist of Tamil origin. Nicknamed A-K, he is estimated to have a net worth of US$9.6 billion according to Forbes' latest annual list of wealthiest people, making him the second wealthiest in Southeast Asia behind Robert Kuok,...
and Tony FernandesTan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes CBE is a Malaysian entrepreneur and the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly"...
are examples of notable Malaysian tycoons of Indian heritage. There are major Indian business districts in Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
(BrickfieldsBrickfields is a small to medium-sized town and residential neighbourhood located just outside central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as Kuala Lumpur's Little India due to the high percentage of Indian residents and businesses.- History :In 1881, a flood swept through Kuala Lumpur following...
, Jalan Ampang and Jalan Masjid India), KlangKlang , formerly known as Kelang, is the royal city and former capital of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located within the Klang District in Klang Valley. It is located about 32 km to the west of Kuala Lumpur and 6 km east of Port Klang...
(Jalan Tengku Kelana), PenangPenang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
and IpohIpoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....
.
Tamil primary schoolsEducation in Malaysia is overseen by two government ministries. The Ministry of Education handles matters pertaining to pre-school, primary school, secondary school and post-secondary school. Matters regarding tertiary education are dealt with by the Ministry of Higher Education...
are funded by the Federal Government and use TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
as the medium of instruction while MalayMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
and EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
are taught as compulsory subjects.
Politics
The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) is the oldest and largest Indian political party in Malaysia. It is a senior member of the ruling Barisan NasionalBarisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
coalition. The Indian Progressive Front (IPF), another Indian-based party, is affiliated with Barisan Nasional but is not a formal member. The People's Progressive PartyThere are several parties named People's Progressive Party:*People's Progressive Party *People's Progressive Party *People's Progressive Party *People's Progressive Party *People's Progress Party...
(PPP) is technically a multiracial party but its membership is overwhelmingly Indian. It is a member of the Barisan Nasional. The opposition People's Justice Party (PKR) and Democratic Action PartyThe Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...
(DAP) have a large Indian membership and have many Indian lawmakers. Both parties are members of the Pakatan RakyatPakatan Rakyat or PR is an informal Malaysian political coalition. It currently controls four state governments while in opposition to the ruling Barisan Nasional at the federal level....
coalition. The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM), a minor opposition party, has a strong Indian presence. The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) was formed in 2007 to address alleged racial discrimination against Indian Malaysians. It was banned after it staged a large anti-government rally in Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
in 2007. Hindraf's political wing is the Human Rights PartyThe Human Rights Party Malaysia is a Malaysian human rights-based political party founded on 19 July 2009, led by human rights activist P.Uthayakumar...
(HRP). The Malaysian Indian Muslim CongressMalaysian Indian Muslim Congress is a political party formed in 1977 to represent the interests of the Indian Muslim community in Malaysia.-Hierarchy:* Chairman & President - Dato`Syed Ibrahim Bin Kader DPNS,DNS,AMN,JP...
(KIMMA) is a party that represents the interests of the Indian Muslim community. The Malaysian Ceylonese CongressThe Malaysian Ceylonese Congress is a political party in Malaysia. Formed in 1958, the MCC was established as a political party with the aim of giving support to the then Alliance party. MCC has continuously supported the Barisan National. MCC was the brainchild of the late Mr...
represents Malaysia's Sri Lankan Tamil community who are technically not Indian but often regarded as such by most Malaysians. Other Indian fringe parties include the Malaysian Indian United Party and the pro-Barisan Nasional Malaysia Makkal Sakthi Party.
Media and the Performing Arts
Satellite television provider AstroAstro is the brand name of the Malaysian direct broadcast satellite pay television service. It transmits digital satellite television and radio to households in Malaysia & Brunei...
provides several TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
television channels. Astro VaanavilAstro Vaanavil is Malaysia's first 24-hour Tamil language television channel broadcast on the Astro satellite television service. It was one of the first 22 channels to commence broadcast on Astro in 1996. Astro Vaanavil is owned by South East Asia's second richest man Ananda Krishnan.Most of its...
and state-owned RTM- Computing :* Release to manufacturing - a term used when software is ready for release- Marketing :* Return to manufacturer - of faulty goods* Registered Trademark - Radio and TV :...
