Rather fortuitously, rubber, and before it sugar, have provided the glue for the Indian Diaspora in Malaysia to stick to its Indian roots for nearly 150 years. It was in the late 19th century that the British engaged thousands of poor Indians in sugarcane and rubber estates in Malaysia as labor under the much criticized colonial indentured system. Their descendants today form the majority of Malaysia’s estimated 2.76 million PIOs (persons of Indian origin). Most of them (an estimated 90 percent) are of Tamil, Malayalee and Telugu descent, the rest are Punjabis and Sikhs, Bengalis, Gujaratis, Sindhis and Marwaris. Even after six or seven generations these PIOs have determinedly held on to their culture, language and customs, and to their very roots, against all odds. They have been indisputably resilient, their stories are quite enduring.

For years Malaysia has been sending some of the largest delegations of PIOs to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) events in India, held biennially in January since 2015, and annually prior to that since the first PBD in 2003. Several of these delegations would be led by the leaders of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a political party originally established in 1946 to advocate for Indian independence from British rule. Malaysia’s geographical proximity has also ensured close and abiding ties—not only for those PIOs with familial connections with India, but also for Indians looking for tourism opportunities in South Asia.

Changing Times

Gone are the days when the Indian Government would look the other way when a section of Malaysian PIOs were being jailed repeatedly under the draconian Internal Security Act for protesting worsening conditions against minorities in their country of domicile. Their shrill cries seeking help from Indian authorities always reached deaf ears in India’s foreign ministry, mostly during the second half of the first decade of the 21st century. Somehow the political dispensation at that time was disinclined to take up cudgels on behalf of the Indian Diaspora in Malaysia.

Things, though, have evidently changed.

The Government of India has accorded high priority to Malaysia when it comes to engaging with the PIO community. When in December 2023 the GOPIO International organized the Business Summit & Expo in partnership with the Indian High Commission in Malaysia (where the India Empire was a Magazine Partner), the Indian Government was represented by Mr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, then Minister of State for External Affairs. More recently, when the 15th GOPIO International Convention and Apravasi Diwas was organized in September 2024 in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, the Indian Government was represented by Mr Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs. The deputation of ministers of state to such prominent Indian Diaspora events in Malaysia indicates that the Indian Government is quite serious about its engagement with the Malaysian Indian Diaspora. The event had over 20,000 visitors.

Minister Singh inaugurated the Apravasi Diwas celebrations held between September 14 and 16 and the convention held between September 13 and 15 in the presence of H.E. Mr B. N. Reddy, High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, and other dignitaries. Ambassador Reddy had been a part of the GOPIO proceedings in December 2023 as well. The minister appreciated the contributions of the PIO community to Malaysia, as well as to Indo-Malaysian ties, and urged them to continue to play a constructive role in strengthening the partnership between the two countries. He also interacted with the brass of GOPIO International and GOPIO Malaysia, captains of industry and business associations including the Consortium of Indian Industries in Malaysia (CIIM) and the Malaysia India Business Council (MIBC); Indian culture associations, Indian professionals and also, workers based in Malaysia.