View source for Burmese Indians

{{Short description|Ethnic community}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Burmese Indians
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = 
| caption          = 
| population       = '''2,000,000 - 2,500,000'''<br/>4.5% of the Burmese population
| popplace         = [[Yangon]], [[Mandalay]], [[Taunggyi]], [[Myitkyina]]
| langs            = [[Burmese language|Burmese]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]] (majority), [[Telugu language|Telugu]], [[Meitei language|Meitei]] ([[Manipuri language|Manipuri]]<ref name="Manipuri language {{!}} Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Manipuri language {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manipuri-language |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=Manipuri language, Manipuri Meiteilon, also called Meitei (Meetei), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken predominantly in Manipur, a northeastern state of India. Smaller speech communities exist in the Indian states of Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura, as well as in Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma).}}</ref><ref name="Meitei">{{Cite web |title=Meitei |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mni/25 |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>), [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Odia language|Odia]], [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]
| rels             = '''Majority:''' [[Hinduism]]  <br/> {{hlist| '''Minority:''' [[Christianity]] | [[Buddhism]] | [[Islam]] | [[Sanamahism]] | [[Sikhism]] | [[Jainism]]  }}
| related_groups   = 
| related-c        = [[Malaysian Indians]], [[Singaporean Indians]]
}}
{{Contains special characters|Burmese}}
[[File:Hindutempleyangon.jpg|thumb|[[Shri Kali Temple, Burma]], a [[Hindu temple]] with [[Dravidian architecture]] in [[Yangon]]]]'''Burmese Indians''' are a group of people of [[India]]n origin who live in [[Myanmar]] (Burma). The term 'Burmese Indian' refers to a broad range of people from [[South Asia]], most notably from present-day countries such as [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]]. While Indians have lived in Burma for many centuries, most of the ancestors of the current Burmese Indian community emigrated to Burma from the start of British rule in the mid-19th century to the separation of British Burma from [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]] in 1937. During colonial times, ethnic Indians formed the backbone of the government and economy serving as soldiers, civil servants, merchants, moneylenders, mobile laborers and dock workers. A series of anti-Indian riots in the 1930s and mass emigration at the onset of the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942 were followed in the 1960s by the forced migration of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Indians, exacerbated by [[internal conflict in Myanmar]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Idealization of a Lost Paradise: Narratives of Nostalgia and Traumatic Return among Indian Repatriates from Burma since the 1960s|first=Renaud|last=Egreteau|date=June 2014|journal=Journal of Burma Studies|volume=18|issue=1|pages=137–180|doi=10.1353/jbs.2014.0002|s2cid=162378961}}</ref>

Burmese Indians today are estimated to account for approximately 5% (about 2.0–2.5 million people) of the population of Burma and are concentrated largely in the two major cities ([[Yangon]] and [[Mandalay]]) and former colonial towns ([[Pyin U Lwin]] and [[Kalaw]]). They wield considerable influence and control over the [[Economy of Myanmar|Burmese economy]] and have a major socio-cultural presence within the country.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Burmese Indians in contemporary Burma: heritage, influence, and perceptions since 1988|first=Renaud|last=Egreteau|date=1 February 2011|journal=Asian Ethnicity|volume=12|issue=1|pages=33–54|doi=10.1080/14631369.2010.510869|s2cid=143621311}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/images/pdf/Indian-Migrants-Myanmar.pdf|title=Indian Migrants in Myanmar: Emerging Trends and Challenges|author=Medha Chaturvedi|website=Mea.gov.in|access-date=17 August 2018}}</ref> Amongst the well-known Burmese Indians is [[S. N. Goenka|S N Goenka]], a leading practitioner and teacher of [[vipassanā]] meditation and [[Helen (actress)|Helen]], a well-known Bollywood film actress who is also of [[Anglo-Burmese people|Anglo-Burmese]] descent.

