The Malaysian Telugus or Telugu Malaysians, consists of people of full or partial Telugu descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia. Most of Malaysian Telugus today are 5th or 6th generation who migrated during the colonial period. While most of current Malaysian Telugu ancestors originated from what is now Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, substantial number of them originated from area of Orissa and Bengal state. While most Telugus come to Malaysia as labourers, some were professionals and traders who arrived as refugees. In 1930s anti Indian riots in Burma results in large number of ethnic Telugus fleeing from Burma either back to India, Thailand or Malaya. Another wave of Telugu migration from Burma occurs during world war two, when Japanese invaded Burma. In recent years new wave of migration of Telugu speaking population from India results in some rejuvenation of Telugu linguistic interest in Malaysia. In 1981 the Second World Telugu Conference was held in Kuala Lumpur. Telugu Association of Malaysia, a non profit NGO serves as representative of Malaysian Telugus and is platform for Telugus to voice their opinions. The Telugu Association was first formed in the region of Lower Perak District in Malaysia on 17 July 1955, under the banner of Malaya Andhra Sangamu and officially registered on 17 February 1956. On 16 December 1963 it was renamed as Malaysia Andhra Sangamu. The association name evolved from 1983 onwards as Telugu Association of Malaysia which is also known as Malaysia Telugu Sangamu. The association is formally registered and operates under the banner of as Persatuan Telugu Malaysia in Bahasa Malaysia.
History
Telugus along with other Indians from the east coast of India and the Bengal Bay arrived to the shores of ancient Suvarnabhumi and other parts of Southeast Asia. Indians from Godavari basin arrived in ancient Malay peninsular, trading and settling down, thus influencing local customs and culture. Sejarah Melayu addressed India as Benua Keling and Indians as "Keling", a word taken from Kalinga, an ancient Indian kingdom which is likely the source of Indian influence over Southeast Asia. Kalinga is located at the northern part of Andhra Pradesh covering Godavari basin and the southern part of Orissa and people of this region now speak either Telugu or Oriya. The current population of Malaysian Telugus are mostly third and fourth generation Telugus who descended from indentured laborers under the kangani system who arrived in the 19th and early 20th century. Some also paid their own passage after the Kangani system ended in the early 20th century. Most of the Telugus migrants to the Malay peninsula during the colonial era were from northern coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, often recruited by maistries or kanganis from the Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam regions, with some from the East Godavari and Chittoor regions. The migrants usually shared the same neighbourhood background, blood ties or caste connections. Telugus who arrived during British colonial era were mainly non-Brahmin middle-ranking or low caste Hindus from the Kamma and Reddy to the untouchables, and included the Gavara, Kapu, and Velama, with some from the Chakali, Mangali and others castes. Another recruitment centre was Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. While the Indian immigrants in the early period were predominantly men, the Telugus were more willing to bring with them their womenfolk. The Telugus were most commonly found in the rubber and coconut plantations in Perak, Johor, and Kedah. As the Telugus formed only a small minority of Indians in British Malaya with Tamils the great majority, they weren't particularly visible as a group and thus their identity was subsumed into the larger group of South Indians. They were referred to as Klings or Madrasis used as general terms for South Indians. In 1955, the Malaya Andhra Sanghamu was formed to support the Telugu community, foster their culture and promote their language. More recently, an increasing number of Telugu expatriates have arrived from India.
Population
The Malaysian Telugus form the third largest group of Indians in Malaysia. In British Malaya they formed around 4% of the Indian population. The Malaysian Origin Telugu population is estimated to be 119,000 in 2020.
Language
Telugu language is the native language of Malaysian Telugus, It is the world's most spoken Dravidian and it comes under the category of "South Central Dravidian" language family. Until late 1980s there were few primary Telugu medium schools. These schools were poorly maintained and there were support by the estate owners only. The last of Telugu school were closed in 1990 due to socioeconomic reasons and urbanization of Telugu people.There was no Indian political party in Malaysia to voice out Telugu people concerns. Some Telugus also had start adopting and assimilating into the majority Tamil language and culture due to Tamil dominance. There was resurgence in learning Telugu language following political and financial support from the Malaysian government.There was an increase in students enrollment in Telugu classes conducted by Telugu Association of Malaysia with partial financial support from government of Malaysia. Today there are more than 5000 new generation of students who can read and write in Telugu language.