TV2 broadcast locally-produced Tamil shows. IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
-based channels available in Malaysia are Sun TVSun TV is a regional Indian cable television station. It is the flagship channel of the Chennai-based Sun Network. It was founded and currently owned by Kalanidhi Maran. It was the first fully privately owned television channel in India when it emerged in 1992...
, Jaya TVJaya TV is one of the major Tamil language satellite television channels based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV is one of the early Tamil channels to entertain the Tamil audiences spread across Globe....
, Chutti TVChutti TV is a 24-hour Tamil language television channel owned by the Sun Network. The target audience are children aged between 3 and 14. It was launched in 2007, making it Sun TV Network's first ever television channel for kids....
.Thangathirai and Vellithirai are Tamil movie channels while Astro B4U is a Hindi movie channel. The Indian Malaysian community is an important market for the Tamil film industry KollywoodKollywood is a word referring two different movie industries in India and Nepal, derived from the word Hollywood and their local movie centers.* Tamil cinema, the Tamil language film industry based on Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu,...
.There are two Tamil radio stations, the state-owned Minnal FMMinnal FM, formerly known as Radio 6 and Radio Malaysia Saluran 6 is a Malaysian national Tamil radio station operated by Radio Televisyen Malaysia, the government broadcasting service under the Malaysian Ministry of Information.It was the first 24-hour Tamil language broadcast service in the world...
and the privately owned THR Raaga.
It is also customary for major Malaysian corporations to produce television commercials in conjunction with Deepavali. They generally pay tribute to the contributions of the Indian community to the nation and are well received by Indians of all faiths. The heart-warming Deepavali commercials by the state petroleum company PetronasPETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...
are especially popular.
Indian Malaysians have also contributed to the mainstream Malaysian entertainment industry. Notable Indian Malaysian artists with multiracial appeal are ReshmonuHiresh Haridas , better known by his stage name Reshmonu, is a singer-songwriter from Malaysia who does mostly English songs. He is known for songs such as "Walk Away", "Cintaku Pergi", "Hey Waley" and "Superfine", as well as for his hairstyles...
, Jaclyn VictorJaclyn Joshua Thanaraj Victor is a singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She is under the management of The 8 Unit. She represented...
, and AlleycatsThe Alleycats is a Malaysian band which was formed in 1969, and gained popularity in the late 1970s. They consist of musicians from Penang, and gained popularity in their home state earlier on in their career.-Band members:Members include:...
. Indian Malaysians have also made significant contributions to the Malaysian EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
theatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
scene. Tamil hip hopHip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
was started in Malaysia by pioneers like rappers Chakra SonicViveck ,born April 8, 1976, is a Malaysian hip hop musician. Known as the godfather of Tamil rap, Viveck has featured with artistes like Reshmonu and Datuk Siti Nurhaliza....
, Yogi B and several others, which had since then made its way to KollywoodKollywood is a word referring two different movie industries in India and Nepal, derived from the word Hollywood and their local movie centers.* Tamil cinema, the Tamil language film industry based on Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu,...
.
Bharathanatyam, the tamil classical dance of India, is an important feature of Tamil culture and is hence popular in Malaysia. Ramli Ibrahim and Mavin KhooMavin Khoo is Malaysian dancer of the Indian classical dance form, Bharata Natyam-Early life and education:Born on April 30, 1976 born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Youngest son to Tan Sri and Puan Sri Khoo Kay Kim. His father Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim is a national leading historian...
are two non-Indian Malaysians who are world-renowned Indian classical dance performers. The Temple of Fine Arts in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur is an academy that provides training in traditional Indian dance and music. The urumeeThe urumee is a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum from the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. Two skin heads are attached to a single hallow, often intricately carved wooden shell. The preferred wood is jackwood, although other wood may be used...
drums are often played at religious and cultural events. The nadaswaramThe nadaswaram, also spelt nadhaswaram, and also called nagaswaram , is one of the most popular classical musical instruments in the South Indian culture and the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instrument...
is a traditional Indian wind instrument often played at Indian weddings in Malaysia.