== Etymology ==
In the [[Burmese language]], Indians are typically called ''kalar'' ({{Linktext|ကုလား}}, spelt ''kula:''). The origins of the term itself are disputed. The [[Myanmar Language Commission]] officially traces the etymology of the word ''kalar'' to the [[Pali]] term {{IAST|kula}} (ကုလ), which means "noble", "noble race", or "pure".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Myanmar-English Dictionary|publisher=Myanmar Language Commission|year=1993|isbn=1-881265-47-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Opening a Can of Worms in Burmese Teaching: Tackling Controversial Words in a Language Class|url=http://kennethwongsf.blogspot.com/2017/04/opening-can-of-worms-in-burmese.html|access-date=2020-06-16|language=en}}</ref> [[Folk etymology]] ascribes the origins of this term to a calque of two Burmese words: ကူး+ လာ (lit. "to cross over [from the sea]"), although this etymology has no scholarly basis.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Saw|first=Khin Maung|date=2016-01-20|title=(Mis)Interpretations of Burmese Words: In the case of the term Kala (Kula)|url=http://eng.moemaka.net/2016/01/khin-maung-saw-misinterpretations-of-burmese-words-in-the-case-of-the-term-kala-kula/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127223806/http://eng.moemaka.net/2016/01/khin-maung-saw-misinterpretations-of-burmese-words-in-the-case-of-the-term-kala-kula/|archive-date=2016-01-27|access-date=2020-06-18}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Bhattacharya|first1=Jayati|title=Indian and Chinese Immigrant Communities: Comparative Perspectives|last2=Kripalani|first2=Coonoor|date=2015-03-01|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-78308-362-6|pages=114–115|language=en}}</ref> The term ''kalar'' also phonetically resembles the word for "black" in several Indic languages, including [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]] (cf. Sanskrit {{IAST|kāla}}), and is used by Indians as an ethnic slur for dark-skinned people and Africans.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-05-19|title=Let's Talk About Racism {{!}} Movies tell us to use 'kaala' as an all-weather insult|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/let-s-talk-about-racism-movies-tell-us-to-use-kaala-as-an-all-weather-insult/story-eRrj9I0kvsKvVxNy2TRL9I.html|access-date=2020-06-18|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref>

The Burmese language term ''kalar'' has been borrowed into a number of regional languages, including [[Shan language|Shan]] (ၵလႃး, ''kala''),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sao Tern Moeng|title=Shan-English Dictionary|publisher=Dunwoody Press|year=1995|isbn=0-931745-92-6}}</ref> Mon (ဂလာ, ''h'lea'')'',''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shorto|first=H.L.|title=Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1962}}</ref> [[S'gaw Karen language|S'gaw Karen]] (''kola''),<ref name=":2" /> and [[Khmer language|Khmer]] (កុឡា, ''kola''). The Khmer term ''kola'' refers to the [[Kula people (Asia)|Kula people]], a diverse community of migrants from present-day [[Shan State]].

The term ''kalar'' has a long history; it is attested in [[Pagan Kingdom]] stone inscriptions dating to the 1100s, and was the name of a prominent 17th century Burmese historian, [[U Kala]].<ref name=":2" /> During the pre-colonial era, Westerners, including those from the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Europe, were collectively known as ''kalar,'' an [[Exonym and endonym|exonym]] used by Burmese speakers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Myint-U|first=Thant|title=The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century|date=2019-11-12|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-1-324-00330-4|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> For instance, ''kalaphyu'' (ကုလားဖြူ, {{Lit|white ''kalar''}}) or ''bayinngyi kalar'' (ဘရင်ဂျီကုလား, {{Lit|[[Franks|Frank]] ''kalar''}}) were used as Burmese exonyms for Europeans.<ref name=":1" /> To this day, the word ''kalar'' features in many Burmese compound words, including ''kalahtaing'' (ကုလားထိုင်, {{Lit|''kalar'' seat}} or 'chair') and ''kala be'' (ကုလားပဲ,  {{Lit|''kalar'' bean}} or 'chickpea')"<ref name=":1" /> By 1886, the conventional use of ''kalar'' in reference to a "native of continental India" was documented in dictionaries.<ref name=":0" /> Burma was administered as a part of [[British India]] for the majority of its time under British occupation between 1826 and 1948. Colonial exploitation during [[British rule in Burma|British Burma]] engendered nationalist and anti-Indian sentiment among locals, which was reinforced in the use of ''kalar'' as an exonym with negative connotations.<ref name=":0" />

