Indian Indonesians

Indian Indonesians

Indian-Indonesian community in Sri Mariamman Temple, Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
Total population
Official: 120,000 (2010)[A]
Regions with significant populations
By Provinces North Sumatra, Aceh, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, Jakarta, Bali By Cities Greater Medan, Jakarta, Banda Aceh, Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung, Palembang, Padang, Denpasar, Surakarta and Bogor
Languages
Mainly: Indonesian  • Tamil Also: · Javanese · Punjabi · Hindi · Urdu · Minangkabau · Gujarati · Sindhi · Telugu · Odia  · Sundanese · Balinese  · English
Religion
Predominantly Hinduism (40%) Significant minorities Islam (30%) • Buddhism (18%) • Christianity (10%) Others Sikhism • Jainism (2%) [2]
Related ethnic groups
People of Indian origin, Malaysian Indians, Tamil Indonesians, Mardijkers, Betawi People

Indian Indonesians are Indonesians whose ancestors originally came from the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, this term can be regarded as a blanket term for not only Indonesian Indians but also Indonesians with other South Asian ancestries (e.g. Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, etc.). According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, there were about 120,000 people of Indian origin as well as 9,000 Indian nationals living and working in Indonesia as of January 2012.^[3] Most of them were concentrated in the province of North Sumatra and urban areas such as Banda Aceh, Surabaya, Medan, and Jakarta. However, it is quite impossible to get correct statistical figures on the Indian Indonesian population, because some of them have merged and assimilated with the indigenous population to become indistinguishable from native Indonesians.^[4]

The name Indonesia itself derives from the Latin Indus, meaning "India", and the Greek nesos, meaning "island". (due to the similarity of the culture in both regions).^[5]

The ties between Indonesia and the Indian subcontinent dates back to the times of the Ramayana,^[6] "Yawadvipa" (Java) is mentioned in India's earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Rama's army dispatched his men to Yawadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita.^[7] Indians had visited Indonesia since ancient times, and ancient Indonesian peoples has embarked in maritime trade in Southeast Asian seas and Indian Ocean. The spread of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia is also pioneered by Indian Merchants, Scholars, Missionaries, Priests and Traders who settled within the region.

An rouletted ware of South Indian origin at the site of Simberan, Bali has produced a carbon dating of 660 BCE (+/- 100). Signifying that Indian settlement have reached as far as Bali and The population exchanges and intermarriages in the island of Bali between Indonesians and Indians has been archaeologically dated as far as to second century BCE.^[8]

Southern Indians, Particularly Tamils have a long history in Indonesia. After Rajendra Chola I's invasion of Srivijaya Empire in 1024–1025, there was a noticeable increase in Tamil economic activity in Indonesia and South East Asia in general. One of direct consequence of Chola invasion was the emergence of Kota Cina, an ancient trading town currently located in northern Medan.

Tamil presence has been recorded in Lobu Tua Inscription dating about 1088 regarding the Five Hundred Lords of Ayyanuruwar, a Tamil merchant guild had trading post in Barus, an ancient port town currently located in Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra. The inscription itself is written in Tamil, and Barus was referred as Varocu by them. The Tamils residing permanently or temporarily in Barus were mainly traders or craftsmen by profession. Some of them migrated westward towards Karoland and Kota Cina, and assimilated with local Karo people. The clan (marga) Sembiring is believed to have a connection with the Tamils. Many of its sub-mergas, like Colia, Berahmana, Pandia, Meliala, Depari, Muham, Pelawi and Tekan, are indicated to be of South Indian origin as well. Some scholars cited that some aspects of Karo tradition are believed to have been influenced from Tamil culture, such as disposing of the dead and urung (village federation, thought to be influenced from medieval Tamil society).^[9]

One of the suggested theories of the spread of Islam within the region was the "Gujarat Theory". Just like what the name implies, the theory suggested that the introduction of Islam within the region was due to the efforts of Gujarati Muslim traders and merchants who came and settled within the region, these traders are commonly found in areas the locals referred as "Kampung Pekojan". In Jakarta there are areas named Pekojan in West Jakarta, and Koja in North Jakarta. Both of these areas used to be settlements of Indian Muslims who were also called Khoja. They generally came from the Cutch, Kathiawar and many other areas in Gujarat. They came from the Ksatria caste. In the 14th century, this community underwent a major change when a Persian missionary, Pir Sadruddin, spread Islam among them and gave them the name "Khwaja", and from this word the word "khoja" or "koja" was derived. "Khawaja" itself means "teacher, respected and well-off person".^[10][11]

Large numbers of Tamils from India were brought by the Dutch in the early build-up of the plantation industries across the island of Sumatra in the 1830s.^[12] Dutch Agents visited villages in South India and tempted poor uneducated Tamils to come to "Tanah Deli" (Sumatra) and were promised easy work with good pay.

After they arrived in Indonesia, they were used for hard labor and housed in simple huts. Most of them worked for the Dutch company, Deli Maatschappij under harsh conditions. A small number of Tamils returned to India after their contract expires. At the end of the 1940s, many Tamils got an opportunity to return and left, but most opted to remain within the colony, about 5,000 to 10,000 Tamils remained in North Sumatra alone, mainly in Medan, but also in Lubuk Pakam (Deli Serdang Regency), Tebing Tinggi, and Binjai.

