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Rajendran Nagappan (PhD – Michigan State University, MEd and BAHons
(Malaya)) was formerly Professor of Pedagogy and Thinking Skills; Assistant
Director of the Ministry of Education; Member of the Independent Review
Panel of the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2013–2025); and the first
Director General of the Unit for the Socio-Economic Development of
Indian Community, Prime Minister’s Department. He is currently serving as
an Adjunct Professor of Education.
Hena Mukherjee (EdD Harvard, MEd DipEd Malaya, BAHons Singapore)
was formerly Lead Education Specialist of the South Asia Human
Development Unit, World Bank; Chief Education Programme Officer of the
Commonwealth Secretariat, London; and founding Head of the Department
of Social Foundations, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya.
This edited volume provides a comprehensive overview and discussion of the
issues surrounding the Malaysian Indian community’s educational develop-
ment. Malaysian Indian citizens who make up seven per cent of the popula-
tion have their own set of strengths and weaknesses, while facing deep-seated
socio-economic challenges. Education is seen as an enabler which could sig-
nificantly facilitate social and economic upward mobility, as shown in policies
and practices implemented under the New Economic Policy, many of which
have unfortunately bypassed the Indian Community.
This book explores and assesses the various aspects of the education
endeavour of Malaysian Indians, including primary, secondary, post-second-
ary and tertiary education. Related challenges include urban poverty, school
dropouts, dysfunctional families and other socio-economic issues. It recon-
siders educational equity policies and practices in place while proposing new
initiatives which could support and chart a way forward for the development
of Malaysian Indians. Importantly, the publication addresses the roles of the
government, private sector and civil society to help elevate the educational
achievements of the Indian Community.
The book appeals to students and academics in the faculties of social sci-
ence and comparative education, development economics and sociology,
with a focus on access and equity in education. Proposals for change would
be of interest to policy-makers and managers of educational and non-gov-
ernmental organisations in plural societies.
Malaysian Indians and Education

Routledge Critical Studies in
Asian Education
Series Editors: S. Gopinathan,
Wing On Lee, and Jason Eng Thye Tan
Families, the State and Educational Inequality in the Singapore
City-State
Charleen Chiong
School Leadership in Malaysia
Policy, Research and Practice
Edited by Tony Bush
STEM Education from Asia
Trends and Perspectives
Edited by Tang Wee Teo, Aik-Ling Tan and Paul Teng
Risk Society and Education in Post-Disaster Fukushima
Kaoru Miyazawa
The Political Economy of Education Reforms in Vietnam
Edited by Nguyen Minh Quang and James Albright
Educational Innovation in Vietnam
Opportunities and Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Edited by Trung Tran, Cuong Huu Nguyen and Loc Thi My Nguyen
Education in Malaysia
Developments, Reforms and Prospects
Edited by Donnie Adams
Malaysian Indians and Education
Reimagined Development Opportunities
Edited by Rajendran Nagappan and Hena Mukherjee
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.
com/Routledge-Critical-Studies-in-Asian-Education/book-series/RCSAE

Malaysian Indians and
Education
Reimagined Development Opportunities
Edited by Rajendran Nagappan and
Hena Mukherjee

First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Rajendran Nagappan and
Hena Mukherjee; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Rajendran Nagappan and Hena Mukherjee to be
identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors
for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
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Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-19022-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-19023-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-25739-4 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003257394
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by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)

List of Figures vii
List of Tables viii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xii
List of Contributors xiii
1 Malaysian Indians and Education: Realities Revisited,
Opportunities Reimagined 1
HENA MUKHERJEE AND RAJENDRAN NAGAPPAN
2 Malaysian Indians: History, Contributions, Achievements,
Problems and Challenges 14
K. S. NATHAN
3 Tamil Primary Education in Malaysia: Current Status,
Challenges and Prospects 36
RAJENDRAN NAGAPPAN
4 Secondary Education and the Future of Malaysian Indians 58
SANTHIRAM RAMAN
5 Tertiary Education of Malaysian Indians: Challenges and
Prospects 78
SARATHA SITHAMPARAM AND MOSES SAMUEL
6 Malaysian Indian Women’s Education and Their
Marginalisation: An Intersectional Analysis 100
NITHIYA GUNA SAIGARAN AND SHANTHI THAMBIAH
Contents

vi Contents
7 Future-Proofing the Talent of Malaysia’s Indian B40
Community for the New Economy: A Multi-Stakeholder
Partnership Framework 120
MAHENDHIRAN NAIR, SANTHA VAITHILINGAM, PERVAIZ AHMED,
LI-ANN HWANG, AND JASON WEI JIAN NG
8 Education of Malaysian Indians: The Need for
Government Intervention 151
PALANIAPPAN RAMANATHAN CHETTIAR
9 Malaysian Indians and Education: Reimagined Development
Opportunities 175
RAJENDRAN NAGAPPAN AND HENA MUKHERJEE
Index 188

7.1 Structural changes in the global economy from 1778 to
2040121
7.2 Widening STI and socio-economic gaps in Malaysia 123
7.3 Enablers of the education and training ecosystem 126
7.4 Gaps in the education and training ecosystem for the iB40
community in Malaysia 130
7.5 Highest education attainment (%) by ethnicity 131
7.6 Job profile of the different ethnic communities 133
7.7 Unemployment rate for the major ethnic groups in Malaysia
(2012–2020)134
7.8 Median income levels for the major ethnic groups in
Malaysia (1990–2020) 135
7.9 Inequality measured by Gini coefficient (1990–2020) 136
7.10 Incidence of relative poverty (1995–2020) 137
7.11 Program Titian Digital Ecosystem based on the
8i-ecosystem analysis 140
Figures

2.1 EWRF training packages for B40 Indian youth 25
2.2 SMC centres nationwide 25
2.3 Graduates produced by SMC: 1982–2021 25
2.4 SMC graduates according to professions 26
2.5 SMC graduates: urban and rural distribution 26
3.1 Achievement in UPSR for SJKT schools (2009–2013) 42
3.2 Achievement in UPSR for SJKT schools (2018–2019) 43
3.3 Funding for SJKTs since year 2009 45
3.4 Enrolment in SJKT schools from 2005 till 2013 53
4.1 UPSR results (%age): Bahasa Malaysia: comparison between
different medium schools 64
4.2 Achievement of UPSR among students in SJK(T) schools
2009–2013 (a minimum pass in the subjects) 64
5.1 Policy developments related to tertiary education 81
5.2 Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) 84
5.3 Foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia 87
5.4 Loans disbursed to AIMST students by MIED 88
5.5 Skills development and training provisions in Malaysia 89
5.6 Ministries providing skills development and training 90
5.7 Cost comparison of undergraduate programmes for
Malaysians (in RM) 93
5.8 Enrolment statistics for 2014/2015 public and private
universities by ethnicity 94
6.1 Female labour force participation rate 105
6.2 Labour force participation rate by educational attainment,
ethnic group and sex, Malaysia, 2020 106
6.3 Profile of participants: pseudonym, age, education level and
employment status 107
7.1 Employment status in Malaysia – 2020 132
Tables

Malaysian Indians have a history of more than a thousand years with the
country. Available data confirm that the Indians from South India arrived in
Malaya during the early part of the eleventh century to trade with the locals.
There is also evidence to suggest that Indian traders kept coming back to
conduct their business in the sixteenth century and beyond.
Today’s approximately 2 million Indians are largely the descendants of the
large-scale migration of Indian labour in the nineteenth century and onwards
to develop and maintain the lucrative colonial plantation economy in Malaya
(later Malaysia). Currently, Malaysian Indians constitute around 7 per cent
of the country’s citizenry.
Malaysian Indians, while cherishing their long historical past in Malaysia
and the region, also share a set of challenges and concerns covering key sec-
tors: social, political, education, gender and business. The lack of specific and
targeted programmes for the Indians, especially the B40 group, have left
them trailing behind other races in many critical areas. There is a need to take
stock of their current status, challenges and prospects. Efforts have been
made in the past by academic, data-driven publications to capture both chal-
lenges and achievements. Many of the issues discussed in earlier publications
stand today and bear re-consideration within the current socio-econom-
ic-political framework.
There is a need to identify current national and global issues which impinge
on the challenges. Not the least of these are the recent political upheavals
due to unexpected changes in government and their impact on the political
economy of the nation. On the education front, in spite of high budget
allocations to the sector, student performance showed continued weak per-
formance, compared regionally, and in international education assessments.
Happily, improved higher education world rankings have sent a message of
hope for a small number of universities.
National elections in 2018 brought an apocalyptic change when a mul-
ti-ethnic party, hitherto in the opposition, was victorious. Unfortunately, the
newly elected government had a mere 22 months at the helm. No major
promised reforms were put in place partly because of unexpected lack of
support from the new leadership, not discounting also the former opposition
members’ lack of experience in working the reins of power.
Preface

x Preface
The end of the brief burst of hope of carving out a harmonious plural
society came in tandem with the global COVID-19 pandemic which had to
be dealt with immediately: it seriously impacted on livelihoods and the rou-
tine functions of all public and private sectors. One could almost label the
timing serendipitous.
Malaysians had accepted the New Economic Policy (NEP), a strategy to
eradicate poverty among citizens of all races. However, it did not adequately
address the needs of all Malaysians, especially the disadvantaged. The NEP
was expected to last for two decades after its inception in 1971 but contin-
ued over three more decades in various forms with no sign of change, pro-
viding cause for the disadvantaged populace to become restive.
From many corners a groundswell of disquieting questions have surfaced
highlighting various issues, probably best captured in publications by those
in formerly high-level positions in government and the private sector.
Academic circles joined the discussions with calls to seek government-private
sector support to ease economic burdens and assuage the well-justified anx-
ieties of the marginalised.
Apart from inter-ethnic issues, intra-ethnic tensions within the Indian
community, also simmering for decades, continue to wear down internal
unity and a sense of common identity with shared goals. The expectation
that in the absence of government support, Indians from higher socio-eco-
nomic levels would devise strategies to assist their own community, as the
Malaysian Chinese community does, has not borne fruit. Unfortunately, the
capacity and readiness of civil society to work with integrity for the under-
privileged has not had sufficient recognition nor direction. An honest recog-
nition of the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian community, including
sub-ethnic groups, might stand them in good stead.
Intertwined with political and economic concerns is the global pandemic
which has impacted heavily on lives and livelihoods, taking on poignancy as
it drives the disadvantaged into poverty. The nature of the pandemic, accom-
panied by closures of educational institutions and places of work, has revolu-
tionised how we learn, teach and earn a living. It has also highlighted the
urgency with which issues regarding the knowledge economy including
access to ICT need to be prioritised. The ability to navigate the complex
terrain of education and employment in an informed manner is critical to the
Malaysian Indian community’s well-being in the immediate as well as long-
term future.
The editors and chapter contributors are unanimous in their view that an
evidence-driven publication is required. They reflect a cohort with decades
of experience in teaching, research and publication in relevant areas. Many
come with experience in senior positions of responsibility in government,
public and private educational institutions, locally and internationally,
non-governmental organisations of note and international development
agencies. They have observed with regret how seminal, well-researched doc-
uments with even-handed proposals and recommendations are ignored. One
such document is the New Economic Model (NEM 2010) which identifies

Preface xi
inclusivity as a critical national goal with specific recommendations to be
implemented. It points out that ‘A key challenge of inclusive growth is the
design of effective measures that strike a balance between the special position
of bumiputra and the legitimate interests of different groups (NEM 2010,
p10)’. Another landmark document is the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (Prime
Minister’s Office, 2017), the first data-based document dedicated to devel-
opment of the Indian community, detailing policy changes required and
their implementation. The Blueprint has been given short shrift post-2018.
This publication intends to review and debate results of past and more
recent development plans as they affect the disadvantaged members of the
Indian community. The authors planned to use this space to re-imagine
development opportunities hoping to make up for lost chances. Specifics of
action-oriented proposals demonstrate the seriousness of the writers, draw-
ing them to the attention of policymakers and those responsible for manag-
ing and executing policy. If viewed and acted upon with the gravity they
deserve, the policy decisions which emerge will re-shape education provision
and improve life chances for Malaysian Indians in the coming decades.
‘The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most
vulnerable members’ (Mahatma Gandhi). It is also true that strengthening a
vulnerable community and increasing its productivity empower all commu-
nities and the nation as a whole.
Rajendran Nagappan
Hena Mukherjee