Cuisine
The contribution of the Indian community in Malaysian cuisine is enormous. Indian cuisine has had a strong influence on traditional Malay cuisineMalay cusine is the cuisine of Malay people of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand. Different Malay regions are all known for their unique or signature dishes - Terengganu and Kelantan for their Nasi dagang, Nasi kerabu and Keropok lekor, Negeri Sembilan for its...
resulting in the popularity of curries in Malaysia. Indian restaurants are well received by Chinese and Malay Malaysians. They have become an important fixture in everyday Malaysian life and is the venue of choice for watching live English football matches. MamakMamak may refer to:* Mamak, a term, considered pejorative by some, used in Malaysia to describe the Indian Tamil Muslim community and culture* Mamak stall, a type of food establishment that serves mamak food...
restaurants and stalls refer to eateries owned and staffed by Indian Muslims. The word 'MamakMamak may refer to:* Mamak, a term, considered pejorative by some, used in Malaysia to describe the Indian Tamil Muslim community and culture* Mamak stall, a type of food establishment that serves mamak food...
' is sometimes erroneously used to describe any IndianIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
restaurant. Roti CanaiRoti canai or roti cane is a type of Indian-influenced flatbread found in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is often sold in Mamak stalls in Malaysia; also in Malay, Minangkabau and Aceh restaurants in Indonesia...
, Nasi KandarNasi Kandar is a popular northern Malaysian dish, which originates from Penang. It is a meal of steamed rice which can be plain or mildly flavored, and served with a variety of curries and side dishes....
and Rojak Pasembor are Indian dishes unique to Malaysia. Nasi Kandar is sold exclusively in Indian Muslim restaurants and the sauce recipe is kept secret. Unlike Indian cuisine in the United Kingdom and other Western countries which tend to focus on North Indian cuisine, Indian cuisine in Malaysia is largely based on southern cuisine as the Indian diaspora here is overwhelmingly TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, although some northern dishes such as tandoori chicken and naanNaan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...
bread are common. Southern breakfast delicacies such as idli, vadai and dosaDosa or Dhosai is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. It is indigenous to and is a staple dish in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as being popular in Sri Lanka...
(spelled in Malaysia as 'thosai') are common. The appam is a favourite breakfast dish in Tamil homes. Idiyappam is known as putu mayamIddiyappam;இடியாப்பம் or 'Putu mayam' in Malay is a Tamil dish. It is popular in southern India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore....
in Malay and usually sold by mobile motorcycle vendors. The murukkuChakli or Murukku is a savoury snack popular in India and Sri Lanka, originating in the cuisine of the South and West India. It is also popular in places with large Indian populations.-History:...
is made to mark Deepavali or Christmas. Banana leaf rice meals with various meat dishes and condiments are served in restaurants during lunch and dinner and in Indian households during special occasions. Mutton is highly favoured and served as either varuval (dry curry) or peratal (thick curry). Fried bitter gourd, banana chips, papadam, rasamRasam is a South Indian soup. Traditional preparation involves tamarind juice as base in addition to tomato, chili pepper and other spices as seasonings. Steamed lentils are added by some along with any preferred vegetables. Nowadays all the seasonings required are combined and ground beforehand...
, yoghurt and pickels are the usual condiments. Deserts and sweets include payasam, halvaHalva refers to many types of dense, sweet confections, served across the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Malta and the Jewish world.The term halva ,...
, mysore pakMysore pak is a sweet dish of Karnataka, India, usually served as dessert. It is made of generous amounts of ghee , sugar and gram flour....
, palgoa and ghee balls.
Religions and faiths
In Malaysia the majority of the largest community, Malays, practice IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, with BuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
most common among the Chinese, HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
amongst the Indians, and ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
among Chinese, Indians, Kristang peopleThe Kristang are a creole ethnic group of people of mixed Portuguese and Malaccan descent based in Malaysia and Singapore. People of this ethnicity have strong Dutch heritage, some British as well as Chinese and Indian heritage due to intermarriage, which was common among the Kristang...
, and Eurasians of British descentThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
. In the Indian communities which mostly comsist of Tamils, Telugus, and Malayalees, Hinduism, followed by several branches of Christianity, are the main faiths.