The term ''kalar'' is now considered [[pejorative]] by some members of the Burmese Indian community.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How the word 'kalar' is a depressing indictment of Myanmar society|url=https://myanmarmix.com/en/articles/how-the-word-kalar-is-a-depressing-indictment-of-myanmar-society|access-date=2020-06-16|website=Myanmar Mix|language=en}}</ref> In 2017, following the [[Rohingya genocide]], the social media company [[Facebook]] added ''kalar'' to its censored words, creating collateral censorship for related words like chair and chickpea.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cebu |first=Juan |date=2 June 2017 |title=Facebook Bans Racist Word 'Kalar' in Myanmar, Triggers Collateral Censorship |language=en |website=Global Voices Advox |url=https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/06/02/facebook-bans-racist-word-kalar-in-myanmar-triggers-collateral-censorship/}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Manipuri astrologers and brahmins.jpg|thumb|Brahmins in British Burma, circa 1900]]
===Indian immigration===

Before the British conquest, the Indians in Lower Burma primarily engaged in trade. The small Indian community was located almost wholly in during and preceding eras. After 1852, they migrated to [[Lower Burma]] because of the jobs available in the expanding economy and the new provincial bureaucracy of the [[British Raj]]. Their population rapidly rose from 37,000 in 1871 in Lower Burma to 297,000 in 1901 with 86% being born outside Burma by that year. Most Indians were from [[Madras Presidency]] and [[Bengal Presidency]]. Over 60% in the last decades of 19th century were from Madras (present [[Chennai]]). 30% were from Bengal in 1881 and 25% in 1901.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Czd7xXIf3MC&pg=PA86|title=The Burma Delta: Economic Development and Social Change on an Asian Rice Frontier, 1852–1941|author=Michael Adas|author-link=Michael Adas|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]]|year=2011|page=86|isbn=9780299283537}}</ref>

There were no effective curbs on Indian immigration until the eve of [[World War II]] despite the implementation of the ''Government of Burma Act''. By 1931, there were more than one million Indians in Burma, about 7% of the population, and were mostly concentrated in Lower Burma.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nmc2DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA260|title=Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)|author=Donald M. Seekins|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|year=2017|page=260|isbn=9781538101834}}</ref> The census of 1931 enumerated 1,017,825 Indians in Burma with 617,521 born in India.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MumoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT265|title=Nepali Diaspora in a Globalised Era|editor=Tanka B. Subba, A.C. Sinha|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2015|isbn=9781317411031}}</ref> Per the census of 1931, the total population of Rangoon was 400,415 out of which comprised 212,929 Indians. They comprised 2.5% of population in [[Upper Burma]] and 10.9% in Lower Burma.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qf3XSIJqSZkC&pg=PA179|title=South East Asia, Colonial History: High imperialism (1890s-1930s)|editor=Paul H. Kratoska|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2001|page=179|isbn=9780415215428}}</ref>

The majority of Indians arrived in Burma whilst it was part of [[British India]]. Starting with the annexation of Tenasserim and Western Burma after the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]], a steady stream of Indians moved to Burma as civil servants, engineers, river pilots, soldiers, indentured labourers, and traders.<ref name=my>{{cite book|title=Muslims of Burma - A study of a Minority Group|author= Moshe Yegar|year=1972|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz|location= Wiesbaden|pages= 111, 36, 37, 29, 30, 32}}</ref> Following the annexation of [[Upper Burma]] in 1885, numerous infrastructure projects started by the British colonial government and increases in rice cultivation in the delta region caused an unprecedented economic boom in Burma that drew many Indians, particularly from southern India, to the [[Irrawaddy Delta]] region.<ref name="Butkaew">{{citation | first =Samart | last =Butkaew| url =http://www.burmaissues.org/En/Newsletter/BINews2006-02.pdf | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070928103307/http://www.burmaissues.org/En/Newsletter/BINews2006-02.pdf | url-status =dead | archive-date =2007-09-28 | title =Burmese Indians: The Forgotten Lives| publisher =Burma Issues | date= February 2005 | access-date =2006-07-07}}</ref>