We would like to recognise the efforts and achievements of the unsung
heroes who serve in educational institutions throughout Malaysia and the
disadvantaged families in the Indian community who strive to improve the
life chances of their children despite daunting challenges.
In acknowledging the help we have received, our thanks go to those, too
many to enumerate here, who supported and assisted us in the preparation
and publication of this volume.
We are indebted to Professor Gopinathan Saravanan of the Lee Kuan Yew
School of Public Policy and series editor of the Routledge Critical Studies in
Asian Education for offering us the opportunity to put this publication
together and giving us guidance along the way.
Thanks are due to the Department of Statistics Malaysia for providing the
data requested and to colleagues who generously shared with us publications
and experiences which contributed much to our understanding of the com-
plex task before us. Among them are Tan Sri Dr. T. Marimuthu and Dr. V.
Selvaratnam both of whom have been involved for some decades in research
and publication focusing on education of the Indian B40 group.
For clarifying issues related to the Federal Constitution, Malaysia, our
deepest gratitude goes to Emeritus Professor Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi, Tunku
Abdul Rahman Chair, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur; and to Susila
Sithamparam, retired President, Industrial Court of Malaysia, for clarifica-
tions on relevant aspects of the Constitution from the perspective of
Malaysia’s education system. Thanks also go to Ambiga Rajendran for timely
help on legal matters.
Above all, credit goes to our contributors who soldiered on during the
pandemic, managing to complete their chapters, taking all vicissitudes in
their stride.
Finally, we would like to express our appreciation to Katie Peace and
Kendrick Loo of Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group for being available
always, responding swiftly to technical questions and smoothing the way.
Rajendran Nagappan
Hena Mukherjee
Acknowledgements

Pervaiz Ahmed is a Professor of Management and a Director of the Institute
for Global Strategy and Competitiveness at Sunway University. Professor
Ahmed has published extensively in the area of management and engages
widely with industry and government agencies across the world.
Palaniappan Ramanathan Chettiar, PhD Education, Federation University,
Ballarat, Australia is the Founder of Yayasan Palan. His research interests
are focussed on Technical Vocational Education & Training. He has
written 18 books including Reflections of an Entrepreneur published by
Universiti Malaya.
Li-Ann Hwang is a Lecturer in the Department of Econometrics and
Business Statistics at Monash University Malaysia. Dr Li-Ann’s research
interests revolve around vulnerable communities, technology acceptance
and subjective well-being. She is also involved in translational research
focusing on children from vulnerable communities.
Mahendhiran Nair is a Professor of Econometrics and the Pro-Vice
Chancellor (Research Engagement & Impact) at Sunway University. He
is also a member of the National Science Council of Malaysia and National
High-Tech Council of Malaysia. He is also a Fellow of Academy of
Sciences Malaysia and CPA (Australia). Prof Nair has published his
research work in leading economics, business and information system
journals.
K. S. Nathan is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of
Ethnic Studies (KITA, in the National University of Malaysia (UKM).
Previously, he was a Professor of International Relations in the University
of Malaya. His teaching, research and publications are in Asian interna-
tional relations including comparative dimensions of ethnicity. His most
recent publication is an edited work on Managing Ethnic and Religious
Diversity in the United States and Malaysia: Issues, Challenges and Prospects,
jointly published in 2022 by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Contributors

xiv Contributors
Jason Wei Jian Ng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pure and
Applied Mathematics at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Sunway
University. An econometrician and emerging data scientist focused on
issues of national importance, Dr Jason’s diverse research interests include
the areas of subjective well-being, Malaysian housing affordability, vulner-
able communities and modelling electorate behaviour dynamics in
Malaysia.
Santhiram Raman is a retired Professor of Education. His last appointment
was Dean, School of Education, Languages and Communications,
Wawasan Open University. His main research interests are in the areas of
education for ethnic minorities, education policy analysis and history of
education.
Nithiya Guna Saigaran is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Indian
Studies, University of Malaya. Her research concentrates on Indian
women, poverty, the capability approach, marginalised communities and
ethnic minorities. She has journal publications and book chapters to her
credit.
Moses Samuel is a Senior Research Fellow at the Taylor’s University School
of Education. His fields of specialisation include Language and Literacy
Education. Among his recent publications, is Education in Malaysia:
Developments and Challenges (co-edited with Tee Meng Yew and Lorraine
Symaco), published by Springer in 2017.
Saratha Sithamparam was formerly Associate Professor with Universiti
Malaya and Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Her research focus includes
school-based lesson study, the design of graduate-level teacher education
and literacy education. A recent publication co-authored with K. Wood is
Changing teaching, changing teachers (Routledge, 2021).
Shanthi Thambiah is an Associate Professor at the Gender Studies Program,
University of Malaya. Her current research interests are in the area of
gender and work and emotions of migration. She has published widely in
peer-reviewed journals such as Children’s Geographies and Emotions,
Space and Society.
Santha Vaithilingam is a Professor of Econometrics and Policy Modelling
at Sunway University. Her research work is focused on developing research
instruments and using data analytics and advance statistical tools to
research technology, innovation and economic policy modelling for
enhancing sustainable economic development. She has published her
work in leading international journals.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003257394-1
1 Malaysian Indians and Education
Realities Revisited, Opportunities
Reimagined
Hena Mukherjee and Rajendran Nagappan
Malaysia with a population of 32.7 million comprises Peninsular Malaysia
and the two states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. The mul-
ti-ethnic population comprises Bumiputras who are Malays and indigenous
groups such as the Orang Asli in the peninsula and Kadazan in Sabah and
Iban in Sarawak constituting 69.6% of the population; Chinese 22.6%;
Indians 6.8% and 1% others (Department of Statistics, 2021a). With leaders
from the Malay, Chinese and Indian political parties working together,
Malaya gained independence from the British in 1957 and established a
Westminster-type constitutional monarchy. In 1963 Malaya together with
Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore formed Malaysia. Singapore, however, left the
grouping in 1965.
The Indian community which is central to this publication largely refers to
the B40 Indians in Malaysia. About 80% of the Indians are Tamils from
South India. The remaining 20% comprise sub-ethnic groups such as the
Malayalees, Telugus, Sikhs and others. They are descendants largely of the
labour imported from Tamil Nadu by colonial plantation owners. The total
Indian community constitutes around 7% of the Malaysian population and is
a significant contributor to the country’s histovrical and socioeconomic
development, and its vibrant cultural diversity. While life experiences and
interactions have been harmonious generally, there are challenges related to
inclusion in the wider society.
Shackled by the poverty arising from their deprived economic status and
constraints born of the restricted education and social structures of the plan-
tation economy, the community became accustomed to seeing themselves as
subordinate initially to their colonial masters. On migrating to urban areas
following the fragmentation of estates, their sense of social and economic
inferiority marked their interactions with their new environment resulting in
a lack of confidence in their own abilities to move forward.
The Malaysian Constitution and Equality
The Federal Constitution provides the bedrock for the Malaysian Education
system with binding consequences. A fundamental premise is the principle of
equality enshrined in Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution which reads

2 Hena Mukherjee and Rajendran Nagappan
“All persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the
law”. This principle is reinforced with an exception in Article 8(2) which
provides that there are express provisions in the Federal Constitution which
may discriminate against any citizen: “Except as expressly authorised by this
Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground
only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law…”. One
of these exceptions is the provision on the special position of the Malays and
the natives of Sabah and Sarawak in Article 153. The rationale for this excep-
tion is to allow for affirmative action to improve the position of certain eth-
nic groups. Article 153(1) reads:
(1) It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) to
safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the
States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other com-
munities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
The New Economic Policy (NEP), promulgated in 1970 after race riots in
1969, with its two-pronged proposals sought to (i) eradicate poverty irre-
spective of race and (ii) restructure society to eliminate the identification of
race with economic function in order to create the conditions for national
unity. Implementation of NEP and its affirmative action policy in favour of
Malay and other Bumiputera groups since more than fifty years ago appears
as a recurring theme for analysis in the following chapters. It provided for
quotas in universities and colleges; quotas for jobs in the public services,
public bodies, government-linked companies among other areas for Malays
and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Some of the chapter writers debate, in
this regard, if the legitimate interests of other communities as provided in
Article 153(1), should also be addressed in current and future education and
economic policies. Further, this view is strengthened by the NEP objective
of poverty eradication regardless of race.
The Malaysian Education System
The basis of the education framework in independent Malaya and eventually
Malaysia is the initial education review report of 1956, prior to Malayan
independence in 1957, commonly referred to as The Razak Report (Ministry
of Education, 1956) after the chairman of the Committee that put it together.
The report was incorporated into Section 3 of the Education Ordinance of
1957. Multiple post-independence reviews and reports have not changed
essentially the fundamental characteristics of the Malaysian Education system
as set out in the 1956 report. The Report provides for Malay, English,
Chinese and Tamil schools at the primary level, and Malay and English
schools at the secondary level. Malay-medium schools are referred to as
“national” schools while other schools are referred to as “national-type”
schools. All government schools are publicly funded and use a common
national curriculum regardless of school type.

Malaysian Indians and Education 3
The B40 Income Category
Several contributions in this book expand and analyse aspects of the Malaysian
education system. These include issues regarding access to education for dis-
advantaged groups, the status and future of Tamil vernacular education,
obstacles to post-secondary/tertiary education and technology-based edu-
cation and training challenges confronting the poorest members of the
Indian community. Central to the discussions is the B40 group as the most
disadvantaged in the community. Using household income classifications,
since 2019, all Malaysians are categorised into three groups: Top 20% (T20)
with income higher than RM10959; Middle 40% (M40) with income
between RM4850 and RM10959; and Bottom 40% (B40) with income of
less than RM4850. In 2020, due to the impact of the pandemic, a majority
of households experienced a decline in income, with data showing that 20%
of households from the M40 group had moved down to the B40 group
(Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2021b). The Poverty Line was RM2208
per household per month for 2019, up from the previous RM908.
In terms of income levels, Bumiputeras constituted 53.5% of households
with more than RM10000 in monthly gross income in 2019, Chinese 38.2%,
Indians 8.4% and others at 0.48% (DOSM, 2020). At the same time 71.6%
of Bumiputra households earned less than RM3000 a month compared with
Chinese at 18.8%, Indians at 7.4% and Others at 1.4% (Yeap, 2020). It is
noted that Bumiputeras have a large population base where rural households
constitute 27.4% compared with only 6.4% Chinese and 5.5% Indians. The
extent to which average figures are weighed down by strata and large base
effect is not known (Yeap, 2020). According to Ravallion (2019), ‘the rate of
poverty reduction reveals that ethnic redistribution helped reduce poverty,
although it was not as important as the overall rate of growth in household
incomes’ and that ‘the responsiveness of the national poverty rate to ethnic
redistribution remains high even today’. One of the chapters (Chapter 8)
includes an analysis of income inequality issues, looking at local and interna-
tional models on ways in which the Indian community can move forward.
In terms of intra-ethnic disparity, an author (Chapter 8) points out that the
Gini coefficient shows that intra-ethnic inequality was highest among the Indians
(0.44) in 2014, compared with 0.42 for the Bumiputra and Chinese communi-
ties. Other chapter contributors point out (passim) that unlike the Bumiputeras
who have immense support from government policy and the Chinese with sup-
port from its strong corporate sector, a similar base of continuing support is yet
to emerge among the Indian community. A positive conclusion in Chapter 8
surmises that with appropriate education and training the B40 group would
have the opportunity to develop their potential and move forward.
Multidimensional Poverty
The Eleventh Malaysia Plan (2016–2020) put forward the notion of evaluat-
ing poverty not only by referring to income but also to the useful concept of

4 Hena Mukherjee and Rajendran Nagappan
multi-dimensional poverty following the design and structure used in other
countries such as Chile and Vietnam and the United Nations Development
Programme. The Malaysian Multidimensional Poverty Index comprises four
aspects with equal weights assigned: Education, Health, Living Standards and
Income. Each aspect has selected indicators: in education, for example, these
are ‘school attendance among children aged 6–12’ and ‘less than 6 years of
education among household members aged 18 – 60’. While the indicators
could be refined with higher thresholds, raising the bar to match the living
standards and challenges of Malaysia in the 2020s (World Bank, 2021, p 14),
the multidimensional approach better reflects the various facets of deprivation
among the poor. Results can be used to monitor the well-being of the disad-
vantaged and inform policy for poverty reduction.
Perceptions of Marginalisation
A 2016 survey (Prime Minister Office, 2017) found that uppermost in the
minds of Indians in the bottom 40% socioeconomic level (B40), the percep-
tion voiced by more than 50% was that the Indian community was neglected
by the government. Their conclusion cited difficulties in gaining employ-
ment, university admissions and the treatment of unregistered temples.
Interestingly, while 74% thought that the government should have a specific
plan targeting low-income Indians, 25% felt such a plan was required for low
income earners of all races.
Adding to the sense of neglect or marginalisation of the community are
issues related to location, relocation and demolition of temples, and restric-
tions on religious ceremonies in public halls. The extent and nature of Indian
representation in public life has created deep fissures of exclusion based on
areas such as higher education, skilled employment, civil service and the cor-
porate sector. The significance of Tamil schools and the part they play in con-
firming the identity of the community cannot be underestimated.
Unfortunately, stereotypical negative representation is disproportionately high
in terms of participation in criminal activities. Several long-standing issues
exacerbate the theme of community marginalisation, the most important of
which are citizenship and documentation matters which have enormous con-
sequences for all, particularly for the young. Lack of official status in the coun-
try prevents them from accessing benefits which would accrue to all Malaysians.
Growing out of the notion of marginalisation is the perceived superi-
or-subordinate roles that exist between those in authority and the B40
group. Understandably, this view, never overtly challenged, is perceived as
threatening to the ‘subordinate’ communities, intensifying perceptions of
alienation. Uneven or poor distribution of information can intensify such
perceptions, carrying with it the reality of disempowerment which is difficult
to dispel. Understanding that the principle of equality is enshrined in Article
8 (1) that “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protec-
tion of the law” should bring comfort that the Constitution does not recog-
nise any hierarchy of communities.