The advent of Hinduism and Buddhism from India occurred in the Malay Peninsula from the 2nd century AD . The Indian-influenced kingdoms of Kadaram (Old KedahKedah is one of many early Malay Peninsula trade centres that have been found, many have yet to be identified. Its location at the entrance to the Straits of Malacca, on the same latitude as south India provided a natural sailing route between the two points, ships could sail due east or due west...
), and Ilangosagam (LangkasukaLangkasuka was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula...
) have practiced HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and BuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
during the rule of the Malay-Sri Vijaya and TamilTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
-Chola kingdoms. Islam found its way to the Malayan Peninsula as well as the Archipelago of IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
not from Arabia, but from southern India, specifically, Tamil country. The early Indians married into leading families of Malay ArchipelagoThe Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
and brought Hindu ideas of kingship, just as more than a thousand years later the Tamil MuslimTamil Muslim refers to those Muslims who have Tamil as their mother tongue. There are around 500,000 in Malaysia which is 2.6% of the total population of Malaysia and 20,000 in Singapore.Tamil Muslims are largely urban traders rather than farmers...
s married into the families of the Sultans and Bendaharas of MalaccaEstablished by the Malay ruler Parameswara, the Sultanate of Malacca was first a Hindu kingdom in 1402 and later became Muslim following the marriage of the princess of Pasai in 1409. Centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate bordered the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam in the north to...
.
Trade contacts between the Tamils,Malayalees along with other south eastern Indians such as Telugus,Bengalis and Arabs and with East Indies antedate the Islamic period (c. 570-632 AD), or the birth of Islam. Indonesians and Malays came to know about Islam through the Muslim merchants of south India and not through Arab missionaries. Furthermore Islam had reached South IndiaSouth India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, particularly Tamil country in the 8th century AD, while the state of Gujurat received Islam during the early 14th century, as a result of the invasion of the Delhi sultanate. Muslim traders of the Coromandel CoastThe Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
are said to have been even politically influential in historical MalayaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
. In 1445 AD Tamil MuslimTamil Muslim refers to those Muslims who have Tamil as their mother tongue. There are around 500,000 in Malaysia which is 2.6% of the total population of Malaysia and 20,000 in Singapore.Tamil Muslims are largely urban traders rather than farmers...
traders staged a coup at Malacca, installing a sultan of their choice. During the coming of Islam to Malaysia was the early decline of Hinduism and Buddhism.
The practice of HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
began to rise during the second wave of people from the Indian subcontinentThe Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
during British rule. HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
is the most practised religion amongst the Tamils, including both the major Hindu and Tamil pantheon of deities. Tamils of both Indian and Sri Lankan backgrounds practice Hinduism. Telugus predominantly belong to the Vaisnavite branch of HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, with a minority among them belonging to Christianity and Islam.
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is widely practiced by Tamil peopleTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
in many denominations. ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
has been in Tamilakkam or the Tamil country since the times of St. ThomasThomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
, an apostle of ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. After him, came the PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
who introduced CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, then the British who introduced the Protestant denominations. In Malaysia, most of the Christians are Methodist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Plymouth BrethrenThe Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
(Christian Brethren of MalaysiaThe Christian Brethren of Malaysia, sometimes simply called the Brethren, are an aggregate of independent and autonomous Protestant Evangelical Christian churches in Malaysia, which are networked together through a set of shared Biblical doctrines and practices...
), and CatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. Amongst the Malayalee community CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
is strong. The Marthoma Church also has a strong presence in Malaysia.
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is the religion of roughly 10% of Malaysian Indians with a population of roughly 200,000, and SikhismSikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
is practiced by many PunjabiThe Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
s.
Festivals
One of the biggest South Indian festivals in Malaysia is ThaipusamThaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai . It is celebrated not only in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority, but also in countries where Tamil communities are smaller, such as Singapore and Malaysia...
. ThaipusamThaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai . It is celebrated not only in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority, but also in countries where Tamil communities are smaller, such as Singapore and Malaysia...
is a religious festival dedicated to the Tamil deity MuruganMurugan also called Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a popular Hindu deity especially among Tamil Hindus, worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influences, especially South India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius and Reunion Island. His six most important shrines in India are the...
which occurs on the day in the Tamil monthThe Tamil calendar is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Tamil Nadu. It is also used in Pondicherry , and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. It is also used by Telugu speaking people in Tamil Nadu...
of Thai (January–February) when the asterism Poosam is on the ascendant. It is celebrated in grand style in the temples of SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, PenangPenang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, and Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
for three days.
In Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, ThaipusamThaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai . It is celebrated not only in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority, but also in countries where Tamil communities are smaller, such as Singapore and Malaysia...
has become an almost national seat for Poosam celebrations. The venue of the Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
celebrations is a picturesque shrine right inside a cave that lies many feet above the ground, and can only be approached by a steep climb. This place, known as Batu CavesBatu Caves , is a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples, located in Gombak district, north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. Batu Caves is also the name of the nearby village.The cave is one of the...
, is about eight miles from the city, and a chariotTemple cars are chariots used to carry representations of Hindu gods. The car is usually used on festival days, when many people pull the cart....
procession carrying the image of the deity to and from the place adds to the color and gaiety of the festival. Crowds from all over the country throng to the cave, including people of all classes and groups. It is above all a day of penance, on which all kinds of vows are fulfilled. A 42.7m high statue of Lord Murugan was built at Batu Caves and was unveiled in Jan 2006, having taken 3 years to construct.
One of the most significant rites performed is the carrying of the kavadiKavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God...
, a large wooden decorated arch, as an act of penance. When deities were taken on procession from one shrine to another, they would be followed by a number of these voluntary kavadiKavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God...
-bearers. In other towns and estates, kavadis would be taken for other festivals like Chittirai Paruvam. As back in the Tamil country, some of the more rigid practitioners would bear spikes, spears, and hooks pierced into their bodies. The Chittirai Paruvam festival and festivals to the Tamil deity MariammanMāri ,Tulu, also known as Mariamman , both meaning "Mother Mari", spelt also Maariamma , or simply Amman or Aatha is the South Indian Hindu goddess of disease and rain. She is the main South Indian mother goddess, predominant in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and...
are usually accompanied by a fire-walking ceremony.
Deepavali or DiwaliDiwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
is another popular Hindu festival which is the 'Festival of Lights' and celebrated by all HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
community. Thai Pongal is a festival of the TamilsTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
occurring on the first day of the month of Thai. In Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
it is celebrated as a harvest festival when the first grains are gathered and brought in for the ceremony.
The Telugus celebrate UgadiYugadi or Ugadi or "Samvatsradi" , Konkani/Marathi: युगादी yugādi, , formed by sandhi of yuga "age" and ādi "beginning": the beginning of an age) is the New Year's Day for the people of the Deccan region of India. It falls on the different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar...
, Telegu new year based on the lunar calendarA lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
as compared to solar calendarA solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun .-Tropical solar calendars:...
which is celebrated by Tamils and Sikhs. SankranthiMakar Sankranti or Sankranti or Sankranthi marks the transition of the Sun into Makara rashi on its celestial path...
is another major festival for Telugus which is also celebrated as ponggal by Tamils.
The Festivals of the Christian faith practiced by the Malaysian Indian communities are EasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, All Souls DayAll Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed. In Western Christianity, this day is observed principally in the Catholic Church, although some churches of Anglican Communion and the Old Catholic Churches also celebrate it. The Eastern Orthodox Church observes several All Souls' Days during the...
, and ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. In the Islamic faith, RamadanRamadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
is practiced by Indian Muslims.
Challenges facing the community
Despite the fact that the average income of Malaysian Indians exceeds that of their Malay counterparts, there exists a sizable portion of the community who are poor. This portion of the community account for 14% of the nations juvenile delinquency, make up less than 5% of successful university applicants and share less than 1.5% of Malaysia's wealth. To make matters worse, they are not eligible for any of Malaysia's lavish affirmative-action programmes, which are reserved for Malays and certain indigenous people. What has further added to the challenges faced by the community is the sense of creeping Islamisation in the country which threatens their religious freedom. These factors in part have resulted in the migration of many highly skilled Malaysian Indians abroad, where Indian migrants are largely upwardly mobile. However, the underprivileged section of the community (along with the poor from other races) continue to be excluded from affirmative-action programmes despite their genuine need for support in obtaining employment, government subsidized education, and housing. This perception of a zero-sum game amongst the races has unfortunately fueled protests by frustrated sections of the hitherto quiescent community - who consequentially faced a heavy-handed response from the authorities. Recently, the Malaysian government has at least pledged to change all of this by increasing assistance to needy Malaysians regardless of race.