===Anti-Indian sentiments===

After the [[World War I|First World War]], anti-Indian sentiments began to rise<ref>“The Muslims of Burma”, p.32</ref> for a number of reasons. The number of ethnic Indians was growing rapidly (almost half of Yangon's population was Indian by the [[World War II|Second World War]]<ref name="Encyclopedia of Modern Asia">{{citation | url=http://www.bookrags.com/research/yangon-ema-06/ | title =Encyclopedia of Modern Asia| publisher =Charles Scribner's Sons | date= November 2002 | access-date =2009-09-03}}</ref>). Indians played a prominent role in the British administration and became the target of Burmese nationalists.<ref name=my/> Racial animosity toward Indians because of their skin-colour and appearance also played a role. Meanwhile, the price of rice plummeted during the economic depression of the 1930s and the [[Chettiar]] from South India, who were prominent moneylenders in the rice belt, began to foreclose on land held by native Burmese.<ref name=my/><ref name="ms">{{cite book|author=Martin Smith|year=1991|title=Burma - Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity|publisher=Zed Books|location=London, New Jersey|pages=43–44,98,56–57,176|isbn = 978-984-05-1499-1}}</ref>

In May 1930, a British firm of [[stevedore]]s at the port of Rangoon employed Burmese workers in an attempt to break a strike organised by its Indian workers. When, on 26 May, the strike ended and the Indians returned to work, clashes developed between the returning Indian workers and the Burmese workers who had replaced them. The clashes soon escalated into large-scale anti-Indian  riots in the city. Over 200 Indians were killed and their bodies flung into the river. Authorities ordered the police to fire upon any assembly of five or more who refused to lay down their arms, under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Within two days the riot spread throughout the country to locations such as [[Pyin U Lwin|Maymyo]].<ref name="Maurice Collis, Trials in Burma">{{Cite book|last=Collis|first=Maurice|publisher=Penguin Books|title=Trials in Burma|place=London|year=1945|isbn=978-0-404-54812-4}}</ref>

===The Second World War and after===
[[File:Indians on 39th Street leaving Rangoon.jpg|thumb|right|Indians on 39th Street, Rangoon, leaving Burma in the wake of the Japanese bombing December 1941]]
At the start of [[World War II]], almost half of Rangoon's (modern-day Yangon) population was [[India]]n,<ref name="Encyclopedia of Modern Asia"/> and about 16% of the population of Burma was ethnically Indian.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1177/000271624322600112|title=Burma|last=Christian|first=John|journal=Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=226|date=March 1943|pages=120–128|jstor=1024343|s2cid=220854395}}</ref> As a consequence of the Japanese invasion of 1942, half a million members of the Indian community fled Burma overland into [[Assam]], largely on foot. The refugees suffered terribly and thousands died. Some of the Indian community remained in Burma during the war; others returned after the war, although many never did.<ref name="ms"/> After independence, Burmese law treated a large percentage of the Indian community as 'resident aliens.' Though many had long ties to Burma or were born there, they were not considered citizens under the 1982 Burma citizenship law which restricted citizenship for groups immigrating before 1823.<ref>{{cite web|title=Burma Citizenship Law|publisher=United Nations Human Rights Commission|date=15 October 1982|access-date=9 October 2009|url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=3ae6b4f71b}}</ref>