Malaysian Indians and Education 5
Socioeconomic Status and Education Attainment
Strong correlation exists between socioeconomic status and level of educa-
tion completed, the latter largely determining employment opportunities.
Evidence shows that the effects of household socioeconomic characteristics
are more pronounced for Indians than other ethnic groups. Inter-ethnic
education patterns reveal that for children born to parents with no formal
education, only 5% of Indian children succeed in attaining tertiary education
compared with 33% for Bumiputera and 44% Chinese: this pattern is repeated
for parents with primary and secondary education levelling off only when
parents possess tertiary qualifications (Khazanah Research Institute 2016,
cited in MIB, 2017, p. 58).
The call from the community is for greater support from the Government
to provide more equitable inputs as well as sustained support in education,
seeing it as the lynchpin of upward social mobility and improved life chances.
Inequalities in education are bound up with inequalities in life chances. As
the following chapters reveal, inequity in educational attainment in all its
various shades stem from disparities in life - in history, income, location,
family environment (deprived or dysfunctional), parental education levels,
social class background, access to health facilities, in being born to a particu-
lar ethnicity and other physical and psychological disadvantages which are
responsible for preventing individuals from leading an acceptable and normal
life, unable to benefit from available opportunities.
Dealing with the Multi-dimensionality of Equity
In viewing the issues of educational attainment and disparities individuals and
communities contend with, it is apparent that a policy that attempts to pro-
vide greater equity in education by, for example, ensuring greater access
needs to take on board the multi-dimensionality of equity. Access by itself will
not result in educational achievement if, for instance, parents do not support
children’s interests in schooling as seen in some instances in the chapter on
gender. It would be more sensible for policy makers to consider improving
the conditions which would enable individuals to benefit from schooling
such as increased family income or access to appropriate health care.
In considering a fair and just manner of distributing benefits and goods,
one might consider a situation similar to Rawls’ proposed ‘veil of ignorance’
where decision-makers have no information about individuals or their situa-
tions. (Rawls, 1971). Decision-makers start with the principle of establishing
‘equal liberty for all, including equality of opportunity, as well as an equal
distribution of income and wealth’. (Rawls, 1971, p. 151) But he goes on to
say, importantly, that ‘Inequalities are permissible when they maximize, or at
least all contribute to, the long-term expectations of the least fortunate
group in society’ (ibid.). While this is an admirable proposal and opens up
pathways for ethical decision making in public policy, many have pointed out
the need for specifics or particularities to make judgments work.

6 Hena Mukherjee and Rajendran Nagappan
Two contributors move towards espousing the capability approach (Sen,
2009) where the focus is on what a person is able to do given the opportuni-
ties and not on what has been achieved. Sen makes a policy-related point that
‘concerns the responsibilities and obligations of societies … to help the
deprived, which can be important for public provisions within states and for
the general pursuit of human rights’ (Sen, 2009, p. 238). It is necessary for
people to have the ability to convert resources such as income into ‘function-
ings’ that contribute to well-being.
Others have found the “capability approach” as the best theoretical basis for
analyses of and struggles against inequalities, which should be seen as ‘multidi-
mensional barriers to equal human capabilities of functioning in the world…’
(Therborn, 2013, p.41). The question for policy makers in education is a diffi-
cult one. On the one hand, the government is responsible for education provi-
sion generally making it as qualitatively strong as possible: on the other, it will
have to consider how to deal with the ‘multidimensional barriers’ so that disad-
vantaged groups of citizens can benefit, and not be excluded, from the system.
Collaborative Approach to Supporting Education Attainment
A theme that recurs in the ensuing chapters is the need for collaboration
between all the involved players focusing on improving children’s education
attainment: the various agencies of government, civil society and the com-
munity. The call is for policy initiatives which include appropriate administra-
tive structures, personnel and financial resources that aim to reach all groups
ensuring that the most disadvantaged communities are not excluded.
Similarly, civil society and the community need to share responsibilities with
the government, understanding and fine-tuning the implementation of gov-
ernment policy on the ground.
How could opportunities be expanded for the B40 group? Who would
spearhead efforts and in what directions? Would financial and human
resources be available for a clearly demanding long-term involvement in
dealing with a wide spectrum of social and economic inequities? The con-
tributors to this book speak to these questions, among others, and attempt
on the basis of their analyses to reach conclusions which focus on actions to
be considered and undertaken by those in appropriate positions of compe-
tence and authority as well as the wide range of stakeholders.
Chapter Summaries
The Malaysian story unfolds in Chapter 2 with a historical account of the
Malaysian Indian community providing a rich contextual background,
including culture, religion and the political economy, for the analysis of
issues and themes in the ensuing chapters. Archaeological evidence point to
early periods of immigration, trade and settlement since the fifth century
A.D. with more recent immigrants from South India hired under labour
contracts by colonial plantation owners.

Malaysian Indians and Education 7
Independence from the British was won by the three Malay, Chinese and
Indian political parties with the last for various reasons ineffective in repre-
senting the voice of its community. The watershed riots of May 1969 and the
resultant New Economic Policy and its all-encompassing preferential treat-
ment for Bumiputras drove the development process post-1970, with a
strong negative impact on the non-Bumiputra B40 group. No strategies
were put in place to improve the lot of the poor Indians, even when it was
clear that transfer from colonial hands to local ownership accompanied by
the fragmentation of plantations undermined the existing structure. The
writer argues that government policies of inclusive and equitable develop-
ment are fundamental to the promotion of inter-racial harmony, with devel-
opment targets focusing on all needy Malaysians.
Support from the government from 2012 to 2018 shone a light in terms
of the setting up of dedicated entities to spearhead an action plan for
Malaysian Indians (Prime Minister Office, 2017), research and projects for
the community. However, this was relatively short-lived when the political
scenario changed with a new government. Collaborative efforts between
government and civil society received short shrift especially after 1969, rais-
ing awareness within the NGO community that community empowerment
strategies for the depressed sectors were much needed.
Among the many challenges which confront the Indian community are
the problems of urbanization and industrialization which plantation labour
are ill-equipped to handle, giving rise to a range of social problems; and
employment avenues, including the civil service and all public sector posi-
tions, for those appropriately qualified are extremely limited.
Tamil Primary Schools
The writer in Chapter 3 focuses on Tamil vernacular education within the
context of the national primary school system. Tamil Primary Schools’ per-
formance is assessed against enabling conditions of high performing educa-
tion systems including teacher quality, school leadership, system characteristics
and educational reform. Deficits in quality, infrastructure and academic
achievements have been recognized over the years. However, positive
changes on most fronts are on record, particularly post-2009, with budgeted
funding allocations for several initiatives which included a dedicated unit in
the Prime Minister’s Office directed to produce a comprehensive action plan
for the existing Tamil primary schools. A well-researched education blue-
print was completed with specific sectoral goals. Transformation plans were
successfully implemented but came to a stop with the change in government
in 2018.
Given the numerous challenges threatening the existence of Tamil Primary
Schools which have a history of almost 200 years and currently enroll almost
60% of the children largely from the B40 group of the Indian community,
the chapter speaks to the justification for preserving these schools, their
intangible values linked with identity of the community as well as threats.

8 Hena Mukherjee and Rajendran Nagappan
Although the Ministry of Education supports vernacular schools, recent
legal suits still pending challenging their legitimacy are a source of anxiety to
both Tamil and Chinese communities.
In reviewing relative successes, the writer identifies strong government,
NGO and community collaboration as critical to moving the schools and
their students forward. School Governing Boards and parents serving on
them have played positive roles in better management of schools.
Notwithstanding the importance of the valuable contribution of the Tamil
schools to community identity, their renewed focus on qualitative improve-
ment and their making some academic headway, the critical question the
writer asks is: how will children from this powerless segment of society navi-
gate their way upwards in the education system, achieving the upward social
mobility and skills required for employment and improving overall life
chances?
Secondary Education and the Future of Malaysian Indians
Chapter 4 moves the Tamil education conundrum to the next stage: the
underperformance of Malaysian Indian students from vernacular Tamil pri-
mary schools as well as national medium primary schools as they move on to
National (Malay-medium) Secondary Schools. The analysis uses Ogbu’s
Cultural-Ecological Model (CEM) of education of ethnic minority commu-
nities as a framework to examine the complex, interlocking issues that
emerge. These include historical, economic and social constraints as well as
students’ proficiency in the national language and English.
A direct link is demonstrated between the impact of socio-economic con-
ditions and discriminatory practices on students’ academic performance.
Socio-economic constraints include moving from estates to urban slums,
transitioning to a different medium of instruction without appropriately
planned systemic support, devaluation of the Tamil language and culture,
poor infrastructure and unconducive learning environment. Compounding
these are the fact that the children are marginalized and documented evi-
dence show that they are discriminated against by both teachers and their
fellow students. Given the weight of these circumstances, schooling becomes
an alienating experience instead of providing a platform for unifying ethnic
groups.
The consequences for disaffected students from communities with no
recourse to political power and unequal access to educational opportunities
are grave. Among 15+ aged students, Indians have the lowest enrolment
rate; high dropout rate at both primary and secondary levels; low self-esteem
and a counter culture opposed to the school system; and a high proportion
of drug-taking, alcoholism and gangsterism.
Taking the successful model of government assistance to rural Malay stu-
dents under the NEP, the writer examines the possibility of setting up resi-
dential secondary schools for Indian students from vernacular Tamil school
backgrounds. Such schools would provide, among other subjects, improved

Malaysian Indians and Education 9
Malay and English language teaching without devaluing Tamil language and
culture, supporting better life-chances of students. The writer is convinced
that stronger government policies which direct sufficient resources for uplift-
ment of this disadvantaged segment of Malaysian nationals would benefit all,
keeping to the overarching NEP goals of poverty eradication irrespective of
race.
Participation in Tertiary Education
The authors of Chapter 5 present a comprehensive narrative exploring chal-
lenges Indian students from poor households face in trying to gain entry to
publicly-funded tertiary education institutions (TEIs) and the difficulties
government affirmative action policies pose. Analyses of higher education in
Malaysia are dominated, apart from issues of quality, by equity and access
concerns particularly in relation to ethnic group participation and students
from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. Higher education provi-
sion is characterised by ethnic-based decisions and indeed these have led, it is
claimed, to a sense of ‘marginalisation by state policies’ (Cheong et al., 2016,
p.76). Quotas by ethnic group govern participation from matriculation to
university admission, resulting in situations which inevitably lead to intra-
ethnic competition, with those from the B40 group the most disadvantaged.
A tertiary level degree holds promise of better career and salary prospects
and opens doors to expanded life chances. For the B40 group, participation
in higher education provides a key opportunity to break the poverty cycle
and work towards achieving upward economic and social mobility. For those
who have managed to gain the requisite qualifications for entry into tertiary
level institutions, admissions policies and lack of financial support have pre-
sented major obstacles. Alternatives in terms of overseas education and pri-
vate local TEIs are available but their high fees can put these out of reach for
many.
A community initiative by the major Indian political party has led to the
establishment in 2001 of the non-profit private Asian Institute of Medicine,
Science and Technology. It is primarily designed to expand provision and
financial support for qualified Indian students with admissions open to stu-
dents of all ethnic groups. On the other hand, the Universiti Institut
Teknologi MARA (UiTM), totally state funded, with 35 branches and
172,000 odd students admits only Bumiputras. Although the Malaysian
Constitution provides for such an exception, the question of equitable pro-
vision for all qualified Malaysian students continues to be a matter of
concern.
Students also have recourse to alternative pathways many of which focus
on STEM and TVET. These alternative and flexible pathways are based on
the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) and open learning.
While broadening the coverage of potential candidates is a positive sign,
communication and information channels directed to the Indian B40 group
need to be strengthened for significant uptake.