Arts and Entertaiment
- David Arumugam
David Arumugam is a Malaysian singer who is one of the founding members of the band called Alleycats. He is the elder brother of Loganathan Arumugam. On the 12th of February 2009, David Arumugam was conferred the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang award which carries the title of “Datuk” in conjunction...
, Malaysian singer
- Loganathan Arumugam
Loganathan Arumugam or also better known as Loga is a Malaysian singer who is one of the founding members of the band called Alleycats. Loga, the co-lead singer for Alleycats after his elder brother David, died from lung cancer at the Mount Miriam Hospital on the 4th of June, 2007. He left behind...
,Malaysian singer
- Shunmugam Arumugam
The Alleycats is a Malaysian band which was formed in 1969, and gained popularity in the late 1970s. They consist of musicians from Penang, and gained popularity in their home state earlier on in their career.-Band members:Members include:...
, guitarist
- Kamahl
Kamahl is the stage name of Kandiah Kamalesvaran , an Australian singer and recording artist, perhaps best known for "The Elephant Song", and his repertoire of popular music.-Early life:...
, cabaret/easy listening singer and recording artist, famous for The Elephant Song, currently based in Australia.
- Yogi B
Poetic Ammo was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran Veerasingam , Chandrakumar Balakrishnan , Nicholas Ong , and Sashi Kumar Balakrishnan Poetic Ammo (previously known as PMO or Poetic Ammunition) was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran...
, often referred as Kavidhai Kundargal. Currently one of the famous rapper in KollywoodTamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
and co-founder of Poetic AmmoPoetic Ammo was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran Veerasingam , Chandrakumar Balakrishnan , Nicholas Ong , and Sashi Kumar Balakrishnan Poetic Ammo (previously known as PMO or Poetic Ammunition) was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran...
- C Loco
Poetic Ammo was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran Veerasingam , Chandrakumar Balakrishnan , Nicholas Ong , and Sashi Kumar Balakrishnan Poetic Ammo (previously known as PMO or Poetic Ammunition) was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. The group consisted of Yogeswaran...
, now known as Sashi C Loco. CO-Founder of Poetic Ammo
- Jaclyn Victor
Jaclyn Joshua Thanaraj Victor is a singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She is under the management of The 8 Unit. She represented...
, winner of the first Malaysian Idol and current n0-1 pop singer of malaysia. Had acted in many malaysia malay and Malaysia tamil movieMaking Tamil films out side its motherland Tamil Nadu is actively growing. With Tamil Diaspora spread all over the world from west to east of the globe there are many enthusiastic film makers who want to make their mark...
- Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian Idol in 2003. He is currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor. Sebastian has released six top ten platinum/multi platinum albums, including a number-one and...
, Australian pop, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter who was the first winner of Australian IdolAustralian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
in 2003.currently a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor.
- Dhilip Varman
S. Dhilip Varman is a Malaysian singer, lyricist and composer, born and brought up in Penang. Many compare the texture and melody of his vocal range with that of Indian playback singers.Dhilip, an ardent fan of renowned musical composers Illayaraja and A.R...
, singer, lyricist and compose. Won Best Male Vocalist at 2010 MIMI (Malaysian Indian Music Industry) Awards.
- Ronnie Pereira
Ronnie Pereira was the lead guitarist and singer of the 1970s band Revolvers. He was popularly known as the Malaysian Carlos Santana for the way he emulated Santana in playing the guitar.- Musical career :...
, lead guitarist and singer of the 70s band Revolvers
- Asha Gill
Asha Anand Gill is a Malaysia-based model, television host, deejay, veejay, writer, producer, film director, and women's rights activist...