Many Merchants and traders from various parts of India have also began immigrating to Indonesia around this time, in Batavia, a large number of silk merchants hailing from Mumbai and Calcutta (particularly those who are of Sindhi, Sikh and Punjabi ethnicity) established themselves within Weltevreden district, in an area now known as Pasar Baru.^[13][14][15]

Sikh settlement and migration within Indonesia is also accelerated around the colonial times, In Sumatra, specifically Aceh in particular, acted as a gateway to Sikh settlement and migration across the Indonesian archipelago.^[16][17] The early Sikh settlers to Sumatra arrived via the Malayan post of Penang,^[18] Sikh settlement in Sumatra dates back to the 1870s. In the early years, the Sikh population of Sumatra would have been a few hundred people until the early 1880s, whereafter it was bolstered with fresh numbers by young, male Sikh arrivals from the Straits Settlements. The partial motivation of the large scale Sikh Migration towards Sumatra might've been motivated by tales of Guru Nanak visiting the island.

The early Sikhs who settled in northern Sumatra in the late 19th century originated from the Jalandhar and Amritsar areas of the Majha and Doaba regions of the Punjab. These early Sikh arrivals came as traders and gradually scattered throughout northern Sumatra. Sumatran Sikhs of the time also were engaged in the dairy, security, and taxi industries, later branching out to business, trading, sports equipment manufacturing, and textile sectors later-on.^[17] Some of the Sumatran Sikh pioneers worked in tobacco and rubber plantations. By the late 19th century, a Medan branch of the De Javasche Bank was established, with Sikhs working as security guards at it. They would be followed by Sikhs seeking work as watchmen. Stories of Sikh success and opportunities in Sumatra made their way back to the Punjab, which encouraged further Sikh migration to the island by prospective Sikhs. Some of these Sikhs have also came to work as soldiers and policemen.^[16][17][19]

After World War II and the country's independence from the Netherlands, many Indians opted to remain within the country, although some have left during several turbulent and unstable periods in the Country, with most migrating to the neighboring countries of Malaysia and Singapore for economic reasons.

In Sumatra, many Tamils left the plantations and worked various odd jobs. Many of them often used cow carts as transport.^{[citation needed]} These vehicles became their tools for making a living. Some even bought abandoned Japanese military vehicles, which they used to transport sand and building material for building projects. Other Tamils have specialized in spice and silk trading at the markets and a few become contractors and government officials, Many other Indians, regardless of ethnicity have also moved into commerce, The Sindhis and the Punjabis in particular, have been active within the Textile, Garment, Precious rock mining, Gastronomy and the Filming industry^{[citation needed]}, some of the major figures within the entertainment industries of Indonesia are of Indian ancestry, one such example is Raam Punjabi who is hailed as "The King of Indonesian soap operas".

Association communities have also existed across the country. the Tamil community has an organization called "Indonesia Tamil Tamram" which works to preserve the Tamil language and culture, build mutual understanding between Indians and Indonesians, and provide learning opportunities for Tamil children in Indonesia to learn their mother tongue.^[20] The Sindhi community also has a social organization called "Gandhi Seva Loka" which provides a lot of assistance to their own community, and also organizes regular foster parent programs. This organization also helps the poor in the wider community of Indonesians regardless of their ethnicity, Indian Schools also exists within the country such as the Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School which is founded by the aforementioned organization.^[21]

The influence of India on Indonesian cuisine can be traced through the relationship between the Mughal and the Aceh sultanate, around the 15th to 16th centuries. Some Mughal influences are thought to be found in spicy and coconut milk-based dishes. There are two different opinions about the origin of this spicy taste. First, the source of spiciness is said to come from chili brought by the Portuguese to the Mughals, until it reached the Indonesian Archipelago. Second, The Indians have known about chilies or similar peppers long before the Portuguese arrived and have introduced it to the Indonesian archipelago.^[22]

• Bali Jatra
• Desi
• Klingalese
• Mardijker people
• Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India
• Tamil diaspora

• J.L.A. Brandes, 1913, Oud-Javaansche oorkonden: nagelaten transscripties van wijlen J.L.A. Brandes; uitgegeven door N.J. Krom. Batavia: Albrecht. (Old Javanese inscriptions, bequeathed by the late J.L.A. Brandes, edited by N.J. Krom).
• de Vletter, M.E.; Voskuil, R.P.G.A.; van Diessen, J.R. (May 1997). Batavia/Djakarta/Jakarta Beeld van een metamorfose. Purmerend: Asia Maior. ISBN 9074861091.
• Jan Gonda, 1952, Sanskrit in Indonesia. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture.
• Page of the Indian Embassy in Jakarta on Indonesia
• Nilay Kothari
• There has never been Indian Kings whose expansion in the South-east Asia known to be of a Sanskrit Speaking. The Raja-raja Chera, Chola, Pandia and the rest of the Kings whose ruler-ship established in this part of the world are of the South Indian Kings.