10 Hena Mukherjee and Rajendran Nagappan
Education and Aspirations of Malaysian Indian Women
The struggle out of poverty and low status is highlighted in Chapter 6 which
focuses on the Education of Malaysian Indian Women. Through a qualita-
tive, case study approach using personal interviews, the two writers analyse
gender, class and ethnic-based marginalisation of 15 Indian women from the
B40, M40 and T20 households in the island of Penang, Malaysia.
In the previous chapters, writers had analysed and presented the impact the
external education policy environment has had on disadvantaged groups.
Here the two writers unearth the complexities of inequity that arise from
traditional attitudes and community mores which intensify the impact of pov-
erty. These ‘internal’ characteristics increase the powerlessness of this group
of women when dealing with the external education policy environment.
Those from the B40 group start life with the inequities embedded in tra-
ditional, patriarchal socio-economically disadvantaged groups where provid-
ing basic needs for the family supersedes thoughts of paying fees for
education, particularly for girls whose main responsibilities were to take care
of the home and younger siblings. Available resources would be directed to
the education of male siblings who are seen as prospective wage earners for
the family. Women construct their identity and gender roles modelled on the
patriarchal household, which is reiterated in the stereotypes developed in
school textbooks. Gender discrimination emerges as a major theme, and the
chapter shows how their frustrated efforts in gaining education have
strengthened the subjects’ resolve to prioritise education for their children.
Educated women from higher socioeconomic groups (M40 and T20) may
face similar traditional cultural barriers handling household and employment
needs. Their level of education, however, secures these women well-paying
jobs, empowering them to solve family and societal problems in a way advan-
tageous to them and their children.
While the women interviewed understood that higher education levels
could break the cycle of poverty and lift them out of constant societal humil-
iation, for many of them access to information on educational opportunities
is limited or unavailable as is financial support. For those from higher socio-
economic groups who succeed in gaining higher education and subsequently
move on to successful employment, their range of choices at work and at
home increase and imbue them with the power not only to take advantage of
the life chances open to them but also to expand them.
Strategies to Future-Proof Education and Skills Development
In Chapter 7, the writers’ starting point is low education attainment of the
Indian B40 (iB40) group, seeing an almost causal connection between low
education attainment, employment, income and poverty. Their futures are in
jeopardy as they are unable to keep abreast with skillsets required for employ-
ment, hence are limited to ‘sunset industries’ which are labour intensive,
characterized by low level technology. Information and communication

Malaysian Indians and Education 11
technology skills have transformed the characteristics of the workplace.
Unless this vulnerable community can access technology and narrow the
knowledge gap, it will be unable to participate in the new opportunities the
digital revolution or as the writers term it - ‘21st - century skills and compe-
tencies’ present.
Focusing on the B40 group, the state of the education and training sys-
tems are examined using an education and learning ecosystem analysis
framework developed by the writers. Sixty per cent of all the three commu-
nities - Malay, Chinese and Indian - have no post-secondary education which
presents major obstacles in efforts to participate in a knowledge-based econ-
omy. Findings show that the system is ‘fragmented’ for vulnerable commu-
nities, magnified for the Indian B40 group due to the weaker support system
available compared with other communities, impacting on socio-economic
indicators including employment, income, economic inequality and poverty
levels.
Findings of a community-based ICT literacy project - the Program Titan
Digital - in 50 schools nation-wide form the basis of the proposal that the
way forward rests on strategies for developing multi-stakeholder partner-
ships, strong leadership, and a trusted partner or central agency, who would
put in place an education and training system for Indian students especially
those from the vulnerable B40 group.
Need for Government Intervention
The penultimate chapter highlights the critical role that the Government in
Malaysia has to play in support of the Indian community’s efforts to improve
their low educational attainment and overall economic status. While the
12th Malaysia Plan 2021–2025 promises much in terms of multiracial
dimensions with themes of economy, security and inclusivity, the specifics are
not provided. A lower than usual allocation to the Indian community in
what is the largest Budget ever raises serious questions regarding implemen-
tation. At ground level growing inequality has bred a feeling of injustice and
marginalisation. The community, beset by a range of social ills, has not had
the advantages of education and developing the skillsets required to survive
in a competitive economy. However, the Gini coefficient shows intra-ethnic
inequality highest for Indians among the three major groups in Malaysia,
indicating that with appropriate education and training strategies the B40
group would have the opportunity to develop their potential and move
forward.
Between 2012 and 2018, the government had launched some significant
initiatives focusing on the Indian community, one of which was the prepara-
tion of the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (2017) based on in-depth research
and wide stakeholder consultation. Unfortunately, these plans were kept in
abeyance with the change of government in 2018.
The writer outlines the complex interplay between race, social inequality
and social mobility, reviews international experiences and how public policy

12 Hena Mukherjee and Rajendran Nagappan
may be devised to deal with community disadvantage, increasing equitable
practices. A caution accompanies the analysis – there are high social and
economic costs to the governments of marginalised societies and the steps
required to ensure their path to recovery.
Looking Forward
While preparing the various chapters, writers faced a daunting task in trying
to access recent data, particularly data disaggregated by ethnicity, on the spec-
trum of issues raised and analysed in this volume. Consequently, there was
over-reliance on sources such as the Malaysian Indian Blueprint where the
research data reflected largely 2014–2016 data. It is noted, for instance, that
Malaysia Development Plans which are referred to for basic government-ver-
ified information have not provided meaningful data disaggregated by ethnic-
ity since the Fourth Malaysia Plan (1981–1985). It is encouraging to learn
that in relation to Poverty Line Income and the Multi-Dimensional Poverty
Index, the Government states that ‘With the right statistics, the government
will be able to formulate policies and strategies as well as design more appro-
priate, dynamic and pragmatic approaches for each target group…’ (Landau,
2020). In the same spirit, it is hoped in the future specific data will assist with
better planning of development strategies for the Indian community.
The final chapter reviews briefly the proposals and recommendations
growing out of the analyses of major issues impacting on the educational,
economic and social development of the poorest groups in the Indian com-
munity. Drawing the proposals together, the chapter identifies key areas for
the attention and action of those in policy and decision-making roles both in
government and civil society, calling for needs-based rather than race-based
strategies. The proposals include the need to review existing policies and
support structures in the government sector, accessing appropriate resources
and facilities to initiate or modify such policies and structures with the goal
of intensifying poverty reduction and educational achievement in target
groups. Reducing poverty and minimizing inequalities should be understood
as a national concern and not just the problem of a single ethnic group. A
marginalised community characterized by low skills, low waged employment
and a range of social ills will eventually result in high costs for social recovery
programmes. There are also issues of depriving commmunity members from
reaching their potential with dignity and contributing positively to the
nation’s development. Lest there is apprehension that decision-making and
supporting actions have to start at ground zero, the writers refer to the
in-depth research included in government-approved documentation which
are immediately available for accelerated responses.
The writers are firm in their view that the community, particularly those
from the T20 and M40 groups, has a major responsibility in addressing the
challenges that its members face and should partner the government in work-
ing towards common goals. High on the agenda proposed for the community
is the obligation to identify problematic issues and measures to deal with

Malaysian Indians and Education 13
them such as setting up an R & D think tank; use their professional and tech-
nical prowess in strengthening students’ education performance from pri-
mary to tertiary levels and support employment-directed skills development;
rekindle the trust lost in the wake of previous failed initiatives; create a sense
of ‘Community Pride’ in visible achievements of members; and enhance cul-
tural and networking strengths by linking into other subethnic groups in the
community. The role of civil society and the potential contributions of com-
mitted non-governmental organisations require careful strategizing in terms
of resources (as distinct from handouts) as they can often succeed in outreach
and gain results where more formal structures meet roadblocks.
Vital to endeavours and projects to uplift the Indian community is the
recognition that sound leadership, management, financial and communica-
tion skills are pre-requisites for successful completion. Equally critical is the
understanding that well-designed monitoring and evaluation protocols are
essential so that mid-course corrections can be made in what is a constantly
changing terrain. Above all, strategies will only succeed in a conducive policy
environment which the government needs to set in place.
References
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law of unintended consequences. Journal of International and Comparative
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Survey 2019. Putrajaya: Department of Statistics Malaysia.
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Statistics Malaysia.
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Malaysia. Friday, 6 August 2021.
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003257394-2
2 Malaysian Indians
History, Contributions, Achievements,
Problems and Challenges
K. S. Nathan
Introduction: Historical Background
The historical background of Malaysian Indians has as much to do with cul-
ture and religion in the earlier periods of immigration and settlement in
Malaya (first wave) since the 5th century A.D. as it has to do with the polit-
ical-economy dimension of British colonialism in Malaya since the late 19th
century up until independence in the mid-20th century. Archaeological evi-
dence unearthed the existence of Hindu temples and settlements in the
Bujang Valley in Kedah (Murphy, 2018). Indeed, Kedah itself seems to have
derived its name from the Tamil word “Kadaram”, meaning “shops” run by
Indians in that era. While the early Indian migration was small and limited in
the number of Hindu priests with their entourage and also merchants and
traders, the larger and more substantial migration occurred in the British
colonial era following the Pangkor Treaty of 1874.
The bulk of the second-wave migrants arrived in Malaya under British
colonial rule as plantation workers, mainly from South India. They were
recruited under various labour contract schemes including indentured labour
(1890–1910) and the kangani system (the 1890s until 1920). Both were
variants of the indenture system based on debt-bondage whereby the rela-
tionship between master and servant was strengthened by the servant’s need
to continue working under the master until his debts incurred in recruiting,
transporting and employing him from India to Malaya were settled (Jomo,
1993). Labour migration to Malaya over a period of four to five decades
witnessed the economic development of the country under the aegis of colo-
nial rule. The presence of rich natural resources such as rubber and tin
enticed both the British colonial government as well as entrepreneurs and
merchants from the metropolis to explore the economic potential of a largely
undeveloped land. Along with plantation workers from India, the British
also recruited tin mine workers from China – two principal sources of man-
power required by the colonial economy, which were available in abundant
quantity from the two major sources of Asian civilisation – India and China.
The demography of Malaya was clearly transformed by Indian and Chinese
migration under British colonial rule, creating in its wake the plural society.
As Indian (and Chinese) immigration and settlement expanded, infrastructure

Malaysian Indians 15
development (roads, railways, hospitals, schools, etc.) followed suit to sup-
port the colonial economy. The British realised that to sustain the colonial
economy of Malaya, they needed to provide for the basic needs of the planta-
tion workers, i.e. housing, schools and temples, to ensure a certain degree of
alignment between material and spiritual needs of the estate population.
Patterns of late 19th-century and early 20th-century Indian migration to
Malaya have shaped the demographic character of this ethnic category in
Malaysia’s population to this day. Driven by the economic dictates of British
colonial policy, the recruitment of the labour force from India was influenced
by cost–benefit considerations. The primary source of plantation labour in
the pre-WWII period was Tamil Nadu in South India. While the Indian
Tamils constituted the bulk of the Indian population in Malaya totalling over
80%, a smaller percentage of Telugus and Malayalis also formed part of the
labour force. Smaller groups such as Punjabis and Sindhis also added to the
total population of Indians in Malaya and Singapore. In terms of settlement,
over 95% of the Indian population in the entire Malaysia–Singapore region
resided in the western part of the Malay Peninsula, with significant political,
economic and social implications of their role and contributions in Malaysia
since the 1940s. The geographical distribution by states is as follows:
Selangor (25%), Perak (21%), Singapore (15%), Penang, Johore and Kedah
each taking 8%, Negeri Sembilan (6%) and Malacca and Pahang together
having under 3%. The east coast states of Malaya account for less than 1%,
while East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) has a negligible presence of Indians
(Arasaratnam, 1970, pp. 40–41). Arasaratnam observed that “the Indians
continue to be distributed in the plantation country stretching from south-
ern Kedah to Negeri Sembilan, and the urban complexes that have grown in
these regions” (Arasaratnam, 1970, p. 41).
The bulk of Malayan Indians who constituted 11% of the total population
of 6.3 million in the pre-independence era (Hirschman, 1980, p. 111) were
employed in the plantations and the public sector in colonial Malaya. In the
plantation or estate sector, they were mainly engaged as rubber tappers,
while in the urban areas large numbers worked in the Malayan Railways and
in the Public Works Department and were engaged in building roads, tele-
communications and other infrastructure needed by the colonial administra-
tion to develop the Malayan economy.
In Malaya, political developments in India seem to have inspired Malayan
Indians to support the nationalist struggle for independence led by Mahatma
Gandhi. Malayan Indians were inspired by the role played by Subhas Chandra
Bose and the Indian National Army, which he organised and led. Following
the achievement of Indian independence in 1947, ethnic Indians shifted
their attention to the nationalist struggle in Malaya where the United Malays
National Organisation (UMNO), formed in 1946, was spearheading the
effort to compel the British to grant independence. The defeat of Japan in
1945 also meant that the guerrilla warfare launched by the Communist Party
of Malaya injected a twist to Malayan nationalism. However, the three
Malayan-based political parties that together won independence from the