After he seized power through a military coup in 1962, General [[Ne Win]] ordered a large-scale expulsion of Indians. Although many Indians had been living in Burma for generations and had integrated into Burmese society, they became a target for discrimination and oppression by the junta. This, along with a wholesale nationalisation of private ventures in 1964, led to the emigration of over 300,000 ethnic Indians from Burma.<ref name="ms"/> Indian-owned businesses as well as Burmese businesses  were nationalised due to the so-called "Burmese way to Socialism". Many Indians returned and were given 175 [[Myanmar kyat|kyat]] for their trip to India. This caused a significant deterioration in Indian-Burmese relations and the Indian government arranged ferries and aircraft to lift Burmese of Indian ethnicity out of [[Burma]].<ref name="irrawaddy-1999">{{cite magazine |date=March 1999 |title=India and Burma: working on their relationship |url=http://www2.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=1170 |magazine=The Irrawaddy |volume=7 |issue=3 |access-date=3 January 2014 |archive-date=4 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104013119/http://www2.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=1170 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Hindu temple procession cart, Yangon.jpg|thumb|A Hindu temple procession in Yangon]]
[[Culture of India|India]] has been [[Buddhism and Hinduism|particularly influential]] in [[Burmese culture]] as the cradle of Buddhism, and ancient [[Hinduism#Main traditions|Hindu traditions]] can still be seen in [[Brahmans]] presiding over important ceremonies such as weddings and ear-piercings but most notably in [[Thingyan]], the Burmese New Year festival.<ref name="sy">{{cite book|author=Shway Yoe (Sir [[James George Scott]]) 1882|title=The Burman - His Life and Notions|publisher=The Norton Library 1963|location=New York|pages=436, 249–251, 348, 450}}</ref> The Burmese poetry tradition of ''[[Tha Myat|niti]]'' (notably the ''[[Dhamma theory|Dhammaniti]]'') also has Indian origins.<ref>{{Cite journal|first1=Ryuji|last1=Okudaira|first2=Andrew|last2=Huxley|title=A Burmese Tract on Kingship: Political Theory in the 1782 Manuscript of Manugye|publisher=[[School of Oriental and African Studies]]|volume=64|issue=2|year=2001|page=253}}</ref> Traditions of kingship including coronation ceremonies and formal royal titles as well as those of [[Hindu law|lawmaking were also Hindu]] in origin.<ref name="sy"/> Many Burmese dishes and breads came as a result of [[Indian cuisine|Indian influence]], prominently reflected in the Burmese version of Indian [[biryani]].

Burmese Indians came from various groups from different parts of India, including [[Tamils]] (majority) and also minority groups such as [[Telugu people|Telugus]], [[Bengalis]], Hindustani speakers, [[Gujarati people|Gujarati]]s and [[Punjabis]]. Today they form approximately 2% (about 950,000)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/burma/|title=Burma|publisher=United States Central Intelligence Agency|work=World Factbook | access-date=8 October 2009}}</ref> of the population, according to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] ''[[The World Factbook|World Factbook 2006]]'', although exact figures do not exist due to uncertainties over census results and methods in [[Myanmar]]. Disaffected young Indians often flee the cities and join ethnic resistance movements. The [[All Burma Muslim Union]] whose members consist largely of [[Islam in Myanmar|Muslim]]s of Indian origin is routinely labelled by the government as "[[Rohingya conflict|Muslim terrorist insurgents]]". It operates alongside the [[Karen National Union]] which has a militant wing and, despite a swelling of its ranks following anti-Muslim riots in the eighties, remains a very minor force.<ref name="Priestly">{{citation|first=Harry |last=Priestly |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=5380 |title=The Outsiders |publisher=[[The Irrawaddy]] |date=January 2006 |access-date=2009-09-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119160146/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=5380 |archive-date=2012-01-19 }}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Buddhism in Burma|Hinduism in Southeast Asia#Burma}}
[[File:Bengali Hindus diaspora gather for Durga Puja festival in Rangoon, c.1941-42.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bengali Hindu diaspora|Bengali Hindus]] gather for [[Durga Puja]] festival in [[Yangon|Rangoon]], c.1941-42]]
[[File:Bengali Sunni Jameh Mosque, Yangon.jpg|thumb|The Bengali Sunni Jameh Mosque, built in the colonial era, is one of many mosques in Yangon.]]

Burmese Indians practise [[Hinduism]], [[Islam]], [[Sikhism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Christianity]]. [[Hinduism in Myanmar|Burmese-Indian Hindus]] have good and peaceful relationships with the native Burmese.

Predominantly, Burmese Indians are Hindu. The practice of Hinduism among Burmese Indians is also influenced by Buddhism. In addition of Hindu deities, the Buddha is also worshiped and many Hindu temples in Myanmar house statues of the Buddha.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25438275|title=Myanmar's Tamils seek to protect their identity|last=Natarajan|first=Swaminathan|date=2014-03-06|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-06-04|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/myanmars-hindu-community-looks-west|title=Myanmar's Hindu community looks west|last=Han|first=Thi Ri|work=Frontier Myanmar|access-date=2018-06-04|language=en}}</ref>

Burmese Muslims, some of them of mixed blood born of Burmese mothers and some of them with full Burmese blood,  ({{lang|my|ဗမာမူစလင်}});  with small numbers of [[Twelver]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Indian minority in Burma: the rise and decline of an immigrant community|last= Chakravarti|first= Nalini Ranjan|year= 1971|publisher= Oxford University Press for the Institute of Race Relations|location= London|isbn= 978-0-19-218194-7|page= [https://archive.org/details/indianminorityin0000chak/page/191 191]|url=https://archive.org/details/indianminorityin0000chak|url-access= registration}}</ref> The Burmese call them ''Zaydabayi''.