, TV personality, DJ and women's rights activist
- Kavita Sidhu
Kavita Sidhu is a Malaysian actress and former beauty queen. She is of Indian Punjabi ancestry.She won the Miss Charm International title in 1990. She has been listed in the Malaysia Book of Records as the first Malaysian to have won an international beauty pageant title.On television, she has...
, actress and former beauty queen
- V. Nagaraj
V. Nagaraj is a prominent Malaysian director.Naga, as his friends call him, has been in the local cinema field since 1984. He has created such popular Malay language films such as Ghazal untuk Rabiah, Getaran Iskandar and Siapa Tak Sayang Bini....
, a prominent Malaysian director.
- Ash Nair
Ashvin Kumar Nair, fondly known as Ash, is a Malaysian alternative musician and former contestant of season 2 of Malaysian Idol, where he first became widely known to the public.-Malaysian Idol:...
, a Malaysian alternative musician and former contestant of season 2 of Malaysian IdolMalaysian Idol is the Malaysian version of the Idol Series that started in UK, similar to shows such as UK's Pop Idol and American Idol in the franchise. This show is a contest to determine the best young singer in Malaysia, with the winner receiving a major record deal, although some runners-up...
- Reshmonu
Hiresh Haridas , better known by his stage name Reshmonu, is a singer-songwriter from Malaysia who does mostly English songs. He is known for songs such as "Walk Away", "Cintaku Pergi", "Hey Waley" and "Superfine", as well as for his hairstyles...
, singer-songwriter from Malaysia who does mostly English songs
- Hans Isaac
Gerald Hans Isaac or more popularly known as Hans Isaac is a Malaysian actor, producer, director and a former model. He is of Indian, Filipino, Spanish and Eurasian parentage, his mother is of Filipino and Spanish descent and his father is Indian Malaysian.Born on August 20, 1971, he received his...
, Malaysian actor, producer, director and a former model
- Huzir Sulaiman
Huzir Sulaiman is a Malaysian actor, director and writer. One of Malaysia's leading dramatists, acclaimed for his vibrant, inventive use of language and incisive insight into human behavior in general and the Asian psyche in particular...
, Malaysian actor, director and writer.
- Syed Thajudeen
Syed Thajudeen Shaik Abu Talib was born in 1943 in Alagan Kulam, a village not too far from the temple city of Madurai, South India, where his Malaysian-born parents lived during the Second World War...
, artist
- Indi Nadarajah
Indi Nadarajah is an actor/comedian/singer based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He regularly performs on the Malaysian stage for both public and private shows. At present, he works with his partner Allan Perera in a comedy duo called Comedy Court...
, actor/comedian/singer based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Deborah Priya Henry, Miss Malaysia World 2007. Tv personal and actress.
- Rani Moorthy
Rani Moorthy is a Malaysian-born playwright, actress, and artistic director of Rasa Productions. Following the race riots of 1969 her family tried to emigrate to Singapore, but were unsuccessful for a time. When they eventually made it, Moorthy began her acting career, appearing in theatre and...
, Malaysian-born playwright, actress, and artistic director of Rasa Productions
- Harikrish Menon
Singer/songwriter HAZE is known for his work in the dance music genre, with hit singles such as Changes and Freak.- Career :...
, singer and songwriter
- Kimberley Ann Estrop-Leggett
Kimberley Ann Estrop-Leggett is a Malaysian model and the current title holder of Miss Universe Malaysia 2012. She was a heavy favorite for the crown and succeeded by achieving the highest scores of the Final Gala night. Leggett will represent Malaysia at the Miss Universe 2012...
,model and the current title holder of Miss Universe Malaysia 2012
- Nadine Ann Thomas, Miss universe Malaysia 2019 and acted in Nasi Lemak 2.0
Nasi Lemak 2.0 is a film by Namewee. The film had a low budget, since the government did not provide funding. Wee spent nearly a year applying for loans...
- Andrea Fonseka
Andrea Veronica Fonseka was the winner of Miss Malaysia Universe 2004, and is an actor, television presenter and model who works predominantly in Malaysia and Singapore. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws from NUS. Fonseka is the current National Director for Miss Universe Malaysia.-Personal...