16 K. S. Nathan
British – UMNO, Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian
Congress (MIC) were to become the three key pillars of the ethnic-based
political model of governance in Malaya/Malaysia for the past six decades. In
this scenario, the MIC being a junior partner could not really be effective in
representing the diverse interests of the Indian community comprising the
T20 (Top 20%), M40 (middle-income category) and the B40 categories.
1
In the post-independence era, the Indian contribution to the development
of medical and health services continued unabated until the outbreak of the
May 1969 racial riots, following which the Malayanisation policy, i.e. recruit-
ing the vast majority of Malayans (later Malaysians after the formation of
Malaysia in 1963) who hailed largely from a single ethnic group, the Malays,
was implemented in the effort of the Government to create more equity and
balance in the employment sector, both public and private.
Malaysian Indians in the Contemporary Era: Political-
Economic Marginalisation
Fast-forwarding history to contemporary times, it is evident that the succes-
sors to the British colonial policy were the post-independence Alliance
Government under a Malay-led elite. In drafting the Malayan Constitution,
the Reid Commission recommended a time limit of 15 years of preferential
treatment in public service jobs and promotions, educational institutions and
rural development schemes, after which Article 153 is to be reviewed.
2

However, the 1957 Constitution was silent on this requirement, and hence,
the Malay-majority government under the Alliance and later the National
Front Coalition [Barisan Nasional (BN) from 1974] also did not place any
caps on the time limit for such privileges to be extended indefinitely (Abdul
Aziz, 2008). The initial aim of development schemes such as FELDA
(Federal Land Development Authority) and MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat
or People’s Trust Council) was to increase Malay empowerment to achieve a
certain level of parity with the non-Malays especially the Chinese who in the
decade immediately after independence were socio-economically well ahead
of the Malays. In the process of uplifting Malay welfare, development poli-
cies targeted the Bumiputera or indigenous population under the UMNO-
led Alliance government, later expanded in 1974 to be renamed the National
Front or BN. This post-1974 political re-organisation was necessitated also
by the formation of Malaysia in 1963, comprising three principal geographic
entities: Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak (Singapore joined the other three units
to form the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 but subsequently
left in 1965 to become a separate independent nation).
The post-1969 development policies cut deep into the economic liveli-
hood of Malaysian Indians in the B40 category. As correctly observed by
Sivachandralingam, “a sizable portion of the Indian populace has been con-
sciously left out from the development process through discriminatory poli-
cies and practices” (Sivachandralingam, 2016, p. 25). Under the Mahathir
Administration (1981–2003), more than 90% of jobs in the public sector

Malaysian Indians 17
were held by Malays, while recruitment of Indians in the private sector was
coloured by preference for Malays (with official pressure or persuasion), and
also preference by the Chinese economic sector to employ people of their
own community. This feeling of alienation and marginalisation, strength-
ened by religious discrimination, demolition of unregistered Hindu temples
and shrines by local authorities, precipitated the Hindraf Incident on 25
November 2007. On that day, over 50,000 protesters converged at the capi-
tal from different points in the city and demanded fair treatment especially
for the B40 depressed sector of the Indian community. The protest leaders
sent their petition to the British Crown demanding compensation for the
wrongdoings under British colonial rule (1874–1957), although, in effect,
the message was intended to underscore the discriminatory policies of the
post-independence government.
Achievements and Contributions
Malaysians of Indian ethnic origin have shown the capacity for tremendous
resilience in the midst of a multitude of political, economic, social, cultural
and religious challenges in post-independence Malaya from 1957 (and later,
Malaysia from 1963). The Indian middle class possesses educational and pro-
fessional skills, which can be utilised to produce greater positive impact on the
socio-economic status of the community. The educated and professional
Indians have proliferated in the early decades of Malayan independence, as
evidenced by the number of trained school teachers, doctors, lawyers and
other professional groups who collectively have augmented Government
efforts to upgrade socio-economic and educational qualifications, particularly
of the Malays via the New Economic Policy to achieve a certain degree of par-
ity with the more developed non-Malays (Chinese and Indians). Nevertheless,
this chapter will briefly examine the role played by the Government and Civil
Society in addressing problems, issues and concerns of Malaysian Indians
focusing on the working class category from 2010 to the present.
Malaysian Indians who comprised the bulk of the labour force in the rub-
ber and also to some extent in the palm oil estates have undoubtedly played
a major role in the development of Malaya’s plantation economy over a
50-year period prior to independence in 1957. The economic contributions
of Malaysian Indians to the Malayan/Malaysian economy were particularly
visible in the period 1965–1990, especially when the role of the agricultural
sector in export earnings is taken into account. As observed by Sandhu, “the
role of Indian labour, and to a lesser extent capital and enterprise, has been
of special significance in the economic development of the country” (Sandhu,
1969, p. 245). In the 1950s and early 1960s, the agricultural sector contin-
ued to exercise an important influence on the total GNP in the decade fol-
lowing independence, and the role of Indian labour has not been insignificant.
Malaya experienced rapid growth in the major export commodities, i.e. rub-
ber, timber, palm oil and palm kernel oil, with rubber and palm oil contrib-
uting 52.2% in 1960 and 36.4% in total export earnings respectively

18 K. S. Nathan
(Selvakumaran, 1994, p. 80). Instructively, the Indian contribution began to
decline in the 1960s and 1970s with the fragmentation of estates, transfer of
the ownership from British to Malayan hands and the subsequent exodus of
Indians from the rural to urban areas, as well as departures to India in the
aftermath of the May 1969 racial riots. However, this “significance” is more
noticeable in their involvement in the development of the rubber, oil palm,
coconut and tea plantations.
Besides their engagement in the plantation sector, mainly in the rubber
estates, Indians were also prominent in the workforce comprising the various
transport services. They played an important role in the development of
infrastructure in pre-independent Malaya. Indian labour was significantly
present in the construction of roads, railways and telecommunication sys-
tems (Arasaratnam, 1970, p. 38), all of which served as critical pillars in the
economic development of Malaya under British rule.
Problems Arising from the Ethnic Model of Governance
The Bumiputera/Non-Bumiputera Divide: Impact on Malaysian Indians
Malaysian Indians, comprising about 6.8% of the total population of 32.7
million people in 2021, do face problems that other ethnic communities,
such as the Malaysian Chinese, do not encounter in similar proportion and
gravity. Evidently, the socio-economic subservience of the Indian commu-
nity has been perpetuated via attitudes and delivery mechanisms entrenched
in the pro-Bumiputera policies thereafter. From the perspective of political
economy, Chandra Muzaffar argues that
colonialism deprived the community of the economic foundation
necessary for a politically significant role as Indian labour from South
India was basically confined to servicing the colonial economy in the
rubber, coffee and sugar plantations with all the attendant structural
restrictions that curbed upward socio-economic mobility.
(Chandra, 1993, p. 212)
Discrimination against Indians based on ethnicity was indirectly facilitated
by the New Economic Policy (NEP) since 1970, although the declared
objectives were to eradicate poverty and redistribute wealth with the goal of
removing the distinction between ethnicity and economic function. However,
in practice, the UMNO-dominated Government of the Barasian Nasional
(BN or National Front Coalition) bifurcated Malaysian society into two cat-
egories: Bumiputera and Non-Bumiputera – meaning Malays and other
indigenous peoples grouped under one category and the rest in the latter
category. This policy gathered full steam after the 1969 racial riots, resulting
over time in a significant decrease in recruitment of non-Malays into the civil
service, and other public sector jobs including employment by local authori-
ties. This progressive erosion of the ethnic presence of Non-Malays in the

Malaysian Indians 19
civil and public services impacted much more negatively on the Indian com-
munity than the ethnic Chinese community for the simple reason that the
Chinese business sector was better able to absorb the punches emanating
from government policy than the Indian community with a limited and nar-
row engagement in the business sector. Perceptions by the Indian commu-
nity of official neglect are borne out by the absence of government thinking
and strategies to assist a community that pre-1970 shared similar character-
istics in terms of poverty, ownership of corporate wealth and depressed
socio-economic conditions. As noted by Anbalakan, the Indian community
hardly figured in the official design of the New Economic Policy to lift
Malaysians of all ethnic groups out of poverty and to provide training and
employment opportunities to eventually eradicate the distinctions/divisions
arising from race and economic function (Anbalakan, 2003, p. 383). The
declared noble objective of the NEP was to prevent another system break-
down as occurred in 1969 and to strengthen national unity based on equi-
table development. Anbalakan aptly remarks that the Indian predicament,
especially the bulk in the low-income category who were driven out of the
plantation sector due to fragmentation of estates, was aggravated by the
injection of the Bumiputera/non-Bumiputera classification in the post-1969
era. He adds that unlike the Malays, the Indians were not given separate
consideration as a community, but were lumped together with the Chinese,
who were economically far stronger, under the non-bumiputera category. In
short, the author concludes that “while everything possible was promised for
the upliftment of the bumiputera community, practically no strategy of any
sort was formulated to help the poor Indians” (Anbalakan 2003, p. 383).
The social problems faced particularly by the B40 Indians are manifold, and
those in this category are primarily linked to the plantations from which they
were displaced and forced to eke out a living in urban areas without adequate
preparation. The immense social problems faced by the uprooted and urban
poor are summed up by a sociologist specialising in ethnic studies in Malaysia.
These problems include: (i) broken family, (ii) old age parents, (iii) physically
handicapped family members, (iv) single mother, (v) poor dietary habits, (vi)
health problems and (vi) mental illness (Mansor, 2016, p. 231). Indeed, these
problems are inter-active, the one impacting the others to cumulatively aggra-
vate problems faced by the individual as well as the community. These indica-
tors also reflect low-socio-economic status of B40 Indians, the category in
which underachievers abound in the school system. In this regard, Santhi
Periasamy, a social activist working on the urban poor, observes: “It has been
well documented that there is an association between family poverty and chil-
dren’s health, achievement and behaviour” (Santhi, 2016, p. 231).
Yet another dimension of the Indian community’s socio-economic prob-
lems pertains to the unemployment rate, which is comparatively the highest
for any ethnic group. As Muhammad suggests, unemployment among the
Indians is one of the key issues affecting the community. Indians seem to top
the negative indicators while scoring very much below par on the positive
indicators of the socio-economic ladder. Supporting his claim, Muhammad

20 K. S. Nathan
states that the unemployment figure in 2012 for Indians, disaggregated by
gender, showed that both male and female Indians had higher unemploy-
ment rates at 4% and 5.2% respectively compared to the national average at
2.9% (male) and 3.8% (female). However, the analyst notes that the biggest
challenge for the Indian community is youth unemployment, which stood at
25.7%, indicating a significantly higher figure than for any other group in the
15–19-age bracket. In other words, 1 in 4 Indian youths out of school in
2012 was unemployed (Muhammad, 2016, pp. 306–308). These alarming
figures also help explain the high incidence of crime and gangsterism for the
community, which currently comprises around 6.8% of the total population,
compared to other ethnic categories.
Another major post-1969 problem faced by Malaysian Indians, especially
those from the plantation sector, issued from the fragmentation of estates via
the Malayanisation policy, i.e. the transfer of British-owned plantations to
Malaysian-owned companies since the 1970s. Under British colonial rule,
the plantation economy remained relatively stable, and so did the plantation
workers whose incomes and livelihood were not threatened by extraneous
factors. With the devolution of economic power from foreign to local hands
came other problems associated with the new management’s policies regard-
ing wage rates, housing, funding for Tamil schools, titles to property includ-
ing places of worship that allegedly were not duly registered with the Land
Office, proper accommodation and basic sanitary facilities, as well as health
care for plantation labour. All these issues were invariably intertwined with
the structural transformation of the plantation economy in the 1970s and
1980s. Plantation land and labour were, under the capitalist profit-driven
impulse, commodified. Athi Sivan asserts that “plantation labour was bought
and sold as commodities during the subdivision of plantations, without any
concern for the fate of labour families who were residing there for genera-
tions” (Athi Sivan, 2018, p. 383). A modest effort to arrest the negative
socio-economic consequences of fragmentation of estates was made by the
National Land Finance Cooperative Society (NLFCS) formed at the initia-
tive of MIC President, V.T. Sambanthan in 1960. The aim of this coopera-
tive society was to acquire rubber estates when they came up for sale to stem
the tide of sub-division and thereby address the challenge of potential large-
scale unemployment emanating from fragmentation. By 1970, the Society
had owned twelve estates comprising over 30,000 acres, with further efforts
being made subsequently to protect Indian plantation welfare (Arasaratnam,
1970, pp. 158–161).
On the social dimension, the drastic consequences of structurally driven
rural–urban migration, with no safety net provided by government policy,
aggravated the socio-economic conditions of the Malaysian Indian estate
population. Unlike government schemes such as FELDA (Federal Land
Development Authority), FELCRA (Federal Land Consolidation and
Rehabilitation Authority) and MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat or People’s
Trust Council), all of which catered for Malay socio-economic upliftment
and welfare, similar government-sponsored schemes were unavailable to