The constitution grants limited rights to [[freedom of religion]]; however, some articles in the constitution, as well as other laws and policies, restrict those rights. In practice the government enforced those restrictions.<ref>{{cite web|last1=State Department|first1=USA|title=BURMA 2012 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208430.pdf|website=State.gov|publisher=US Government|access-date=27 May 2015}}</ref> "Muslims continue to experience the most severe forms of legal, economic, religious, educational, and social restrictions and discrimination".<ref>{{cite web|last1=US GOV|title=USCIRF {{ndash}} Annual Report 2014|url=http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Burma%202014_0.pdf|website=uscrif.gov|publisher=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom|access-date=27 May 2015}}</ref> The military dictatorship rejects or ignores their requests when they want to build mosques in the country or to go abroad for religious ceremonies.<ref name="Butkaew"/><ref name="Priestly"/> Although there is limited freedom of religion in Burma, Muslims decided not to hold [[Eid al-Adha]] in 2012 due to Rakhine-Rohingya strikes in [[Rakhine State]].

===Languages===
Burmese Indians are from an array of linguistic groups, mostly are [[Tamils]] from [[Tamil Nadu]]. There is also significant population of the [[Meitei people|Meiteis]] ([[Manipuri people|Manipuris]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meitei {{!}} people {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Meitei |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=Meitei, also spelled Meetei or Meithei, also called Manipuri, ...}}</ref><ref name="Manipuri language {{!}} Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Manipuri language {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manipuri-language |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |quote=Manipuri language, Manipuri Meiteilon, also called Meitei (Meetei), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken predominantly in Manipur, a northeastern state of India. Smaller speech communities exist in the Indian states of Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura, as well as in Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma).}}</ref><ref name="Meitei">{{Cite web |title=Meitei |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mni/25 |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>), coming from Myanmar's western neighborhood [[Manipur]] state.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manipur {{!}} History, Government, Map, Capital, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Manipur |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Other minorities are [[Telugu people|Telugus]] from [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Marwari people|Marwaris]] from the [[Marwar]] region of India's [[Rajasthan]] state as well as [[Bengalis]] hailing from the Indian state of [[West Bengal]] as well as the present-day independent nation of [[Bangladesh]].
Prior to the expulsion of Indians, there were also [[Malayali]]s from [[Kerala]], [[Odia people|Odias]] from [[Odisha]], [[Punjabis]] from the state of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] who are mostly [[Sikhs]] and two groups of [[Gujarati people|Gujaratis]], both [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]-speaking [[Parsi]]s and [[Gujarati people|Gujaratis]] proper who are mostly [[Hindus]] or [[Muslims]] by faith hailing from the state of [[Gujarat]].
All can and were able to communicate in [[Burmese language|Burmese]] due to years of assimilation and lack of education in languages other than [[English language|English]]. [[Tamil language|Tamil]] is the most spoken Indian language in [[Myanmar]]. Other minority [[Languages of India|Indian languages]] are quite frequently used.

==Economic role==

Historically, Burmese Indians have made their livelihoods as merchants, traders and shopkeepers as well as manual labourers such as coolies, dockers, municipal workers, rickshaw men, pony cart drivers, malis and durwans. They were also heavily represented in certain professions such as [[Indian Civil Service (British India)|civil servants]], university lecturers, pharmacists, opticians, lawyers and doctors. They dominated several types of businesses such as auto parts and electrical goods, ironmongery and hardware, printing and bookbinding, books and stationery, paper and printing ink, tailoring and dry-cleaning, English tuition, and money lending. They traded in textiles, gold and jewellery, where the market was traditionally dominated by Burmese women. The [[Chettiars]] of Burma functioned as moneylenders and have been thought crucial in the growth in agricultural output of Burma during the colonial era.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8446.2007.00232.x|title=The Chettiars in Burma|last1=Turnell|first1=Sean|journal=Australian Economic History Review|volume=48|issue=1|pages=1–25|year=2008|url=http://econpapers.repec.org/article/blaozechr/v_3a48_3ay_3a2008_3ai_3a1_3ap_3a1-25.htm|last2=Ward|first2=RL|last3=Campbell|first3=BJ|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Today, many Indians live in central Rangoon on both sides of the Su Lei Paya Road and are largely involved in businesses, including restaurants, jewellery shops and money exchanges.