,winner of Miss Malaysia Universe 2004, and is an actor, television presenter and model who works predominantly in Malaysia and Singapore
- Lucy Narayanasamy, wINNER OF miss Malaysia Universe 1993
- Thanuja Ananthan,Miss Malaysia World 2009 titleholder
- Anna Leonowens
Anna Leonowens was an English travel writer, educator, and social activist. She worked in Siam from 1862 to 1868, where she taught the wives and children of Mongkut, king of Siam. She also co-founded the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design...
,was an English travel writer, educator, and social activist
- Chakra Sonic
Viveck ,born April 8, 1976, is a Malaysian hip hop musician. Known as the godfather of Tamil rap, Viveck has featured with artistes like Reshmonu and Datuk Siti Nurhaliza....
,is a Malaysian hip hop musician. Known as the godfather of Tamil rap.
- Maya Karin
Maya Karin Roelcke is a Malaysian actress, television personality, and singer. Commonly known as Maya Karin, she is largely known for her roles in supernatural horror and thriller films.-Background:...
,Malaysian actress, television personality, and singe
Litretcure,Media, Tv personal, Radio Dj
- Charles Mohan,editor/anchor/broadcast journalist of Ntv7
Natseven TV Sdn Bhd or better known as ntv7 is a terrestrial television channel in Malaysia. It was launched nationwide on 7 April 1998 and was the country's third private free-to-air TV station after TV3 and Astro. Its mission is to promote a happier and more enlightened Malaysia...
- Jay Menon,Radio Announcer, TV Presenter, Commercial Talent
- Roshan Narayanan,Amateur footballer, tap dancer, TV/Radio Host.
- Anantha, no-1 tamil radio Dj. THr raaga dj
- Uthaya, thr raaga Dj
Sport personalaties
- Nicol Ann David,Malaysian female professional squash player. She is currently ranked world number 1 in women's squash, and is the first Asian woman to achieve this
Krishnamurthi MuniandyN Krishnamurthi Muniandy is a Malaysian cricketer. A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, he has played for the Malaysia national cricket team since 1999, including two first-class matches.-Biography:...
,is a Malaysian cricketer
See also
- Chitty
The Chitty are a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly in Malacca and Singapore , who are also known as the Indian Peranakans. As of today, their population stands at 2,000.-Language:...
- Thaipusam
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai . It is celebrated not only in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority, but also in countries where Tamil communities are smaller, such as Singapore and Malaysia...
- Indians in Singapore
- Indosphere
Indosphere is a subgrouping of Tibeto-Burman languages as defined by linguist James Matisoff, which includes languages that are typologically and morphologically a closeness to Indo-Aryan languages...
- Little India, Singapore
Little India is an ethnic neighbourhood found in Singapore that has Tamil cultural elements. Little India lies to east of the Singapore River—across from Chinatown, located west of the river—and north of Kampong Glam. Both areas are part of the urban planning area of Rochor...
- Silambam
Silambam or silambattam is a weapon-based Dravidian martial art from Tamil Nadu in south India but also practised by the Tamil community of Sri Lanka and Malaysia. In Tamil, the word silambam refers to the bamboo staff which is the main weapon used in this style...
- Chindian
"Chindian" is a compound word used to refer to an Indian restaurant within the village of Chinnor, Oxfordshire. It is formed simply, yet ingeniously, by putting the "ch" from "Chinnor" in front of the word "Indian"....
- Malaysian Indian Congress
- Tamil Malaysians
Tamil Malaysian or Malaysian Tamil refer to the Malaysians of Tamil ethnic origin from India and Sri Lanka in Malaysia. They make up over 70% of the Indian Malaysian population group in Malaysia...
- HINDRAF
HINDRAF or Hindu Rights Action Force ; Chinese:兴权 with its slogan of People's Power மக்கள் சக்தி ) began as a coalition of 30 Hindu non-governmental organizations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia...
- Keling
Keling is a word used to describe people originating from the Indian subcontinent by native Malaysians and Indonesians. It is now generally considered offensive by majority of Indians....
External links
{{commonscat|Indian diaspora in Malaysia}}
{{Ethnic groups in Malaysia}}
{{NRI-PIO}}
|
|
|
|