Malaysian Indians 21
Malaysian Indians. To aggravate the situation, the umbrella of Government
policy did not cover the estates, which were not categorised as “rural”
deserving government attention and support under the 5-year development
plans and programmed under the Ministry of Rural Development, but were
viewed as private property left to the mercy of Malaysian plantation owners,
especially in the post-1969 era.
Representation in Government
The Malaysian Indian community faces a new problem of much greater mag-
nitude. Under the post-independence Alliance Party model in which the
three major communities – Malays, Chinese and Indians – were represented
based on ethnic considerations, the delivery of public goods and services was
essentially processed through ethnic-based political representation in gov-
ernment. From 1957 until 1974, under the Alliance structure, Indians were
better represented in Government, civil service and the public services prin-
cipally as they constituted one of the three components of the three major
races at that time: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The MIC had at least two
cabinet ministers when V.T. Sambanthan and V. Manickavasagm led the
party, but the cabinet representation was reduced to one full minister under
S. Samy Vellu who succeeded Manickavasagam in the 1980s. However, the
loss of one cabinet post was replaced by two deputy ministerial positions.
With such virtually non-existent political representation in Government,
there is no longer an assertive voice at both Federal and State levels to address
the grievances of the Malaysian Indian community, particularly those in the
B40 category.
With successive General Elections especially since the post-Hindraf era
from 2007, the MIC candidates progressively lost their parliamentary and
state seats, and since the Perikatan Nasional (PN) (National Alliance) dis-
lodged the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) Government in March
2020, the MIC is now left with only one Cabinet minister in the ruling PN
Government
As the race-based model expanded after the formation of the National
Front Coalition (BN) since 1974, representation in government for the
Malaysian Indian community began to decline appreciably. Under the BN
ticket at the polls normally held every 4–5 years, the MIC candidates needed
the support of other component parties especially UMNO to enhance their
prospects of victory, due largely to the fact that Malaysian Indians did not
comprise the majority in any state or parliamentary constituency. They
needed the support of other BN partners to ensure being elected. The sce-
nario of Indian representation in government following the GE-14 in May
2018 became even more gloomy when the PH Government collapsed in
February 2020 and was replaced by two unelected governments under the
PN banner. Presently, there is only one MIC minister in the Malaysian
Cabinet, just as the same post-2018 scenario witnessed the depletion of eth-
nic Chinese representation in the PN Government, in which there is only

22 K. S. Nathan
one Chinese cabinet minister. Additionally, the current Malay-centric gov-
ernment is clearly not tailor-made to focus sufficiently on the socio-economic
problems and requirements of Malaysian Indians, especially those in the
working class category.
In education, this has boiled down to a significant decline in government
financial support for vernacular education. The amount allocated for Tamil
vernacular schools in the 2021 budget is a paltry sum of RM 29.98 million
(compared to Chinese vernacular schools: RM74.07 million and govern-
ment-aided Islamic schools: RM12.23 million) from a total budget of
RM50.4 billion (Malay Mail, 24 November 2020). With such meagre finan-
cial resources at their disposal, the quality of Tamil schools will progressively
decline in terms of infrastructure and teaching staff. Besides the intermittent
politicising of vernacular education stemming from political expediency by
ultra-Malay nationalist groups such as Ikatan Muslim Malaysia (ISMA) or
Malaysian Muslim Solidarity, questioning the legitimacy of vernacular schools
under the National Education Policy has stymied any constructive govern-
ment efforts to increase funding for vernacular schools.
Selected Initiatives Taken by the Government
Any concrete evidence of governmental concern for the socio-economic
problems of this ethnic minority seems to have come more from the indi-
vidual initiative of Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister, Mohd Najib Abdul
Razak. Upon assumption of office on 3 April 2009 as Malaysia’s 6th Prime
Minister following the resignation of PM Abdullah Badawi, Najib launched
the National Transformation Programme (NTP). Although this was more
a macro-level approach to Malaysia’s economic transformation agenda,
Najib created some space in the Prime Minister’s Office for some agencies
to specifically address Indian welfare. Under the Malaysian Indian
Transformation Unit (MITRA), which was established in the Ministry of
National Unity in 2018, and which was established earlier as the Socio-
Economic Development of Indian Community (SEDIC) unit in 2014
directly under the Prime Minister’s purview, the sole objective was to
implement the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB). MIB was launched by
PM Najib on 23 April 2017 after which three former units were merged
under SEDIC: the Special Implementation Task Force, the Tamil School
Action Plan Unit and the Special Secretariat for the Empowerment of
Indian Entrepreneurs to ensure better coordination of funds and imple-
mentation of projects specifically for the B40 Indians. In 2015 alone,
RM100 million was disbursed to various non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and private skills training institutes (PSTIs), which implemented
a total of 379 programmes across various scopes. By May 2018, over
160,000 people had benefited from SEDIC’s funds disbursed to NGOs
and PSTIs, with a success rate of 90% of the programmes carried out by
them (Bernama, 29 March 2016).
3

Malaysian Indians 23
Another government initiative under the Prime Minister’s Department
that is worthy of mention is the effort made by SEED, formed in 2012, to
empower about 38,000 Indian entrepreneurs, nearly all of whom are
involved in microbusiness. The five-pronged strategy encompasses (i)
credit facilitation, (ii) credit risk management, (iii) business advisory role,
(iv) GLC-Linked vendor development programs and (v) monitoring and
research unit. As a part of its achievements in the Small & Medium
Enterprises sector, SEED claims to have assisted 256 companies in secur-
ing RM294 million over a 4-year period, thus contributing to the develop-
ment of business confidence in Indian entrepreneurs especially from the
B40 category. Nevertheless, SEED is mindful that securing bank loans has
never been easy, and it is still a work in progress (Kumararajah, 2016,
p. 531).
When the PH Government replaced the BN Government in 2018 follow-
ing GE14, SEDIC, which was originally placed in the Prime Minister’s
Department, was relocated under the Department of National Unity and
Social Wellbeing. After the fall of the PH Government in February 2020, the
fate of SEDIC and all its community development projects under the PN
(Alliance of Hope) Government from March 2020, seems to hang in the
balance. In any event, as long as these programmes and projects are not
integrated into the national development policy designed to help ALL
Malaysians, and with specific directives that should be implemented by
Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, these units will
continue to operate in silos with minimal impact on the overall wellbeing of
the Indian community.
Selected Initiatives Taken by Civil Society
Civil Society’s role in the developmental process is equally important in
complementing governmental efforts to educate citizens, build economic
and social infrastructure and allocate public resources from the national bud-
get. In short, civil society organisations (CSOs, also known as NGOs) do
play a supportive role by bridging the communication and delivery gap
between the governors and the governed. The Malaysian Indian community
became painfully aware that reliance on the government to help needy
Indians was not an option given the institutionalisation of discrimination via
the pro-Malay policies since 1957. The discrimination gathered full steam
after the 1969 racial riots following the implementation of the New Economic
Policy (NEP) since 1970. The 1970s therefore stimulated greater awareness
among Indian elites that they had to initiate community empowerment mea-
sures especially for the depressed sectors of the community. Among the sev-
eral Indian civil society organisations involved in community upliftment, this
chapter, due to space limitations, focuses on three prominent NGOs that
have made significant contributions to upgrade the performance level of
Indian students, strengthen their morale, self-esteem and self-confidence

24 K. S. Nathan
and enhance their ability to join the social mainstream and function as citi-
zens with dignity and self-respect in a multi-racial setting.
Educational, Welfare and Research Foundation (EWRF)
EWRF was founded in 1978 principally by academics from the University of
Malaya who were its founding members, with the primary objective of
uplifting Malaysian youth and community through education. It was offi-
cially registered on 1 February 1979. Based on the Foundation’s research
and analysis, poor academic achievement and socio-economic background
were identified as the contributing factors of the high rate of dropouts in
schools. Thus, all EWRF programmes were designed to either prevent the
dropout phenomenon or intervene to reduce problems that might contrib-
ute towards that situation. Such timely interventions, it claims, can arguably
reduce the dropout rate as well as the crime rate at the national level. Over
the past 40 years, from its humble beginnings in the P.P. Narayanan (PPN)
Hostel, Petaling Jaya, the organisation has grown in strength, stature and
outreach targeting a much broader canvass of youths, especially the drop-
outs from primary and secondary schools who are in dire need of counsel-
ling, coaching and guidance to prepare them to enter the societal mainstream.
EWRF devised their Civil Society Intervention programmes to incorporate
outdoor activities especially sports that provide more informal as well as use-
ful opportunities for participants to be instilled with positive values, build
self-esteem, confidence, coping skills and promote personal and social
growth.
In the past 10 years, the organisation has devised and improved its training
packages to more effectively address the problems and challenges faced by
Indian youth from the low-income strata. There are at the moment six pro-
grams in operation, run by volunteers/guidance counsellors comprising
teachers, university graduates and social work professionals. These six pro-
grams are listed in Table 2.1. All these centres/programs have evidently
opened up a vast array of opportunities and services, which have been in
short supply especially for the B40 community that most deserved the atten-
tion and assistance of Government as well as Civil Society (EWRF Annual
Reports, 2010–2020).
Sri Murugan Centre (SMC)
SMC for short, grew out of EWRF and began its independent existence and
growth following its inaugural meeting on 22 September 1982 in the University
of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. It was officially registered on 7 July 1984. SMC’s
strategy of effecting mental and social transformation in the participants
through its tuition centres and other workshops and retreats is based on the
deep belief that religion can be used as a positive instrument in inculcating
those personal and social values that build confidence, integrity, leadership,

Malaysian Indians 25
communication and academic/professional achievement skills that ultimately
enable the student-participant to integrate into the mainstream of society and
serve as a productive and constructive agent of change. Towards this end,
beginning in 1982 and in the founding centre in Kuala Lumpur, SMC rapidly
spread its wings to establish other urban and rural centres throughout Peninsular
Malaysia. Between 1982 and 2019, the number of centres mushroomed to
103. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, SMC has gone vir-
tual and, in a span of 2 years (2020–2021), it set up 127 virtual centres using
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an effective teaching
and training weapon for enrolled students.
4
The impact of the SMC’s teaching
and learning programs can be measured by the following data: Between 1982
and 2021, the total number of university/college graduates produced by SMC
was 28,576, out of which 26,260 (91.9%) completed their studies at local insti-
tutions of higher learning, while SMC graduates from foreign universities
totalled 2,316 (8.1%) over the past 40 years (Sri Murugan Centre, Petaling
Jaya, Report 2021). The SMC social transformation strategy has also produced
impressive results in the professional fields, as Tables 2.2–2.5 indicate.
Sri Murugan Centre – key data, 1982–2021
Table 2.1 EWRF training packages for B40 Indian youth
No.Programme No. participants/
beneficiaries
Period of
enrolment
1 Civil Society Intervention (CSI)15,150 2010–2020
2 English for Juniors (E4J) 17,158 2010–2020
3 Centre for Career Coaching and
Guidance (C3G)
49,955 2010–2020
4 Counselling 1,468 2010–2018
5 Volunteer Induction Programme
(VIP)
940 2011–2019
6 Technical and Vocational
Education & Training (TVET)
1,358 2013–2019
Source: EWRF Annual Reports, 2010–2020
Table 2.2 SMC centres nationwide
SMC physical centres (1982–2019) 103 centres
SMC virtual centres (2020–2021) 127 centres
Table 2.3 Graduates produced by SMC: 1982–2021
Total SMC graduates 28,576
Local institutions of higher learning26,260 (91.9%)
Foreign universities 2,316 (8.1%)

26 K. S. Nathan
Finally, given the demographic distribution of Malaysian Indians histori-
cally, and the impact of the push-and-pull factors impelling rural–urban
migration especially since the 1970s, SMC reached out to both categories of
the B40 Indians with its motivational philosophy of upgrading their per-
sonal, social and professional skills to facilitate smoother integration into the
societal mainstream. Over the last 40 years, SMC’s outreach and impact can
be seen from the total number of graduates it produced: 18,289 (64%) from
the urban areas, while 10,287 graduates (36%) hailed from the rural areas.
There is little doubt that these university and college graduates have
benefited considerably from their exposure to the Centre’s leadership and
training programmes conducted in urban as well as rural locations.
MySkills Foundation
MySkills was established as a Not-For-Profit Foundation on 3 March
2011, initially setting up operations in Puchong, later moving to Port
Klang in 2012 and finally acquiring a 34-acre campus in Kalumpang, Hulu
Selangor, in 2018. The Kalumpang Campus consists of three major facilities:
(i) Administrative and Technical Centres (Electrical, Air Conditioning,
Welding, Plumbing, Corporate Secretarial, Bakery production and Pest
Control), (ii) two football fields and (iii) a Sports Complex with a Multi-
Purpose Hall, Hostel residences, Kitchen and Cafeteria, Bathroom and
Toilets Complex, an Entrepreneur Hub Complex and Organic Farming
Centre. Evidently, the focus of MySkills is on vocational training and edu-
cation for youths at risk. It should also be noted that the government-led
Table 2.5 SMC graduates: urban and rural distribution
Total graduates Urban Rural
28,576 18,289 (64%) 10,287 (36%)
Source: Data provided by the Management Office of Sri Murugan Centre, Jalan Bukit 11/2,
Petaling Jaya on 22 October 2021.
Table 2.4 SMC graduates according to professions
Professions SMC graduates (%)
Academic and education 25
Medicine and medical sciences 15
Law 12
Engineering fields 8
IT 5
Administrative and management 20
Business 10
Others 5