==Notable Burmese Indians and others==
<!--- Alphabetical list --->
[[File:U Razak.JPG|thumb|U Razak]]
* [[Alan Basil de Lastic]] - (1929–2000) was the fourth [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi|Archbishop of Delhi]]. He was born in [[Maymyo]] of mixed Burmese, Irish and French ancestry.<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bdelastic|Archbishop Alan Basil de Lastic|21 January 2015}}</ref>
* [[Bhanumati Devi]], an [[Cinema of Odisha|Odia]] film and theatre actress who was born in Burma.<ref name=ie>{{cite news |title=Veteran Actor Bhanumati Devi dead |url=http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/article1408447.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108221522/http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/article1408447.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 January 2013 |work= [[The Indian Express]] |date=2013-01-05 |access-date=2013-01-16}}</ref>
* [[Captain Ohn Kyaw Myint]], martyred after failed attempt of [[coup d'état]]<ref name=RUIA>{{cite book|author=Pathi Ko Ko Lay|title=History of Myanmar Muslims|publisher=Rangoon University Islamic Association}}</ref>
* [[Chakpa Makhao Ngambi]], princess of [[Manipur]] and queen of [[Burma]]
* [[Usha Narayanan|Daw Tint Tint Usha]], the wife of former President of India, [[K. R. Narayanan|K R Narayanan]]
* [[Parshuram Verma]], A social worker and leader for Burma Displaced Persons in India, dedicated his life to the welfare of Burmese Indians who migrated from Myanmar to India, particularly in Bihar, after 1972.
* [[Dr. Nath (Yebaw Tun Maung)|Dr Nath (Tun Maung)]], a communist leader and founding member killed in the 1960s<ref name="ms" />
*[[H. N. Goshal|H N Goshal (Thakin Ba Tin)]], a leader of Communist Party of Burma and founding member from the 1940s to the 1960s, killed in an internal purge in 1967. was an ethnic [[Bengali people|Bengali]].<ref name="ms"/>
* [[Helen (actress)|Helen of Bollywood]], born Helen Jairag Richardson Khan in Rangoon on 14 July 1938, she fled to India during [[World War II]] and became famous for playing the vamp in Indian cinema.
*[[Karim Ghani]] was born in Sodugudi, Ilayangudi, a politician in South-East Asia of Indian origin. Before the Second World War Karim Ghani was a parliamentary secretary in [[Burma]] under Dr [[Ba Maw]].
* [[S. N. Goenka|S N Goenka]], a [[vipassana]] meditation teacher (born 1924)
* Saya Rajan aka Aung Naing, a communist trade union leader captured in the 1950s<ref name="ms"/>
* [[Sultan Mahmud (minister)|Sultan Mahmud]], Minister of Health of [[Post-independence Burma (1948–1962)|Burma]] from 1960 to 1962.
* [[T. S. S. Rajan|T S S Rajan]], an Indian freedom fighter and Minister of Health in [[Madras Presidency]] from 1937 to 1940.
* [[Ko Ni]], prominent Burmese lawyer and an expert on constitutional law, legal advisor to [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] until 2017 when he was assassinated.
* [[U. A. Khader|U A Khader]] (1935–2020) is a noted [[Malayali]] novelist<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081158940200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815211107/http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081158940200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 August 2008 |title=U.A. Khader, in his own words - KERALA |date=11 August 2008 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref>
* [[U Razak]] (20 January 1898 &ndash; 19 July 1947; Arabic: Abdul Razak)  Burmese politician
*[[Nalini Joshi]], mathematician

