Tamil Malaysians, also known as Malaysian Tamils, are people of full or partial Tamil descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia from Tamil Nadu in South East India and the Tamil regions of northern Sri Lanka. They make up over 90% of the Malaysian Indian populations in Malaysia. The bulk of Tamil Malaysian migration began during the British Raj, when Britain facilitated the migration of Indian workers to work in plantations. There are also, however, some established Tamil communities spanning a millennium.
Precolonial period
Relations between Tamils and Malaysia have existed for more than 2000 years. The ancient Tamil poetic work Paṭṭiṉappālai refers to the territory of modern Malaysia as Kaalagam. Tamil literature from the 10th and 11th centuries refers to the modern Malaysian state of Kedah as Kadaram Prior to British colonization, Tamils had been conspicuous in the archipelago much earlier, especially since the period of the powerful South Indian kingdom of the Cholas in the 11th century. The Pallava dynasty of Tamil Nadu spread Tamil culture and the Tamil script to Malaysia. The Tamil emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty invaded Malaysia in the 11th century. The Malay Peninsula had a strong Tamil culture in the 11th century, and Tamil merchant guilds were established in several locations. By that time, Tamils were among the important trading peoples of maritime Asia. Although the bulk of these immigrants to South East Asia had assimilated with the majority Malayethnic group, some communities such as the Malacca Chittys are remnants of the earlier migration history.
During the WWII Japanese army used more than 120,000 Tamils in the construction of 415 KM railway between Siam and Burma to transport them army supplies. During this project, it was initially believed that half of them perished. However, recent research revealed that about 150,000+ Tamil Indians were killed during the duration of the Siam railway project. They fell victim to snake bites and insect bites, diseases like cholera, malaria & beriberi, massacre, torture, rape, committed suicide, etc. as they were unable to bear the burden. In order to wipe out cholera, Japanese forces launched huge massacres against the Indians, killing massive numbers of the Tamil Indians daily. Handfuls of Tamil Indians also died weekly from overwork as they were worked to death like slaves. Some Japanese soldiers also died during these times. Other methods of executing the Indian Tamils include burning them and their entire families to death. Japanese officers would also invite female indian coolies to dance naked where they were raped afterward. The japanese officials who finished gang raping numerous indian women at a japanese party was violent that one Indian woman was raped to death as a result. One 19 year old Tamil Indian was raped by a Japanese soldier who later forced other Tamil coolies to rape her as a joke. She later died after being defiled by bamboo strips.
Language
Tamil is an educational language in Malaysia, with more than 500 Tamil medium schools. According to Harold Schiffman, an American researcher into Malaysian Tamils, compared to Singapore, language maintenance is favorable in Malaysia. However, he notes some Tamils are shifting to English and Malay. Although most Tamil students still go to publicly funded schools that teach primary subjects in Tamil language there are moves to shift to Malay language. Tamil groups have seriously objected to this policy.
The Malaysian political process is based on a cooperative political alliance of three major political parties, each representing an ethnic community. Malaysian Indian Congress represents the interests of the Malaysian Indian community at the federal level. Due to overwhelming natural presence, Malaysian Tamils have come to dominate the MIC since its inception. Samy Vellu, who is the longest serving leader of a mainstream Malaysian political party, having been MIC president since October 12, 1979 is a Malaysian Tamil, as are many of the office bearers of the party. In recent times the underclass of the Indian community have been galvanized by the Hindu Rights Action Force to fight for their rights. HINDRAF was classified as an illegal organization on 15 October 2008 and most of its top leaders have been detained under the Internal Security Act. In July 2018 Malaysian police launched a probe into P. Ramasamy's, deputy chief minister of Penang, alleged ties to LTTE.
Notable people
This is a list of notable Tamil Malaysian people. Entries on this list have a linked current article which verifies that they define themselves as Tamil Malaysia, whose ethnic origins lie in Tamil Nadu or Sri Lanka.