Malaysian Indians 27
socio-economic development unit for the SEDIC had been supporting
MySkills' cause ever since 2012–2014 under the Economic Planning Unit
(EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department and later in 2014–2018 under
the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit or MITRA ( MySkills
Foundation, 2020–2021, p. 16).
The primary goal of this CSO is to serve a specific section of the commu-
nity who invariably fall under the B40 category and whose problems and
challenges either lack or escape the attention of government policies. The
vision of MySkills is to empower at-risk youth by providing them vocational
skills and integrating them into mainstream society. “At-risk” youth are
those who drop out of school early due to their inability to cope with the
regular school curriculum and become social misfits for a variety of reasons:
(i) poverty, (ii) family stress and responsibility, (iii) a poor educational start,
(iv) stereotyping by the community as delinquents and disruptors of the
“peace”, (v) racial/ethnic/language barriers, (vi) lack of adult supervision,
mentors and community support and (vii) learning disabilities and related
conditions (Selvamalar & Pasupathi, 2016, p. 453).
Absent intervention strategies, the “at-risk” profile of the students enrolled
in MySkills Foundation further attests to their actual or potential marginali-
sation from mainstream society. Some facts and figures depict their predica-
ment. The highest level of education of those enrolled is 27% (attended or
completed Form 3), primary school dropouts make up 10%, while those who
completed Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM or Malaysia Certificate of Education)
is only 7%. The rest of the percentages are accounted for by dropouts rang-
ing from Form 1 to Form 4. Even more striking are the following statistics
cited in the 2020–2021 Report: 64% dropped out for own reason, 27% were
expelled from school, 7% failed and another 2% never went to school. The
truth of the matter is that a mind-boggling 93% did not complete SPM, the
minimum passport to some kind of a decent job for successful SPM school
leavers (MySkills Foundation, 2020–2021, p. 24).
In light of this rather dismal scenario facing the B40 community, there is
still some record of achievements. The impact of MySkills since 2010 is
revealed by the following data: out of 2,100 that enrolled for various courses
(listed below), 72% graduated, 80% are gainfully employed, while another
20% are continuing their studies. The breakdown of graduates by gender/
course is as follows: (A) boys: (i) electrical wiring: 75%, (ii) mechatronics:
10%, welding: 5% and (iv) air-conditioning: 10% and (B) girls: (i) executive
secretaryship: 70%, (ii) bakery production: 15% and (iii) care giving: 15%
(MySkills Foundation, 2020–2021, p. 12). These achievements may not
seem remarkable, but in the context of these very same cohorts carrying the
high probability of becoming delinquents, misfits, gangsters and drug mules
without any intervention, the progress recorded via the MySkills agenda is
indeed commendable.
Yet there is still a long way to travel, and MySkills is taking up the chal-
lenge. The newly set up Kalumpang campus is in dire need of funding, and

28 K. S. Nathan
support from the government and private donors can only do so much. The
need for sustainable development has become more urgent as the COVID-
19 pandemic (2019–2020) has dried up the inflow of substantial funds
from traditional sources. While substantial progress has been made in
acquiring the physical space and facilities to house and train the school
dropouts, there is a growing realisation by the governing board that
MySkills needs to move steadfastly from a donor-funded NGO towards a
sustainable social enterprise (MySkills Foundation, 2019–2020, p. 6).
Towards this end, a social enterprise called Primus Wellness (PW) was estab-
lished in 2018 to offer various kinds of health and wellness products, with
the larger goal of mobilising community resources and building capacity
towards self-reliance, especially among the B40 category. The eventual goal
of PW is to attain sustainability and financial independence. It runs capac-
ity-building programmes to develop community capacities such as ability,
skills and knowledge of mobilising resources, planning and evaluating chal-
lenges to gain mastery over their lives. It also motivates the community,
mainly budding women entrepreneurs, to participate in business and
improve the quality of their lives and be self-reliant. Of greater significance
is the fact that PW is a business-hybrid doubling up as a financier for the
parent body.
From its humble beginnings in 2010, MySkills Foundation expanded its
physical facilities and outreach programs to embrace all B40 communities
and is well on its way towards empowering that section that most deserves
the attention and support not only of the Malaysian Indian community,
but the Malaysian government and society as a whole, and everyone con-
cerned with the wellbeing of ALL Malaysians regardless of their station in
life.
In sum, the success story of civil society, especially the Indian middle class,
becoming more conscious of their role in uplifting the welfare of less fortu-
nate Indians using education as a critical transformation vehicle, has been
evidenced by the rise of several Indian NGOs. This chapter has highlighted
the achievements and contributions of three prominent civil society organ-
isations principally dedicated to the progress and socio-economic upliftment
of Indians, mainly in the B40 category – EWRF, SMC and MySkills
Foundation. This last NGO whose relatively recent arrival on the scene since
2010, is evidence of growing concern in the Indian middle class of the socio-
economic malaise produced by at-risk youth primarily from the B40
category.
Challenges
Ethnic-based politics and policies invite their own contradictions. While eth-
nicity cannot be denied as an important variable in Malaysian politics, the
strategic management of ethnicity via policies based on equity can help ame-
liorate the inherent tensions and disparities (intra- and also inter-ethnic) that

Malaysian Indians 29
can expand over time through short-sighted policies and failures of gover-
nance. At independence in 1957, the Malayan government quite naturally
was faced with its greatest challenge of addressing the diverse political, eco-
nomic and social demands of a very diverse society. With respect to the emer-
gence of the Indian community in the post-independence period, Belle
rightly summed it up:
The Indian population entered Merdeka as a minority community sand-
wiched between Malay political dominance and Chinese economic
strength. From Merdeka, its trajectory has been one of increasing politi-
cal, economic and social marginalisation. From the outset, the Indian
community lacked the economic foundation to develop capital-intensive
enterprises, or to provide the entrepreneurial opportunities which would
have assisted in alleviating the widespread Indian poverty.
(Belle, 2015, p. 312)
Currently, after 60 years of the pro-Bumiputera policies in Malaysia’s multi-
ethnic society, the socio-economic profile of the Malaysian Indian commu-
nity, which now comprises slightly over 6.8% of the population of around 33
million, has deteriorated significantly for various reasons.
As mentioned earlier, the fragmentation of estates, which began in ear-
nest in the late 1950s and 1960s, resulted in the outward migration of the
Indian plantation workers to live and find decent employment in urban
areas – a task for which they were least equipped. Indeed, urbanisation has
been the greatest social challenge for the plantation-based Indian commu-
nity in the post-independence era. Lacking the necessary skills to cope with
the twin processes of urbanisation and industrialisation – a development
where the negative consequences stemming from push-and-pull factors
were ameliorated by government policy for the Malays who were also in the
throes of rural–urban migration stimulated by rapid economic development
– the Indian community was caught totally unprepared to cope with this
phenomenon. Consequently, due to the unavailability of training and re-
education, a good number became criminalised, with the disproportionate
rise of gangsterism and drug-related offences afflicting the households of
these former plantation workers. In sum, this is the genesis of the rise and
“presence of a rootless class of urban squatters, who have come to be associ-
ated in the public mind with an upsurge of violence and crime” (Tate, 2008,
p. 105).
Government policies quite clearly neglected this Malaysian ethnic group as
it was not the priority of the government to cater to the welfare of all
Malaysians regardless of ethnic background. The official thrust to empower
the Malays under the Bumiputera policy further aggravated the socio-eco-
nomic condition of the sizeable portion of Malaysian Indians who belong to
the B40 category. As for the Indian community, in 2015, the T20 group
accounted for 19.98%, followed by the M40 income earners at 41.31%, and

30 K. S. Nathan
the B40 at 38.71%, from a total population of 2.2 Malaysian Indians in the
country (Malaysiakini, 2015). Even as early as 1970, scholars and research-
ers on the Malaysian Indian community were able to predict the trajectory of
political, economic and professional decline of all classes of Malaysian Indians
as the pro-Malay policies of the ruling government began to gather full
steam in the post-1969 era (Arasaratnam, 1970, p. 200). The best evidence
of the full negative impact of government recruitment policy in the public
sector can be seen currently where the proportion of Indians (and Chinese
as well) has fallen drastically with the overwhelming majority of all posts
occupied by Malays. The rise of overwhelming Malay dominance in the pub-
lic sector was already noticeable by June 2005 when Malays comprised 83.9%
of top management and 81.6% of managers and professionals in government
departments and agencies (Lee, 2017). These posts range from the highest
to the lowest, spanning the civil service, state and local authorities, universi-
ties and other public sector jobs. In contrast, non-Malay Bumiputera, i.e.
indigenous people mainly from Sabah and Sarawak, occupied only 1.4% of
top management positions and 3.2% of managers and professionals (Lee,
2017). The socio-economic impact on the Indians (with a traditional inclina-
tion to prefer government employment), unlike the Chinese with a business
sector to cushion the negative repercussions of official policy, has under-
standably been far worse.
The issue of vernacular schools has been converted into a political weapon to
capture political support especially from ethnic Malays. The Malay-based politi-
cal parties have found great value in politicising this issue whenever their own
political fortunes were seen to be dipping. The truth of the matter is that there
is little or no empirical evidence to suggest that vernacular schools (Chinese and
Tamil) are the principal cause of disunity among Malaysians. Conversely, the
argument can also be made that religious schools (sekolah agama) and govern-
ment-supported mono-racial schools and institutions (such as the MARA resi-
dential schools and colleges) need to be reviewed with the hope that their
curriculum includes courses and lessons in promoting inter-racial and inter-
religious coexistence and harmony in multi-ethnic Malaysia. However, argu-
ably, the real problem may be traced to the discriminatory policies of the ruling
government, which disproportionately accords rights and privileges to only one
ethnic group based on the claim that as the “indigenous” population, they are
entitled to these benefits – government jobs and promotions, training and
scholarships, funding allocations for the building of Muslim places of worship,
granting of business licences, among others, at the expense of other Malaysians.
The education sector has not been spared the infiltration of political motives
and agendas. Vernacular schools are constitutionally protected in the 1957
Malayan Constitution, and from 1963, the Malaysian Constitution.
Admittedly, the government allocations for vernacular schools have progres-
sively depreciated, making it more difficult to raise private funds to ensure the
quality of teaching and maintenance of school buildings in a good state of
repair. It needs to be mentioned that the vernacular schools (Chinese and
Tamil) have produced Malaysian achievers of international standard (both in

Malaysian Indians 31
sports and academic excellence), and they have become no less Malaysian or
less patriotic for having enrolled in vernacular schools. Flowing from this
premise, an equally cogent hypothesis can be presented that Islamic schools
and mono-racial (Malay) institutions also contribute to the problem of man-
aging ethnic and religious diversity in multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-
religious Malaysia, which now houses a population of nearly 33 million. It is
therefore misplaced and without empirical foundation to suggest that the
Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools are stumbling blocks to national unity
and integration. The root causes of national disunity and disintegration have
to be traced invariably to official policies and practices of ethnic discrimination
favouring a particular ethnic group of Malaysians and disfavouring others.
Conclusion: The Way Forward
The history of Malaysian Indians is a study of human migration and settle-
ment, human suffering and development, human achievements and contri-
butions and a mixed record of victory over challenges as well as inability to
overcome certain circumstances beyond their control.
The Malaysian Indian community faces numerous challenges as it enters
the third decade of the 21st century. Politically, its representation in the
Government has been virtually wiped out by the avalanche of episodes of
political instability stemming from the apparent weakness of the ethnic-based
model of communal politics, which served its usefulness in an earlier era. As
all communities undergo political, economic, social, demographic and gen-
erational change, the need for new thinking in Malaysian politics and devel-
opment, manifested by the constant changes in political leadership over the
past 5 years, has become more urgent. Pressing into service the older ethnic-
based model has heightened ethnic and religious insecurity in all communi-
ties – Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Iban, etc., as the platform holding all
groups together seems to be fragile due to narrowly conceived policies aimed
at promoting and entrenching Malay ethnic hegemony. Indeed, the Way
Forward for the strategic management of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic population
would require a serious rethink of the pros and cons of foregrounding race
and religion to hold the glue bonding multi-racial harmony and inspiring
hope for a younger generation of Malaysians.
At the level of national politics, concepts of “inclusive development” and
“inclusive federalism” would invariably broaden the framework and
strengthen the integrative elements of Malaysian federalism. Such a major,
albeit radical, departure from the ashes of race-and-religion-based politics
obviously requires political courage, confidence and wisdom in crafting a
more inclusive approach in which all communities, including Malaysian
Indians, can find space and hope in the country’s future development.
Upholding the Malaysian Constitution that accords freedom to speak and
teach all Malaysian languages, i.e. languages spoken by Malaysian citizens, is
critical to the preservation of national unity and progress. Malaysia is at a
crossroads with a premium on leadership and good governance: the apparent