==See also==
{{Portal|India|Myanmar}}
{{Div col}}
* [[Anglo-Burmese]]
* [[Burmese Chinese]]
* [[Burmese community in India]]
* [[Greater India]]
* [[Indian people]]
* [[Indosphere]]
* [[List of ethnic groups in Burma]]
* [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin]]
* [[Pakistanis in Burma]]
* [[Meitei people in Myanmar]]
*[[Burma Bazaar]]
* {{portal-inline|Myanmar}}
{{col div end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Prasenjit K. Basu " Asia Reborn: A Continent Rises from the Ravages of Colonialism and War to a New Dynamism", Publisher: Aleph Book Company
* Gregory, James ''Myanmar: A Neglected Area of Tamil Lexicography.'' University of Cologne.
* [[Pe Maung Tin]] and [[Gordon H Luce|G.H. Luce or Gordon Hannington Luce]], [[Glass Palace Chronicle|The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma]], Rangoon University Press, Rangoon, Burma, January 1960.
* [[Than Tun|Dr Than Tun]] (History Professor, Mandalay University) "Bagan Culture",
* Tamil Studies Abroad, A Symposium edited by Xavier S. Thaninayagam, published by the International Association of Tamil Research, 1968:
* The Chettiars in Burma by Sean Turnell, Economics Department, [[Macquarie University]] [http://www.econ.mq.edu.au/research/2005/chettiar.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216090611/http://www.econ.mq.edu.au/research/2005/chettiar.pdf |date=16 February 2012 }}.
* The Sikh Regiment in the Second World War, Colonel F. T. Birdwood OBE.
* Myanmar Muslim History, Myanmar Muslim Students Association, Rangoon Arts and Science University. Limited Edition.
* Bertil Lintner, Swedish journalist, expert on Burma, 17th. of April 1988 in the ''Bangkok Post''.
* "Dialogue with a Shan Leader: H.R.H. Hso Khan Pha" - Tiger Yawnghwe or Prince Hso Khan Pha; he is the eldest son of [[Sao Shwe Thaik]], the former [[Saopha]] (Prince) of [[Yawnghwe]] (Nyaung-Shwe) and the first [[President of Burma]] after Burma's independence from British colonial rule. Interview with Dr Tayza, Chief Editor of ''Burma Digest''.
* Dr Than Tun (History Professor, Mandalay University) "The Story of Myanmar Told in Pictures".
* Elizabeth Moore, Myanmar Historical Research Journal 2004.
* D. G. E. Hall, Daniel George Edward Hall, "A History of South East Asia", New York, 1968.
* G. E. Harvey, Geoffrey Eric Harvey, "History of Burma", London 1925.
* D. G. E. Hall, Studies in Dutch Relations with Arakan, Journal of the [[Burma Research Society]], Vol. XXVI, 1936, p.&nbsp;6. and Mr. R. B. Smart, Burma Gazetteer-Akyab District, vol. A, Rangoon. 1957
* [[Arthur Purves Phayre|A. P. Phayre]], "History of Burma", 1853.
* [[Arthur Purves Phayre|A. P. Phayre]], Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Purves Phayre, Journal of the [[Asiatic Society of Bengal]], 1846.
* [[Maurice Collis|M. S. Collis]], Maurice Stewart Collis, Arakan's place in the civilization of the Bay, Journal of the [[Burma Research Society]], 50th Anniversary publications No.2, Rangoon, 1960.

==External links==
* Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights [http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/MMIndex.aspx]
* US Department of State, Burma, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2005. Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor [https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/]
* Amnesty International's report on Burma [https://web.archive.org/web/20090624183203/http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport.php?id=ar&yr=2009&c=MMR]
* Burma's Rangoon University 1957, History lecture by Professor Kyaw Thet's YouTube video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0epnuboiO0] In English about Chittiers, Irrawaddy Delta Agriculture and loans.
* History of South East Asia [https://archive.today/20130121001250/http://www.aseanfocus.com/publications/history_myanmar.html]

{{Ethnic groups in Burma}}
{{Tamil diaspora}}
{{Indian diaspora}}
{{Good article}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora by country]]
[[Category:Culture of Indian diaspora]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora in Asia]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora history]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Anti-Indian sentiment]]
[[Category:Burma in World War II]]
[[Category:Burmese people of Indian descent| ]]