32 K. S. Nathan
failures by the current leaders of all communities stretching from Perlis to
Sabah and Sarawak have undoubtedly led to the political stalemate at the
Federal and State levels. The people too are responsible for this poor record
which they can rectify via the democratic process by electing representatives
who will put the national interest above self-interest and steer Malaysia for-
ward as a democratic country, which is internationally recognised as an
exemplary model of multi-racial governance.
Adopting an equity-based approach in development policy, i.e. using a
needs-based rather than a race-based strategy, would more effectively address
the socio-economic problems faced by Malaysian Indians. In such a more
inclusive paradigm, problems faced by any one community, be it Indian,
Chinese, Malay, Kadazan or Iban, will be viewed as national problems requir-
ing the collective political will and full commitment of the Government of
the day, and not merely consigned to the ethnic-based political leaders or
civil society NGOs to manage and resolve. In line with reimagining develop-
ment priorities, the budget in the national 5-year plan must reflect a bigger
allocation for Technical and Vocational Education (TVET), i.e. a needs-
based allocation that cuts across the racial divide and encompasses all com-
munities including those in Sabah and Sarawak. Admittedly, the Bumiputera/
Non-Bumiputera divide is heavily skewed in favour of Peninsular Malays and
Muslims and tends to ignore the indigenous communities of East Malaysia,
let alone the Indian and Chinese minorities. Likewise, vernacular education
(Tamil and Chinese), deserves greater attention and resources at the federal
level under an “inclusive development” approach to ensure that no com-
munity is marginalised by the multi-sector development plans. This strategy
is an integral part of any effort in re-imagining development priorities.
The 60-year race-based model requires a major rethink and overhaul to
achieve the goals of Bangsa Malaysia – a united nation in which all Malaysians
regardless of ethnic, religious or cultural background have an equal stake in
the future of this multi-racial country. It is undeniable that experience and
evidence show that racism breeds corruption and incompetence, undermines
transparency and results in massive wastage of public funds and resources
badly needed by all B40 communities across the racial divide. Under such a
more informed and enlightened framework, political sensitivity will be
directed towards the legitimate needs of ALL communities – and the Indian
problem will not be seen just as an “Indian problem” – be it poor representa-
tion in government and in public and private sector employment, alcohol-
ism, drug addiction, gangsterism, deaths in custody, inadequate funding for
Tamil schools among others – but as a national problem requiring a con-
certed effort by the community’s own leaders, public officials and civil soci-
ety – all adopting a unified approach to development in the interest of the
nation as a whole.
In this context, and with regard to vernacular education and Tamil schools,
in particular, a pragmatic philosophy of working with the possible while
keeping in mind the desirable is required. The MIB, launched by former
Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2017, has been faulted for lack of sufficient

Malaysian Indians 33
consultation across the political divide, i.e. absence of inputs and discussion
with opposition parties, which are an integral part of Malaysian democracy.
Second, the implementation machinery to upgrade Tamil education as part
of Malaysian education is sorely lacking in the governmental structure
(Ministry of Education and Civil Service) due to over-representation by one
ethnic group whose priorities detract drastically from those of the well-inten-
tioned Prime Minister’s Office. Third, the glaring intra-ethnic income gap
within the Indian community (from T20, M40 to IB40) points also to an
internal problem of the Indian community in Malaysia in failing to marshal
community resources (compared to the Malaysian Chinese community) to
achieve common goals. These three issues have to be addressed collectively
by the Indian community and in partnership with Government via the
National Development Policy. These measures, as also mentioned and anal-
ysed in the other chapters, are an inseparable part of the Way Forward for
improving Tamil education, closing the intra-ethnic income gap, and in cre-
ating a united Malaysian Nation capable of managing, respecting and pro-
moting diversity in the decades ahead.
Notes
1 Based on 2019 figures of the Department of Statistics Malaysia, B40 represents
the Bottom 40% – low-income earners, i.e. bottom tier families having a house-
hold income of less than RM4,850.00 per month; M40 represents the medium
40% – average income earners, i.e. medium tier families having an income of
between RM4850.00 and RM10959.00; T20 represents the Top 20% – top
income earners, i.e. top tier families having an income higher than RM10,959.00
per month. See Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey 2019: https://
www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=120&bul_id=
TU00TmRhQ1N5TUxHVWN0T2VjbXJYZz09&menu_id=amVoWU54UTl0
a21NWmdhMjFMMWcyZz09 (Accessed: 10 October 2021).
2 The Reid Commission Report (Report of the Federation of Malaya Constitutional
Commission 1957, Colonial No. 330, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, p. 75:
https://www.studocu.com/my/document/universiti-malaya/constitutional-law-i/
the-reid-commission-report-1957/10703138 (Accessed: 17 October 2021).
3 Asia Samachar, “SEDIC Making an Impact on B40 Indians”, 29 March 2016:
https://asiasamachar.com/2016/03/29/sedic-making-impact-b40-indians-
bernama/Asia.
4 The data on SMC’s growth, development and achievements between 1982 and
2021, as stated in this section, were provided by the Sri Murugan Centre Headquarters
in Petaling Jaya in October 2021. For further details, see SMC: Centre for Social &
Cultural Advancement of Malaysian Indians, 30th Anniversary (1982–2012).
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pleasures of the child. When he gives a bit of bread to the hungry
urchin, and asking if it is good, receives an answer which shows that
the little fellow's heart is full of grateful love, let him tell him what it
is made of, and while he shews him the green blade from which, by
a wonderful and mysterious contrivance, the grain is to be
elaborated, and marks the half-incredulous wonder with which the
information is received, let him tell him that this is the work of God,
who causes the rain to fall, and the sun to shine, and matures the
fruits of the earth for the benefit of his children. Such occasions of
calling the attention of a child to the goodness, and bounty, and love
of God, are continually recurring. He is never too young to receive
impressions of love. Before he knows the meaning of the word, he
takes them from his experience of the care and fondness of his
mother; and long after he has begun to prattle, this feeling thus
early implanted, continues to flourish alone, and affords the only
sanction of parental authority. How happy is he, and how sweet to
behold his happiness, while in the pursuit of his little foolish joys, the
"todlin wee thing" needs no restraint from mischief, but the playful
look, half-smile, half-frown, and the admonishing voice which warns
without alarming. Well might our Saviour say, "that of such is the
kingdom of heaven," where love is the only law, and love the only
duty, and love the only sanction. Under this sweet engaging
discipline, love becomes the habit of his mind, and long before he is
capable of comprehending any but the simplest ideas, the
foundation is laid in his heart, of those affections, by means of which
he is to be formed to virtue, honor and happiness. What idea (next
after those derived from things present, to the senses,)—what idea
is more simple, more easily apprehended, than this; that while he
receives all good things from the hands of his parents, they are sent
to him by a friend he has never seen, whose name is God. What
occasion for telling him who God is, or where he dwells, or any thing
more than that he is good, and loves good boys, and will continue to
love him and send him good things as long as he is good? Is it not
easy to impress his mind with the same feeling which is cherished
towards his dear Aunt or kind Grandmama, of whom he is reminded
every morning, when he drinks his milk out of a pretty cup, on which

he is taught to read, "a present for my dear boy?" There is no time
lost. The idea of the spiritual nature of God cannot be communicated
until the mind is ready to receive it, and then it is uttered in one
word, and comprehended in one moment. The vanity of a parent
may be mortified, that his child does not know any thing of these
high mysteries, at an age when other children of whom we read in
good books, have been found disputing with the doctors about the
trinity and the compound nature of the Redeemer. But this vanity,
like many other human errors, needs the restraint of reason. For if it
be asked, how long should this state of things be kept up? I would
answer, as long as possible. If man is never to enter into the
kingdom of heaven but as a little child, I would gladly keep him as a
little child to the day of his death. But as this is not possible, I would
apply my answer to the actual state of facts, and say that the
discipline of love should be continued as long as love continues to
supply the necessary motives to necessary restraint.
I would therefore venture to recommend the imposition of no
restraints, and no tasks, but such as are necessary; and if possible, I
would impose only such upon an infant as are obviously necessary,
and, on an older child, such as he can be clearly made to see the
necessity of. Such a system not only prolongs the reign, and
confirms the habit of love, but prepares the mind to acquiesce with
entire confidence in the wisdom and discretion of the parent. Let
care therefore supply, as much as possible, the place of authority.
Let the mother's eye be on her child, and then, instead of turning
him loose with a code of unexplained laws upon his back, she will
have it in her power to draw his attention from unlawful to lawful
objects, and to lead him away unconsciously from forbidden places.
The beautiful story of the mother who bared her bosom to draw
away her child from the edge of the cliff, illustrates this idea.
I would say then to christian parents, prolong as much as possible
the season of childhood—the empire of endearment and love;
prolong that season when the hearts of your children are all your
own, and divide them with God. Let their heads alone. No one ever

teaches a child to talk. He learns it of himself more readily and more
perfectly, than he can ever afterwards acquire a new language under
the most skilful instructor. He has enough to do in acquiring those
ideas which are necessary to him, and are suggested by the objects
around him. He learns a great deal, and it is easy to help him to
learn, without giving him lessons. He may have nothing of what we
would dignify by the names of knowledge and wisdom, but he will
acquire a great deal of sense, and may have very just notions of
what it is to be a good boy, without having his mind perplexed with
definitions of sin. The spirit of imitation will keep him busy. Teach
him to love you, and he will need no command to make him try to
do what he sees you do. Let him crawl. He will not long be content
to go on all fours, when he sees his beloved and honored father
walking erect. Curiosity will make him eager enough to know the
meaning of letters, and he will esteem it a privilege to be allowed to
look at round O, and crooked S, and to be taught to read for himself
in the pretty picture books, out of which his dear mother is in the
habit of reading entertaining stories to him. Keep bad examples from
before his eyes, and the opportunities of mischief out of his way, and
keep his heart alive to a sense of the love of his parents and the love
of God, until his mind has time to settle into a HABIT of love,
obedience and virtue.
For reasons of the same sort, I would refrain from presenting in the
second stage of education, any views of religion that to the literal
and unpractised mind of a child, might seem at variance with his
earlier conceptions of the divine character. I am very sure that any
doctrines actually at variance with them must be false; and though I
believe that none such may be entertained by any sincere and
intelligent christian, yet it has somehow so happened, that many
modes of expression have obtained currency in the world, which a
novice would be startled at. I should therefore be careful, not to go
beyond the plain letter of scripture in explaining to him religious
truth.

The well digested form of sound doctrine as it is there set forth,
would be almost my sole reliance. I would be careful to accompany
this with appeals to his own experience and observation for the
truth, that, as a general rule, it is our own fault if we are not happy.
That occasionally, indeed, we receive injury at the hands of others,
and that therefore it is that we are so often led to fall into pits of our
own digging, that we may be not so fond of digging them in future. I
would endeavor thus to familiarize him with a sense of the necessity
of punishment, as the preventive of evil, and to enable him to
comprehend to what lengths of mischief the simple principle of self-
love would impel the best imaginable finite being, if he could feel
perfectly sure that no manner of harm to himself could possibly arise
from the indulgence of any desire. This idea, as it seems to me, is
capable of being placed in plain colloquial language, in so clear a
light, that any ingenuous mind would be readily brought to
acquiesce in the necessity of God's moral government of the moral
universe, in the necessity of punishing sin in order to prevent it, and
the true benevolence of resolutely inflicting the necessary
punishment, as the preventive of the far greater sum of suffering
which the impurity of sin would produce. I should not fear that a
mind habituated throughout to cherish the sentiments of gratitude
and love, would be slow to understand, or reluctant to believe a plan
of comprehensive and general utility devised by the spirit of
universal benevolence for the greatest possible good of the whole,
or impatient to endure such portion of evil, as, in the execution of
such a plan, it might be called to bear.
I should anxiously endeavor to make my pupil sensible, that a plan
of coercion, intended to procure a cheerful, affectionate and happy
obedience, (and no other obedience can be happy,) must be
understood by those who are made subject to it, to be so intended,
and to explain to him the decisive proof of such intention which is
afforded, when the ruler himself condescends to endure a portion of
the punishment due to the sins of his people, and graciously pardons
all whom this exhibition of his goodness brings to sincere
repentance.

With these suggestions, gently insinuated from time to time, and
containing as I verily believe the pure milk of the word, the best
aliment for youthful minds, I should content myself, and leave him to
seek the confirmation of these ideas in the Bible; nor would I suffer
him, until on the verge of manhood, to puzzle his understanding and
afflict his spirit with the perusal of works of theology.
In confirmation of the ideas I have suggested, let me beg the reader
to observe how much more readily, and more frequently, the
principles of religion take root in female minds, than in those of
men. How many examples do we see among them of the most
tender and fervent piety, and how seldom do we find it incumbered
with the heavy lumber of theological learning, or frittered down into
nice and shadowy distinctions. Yet are they wise unto salvation,
possessing that faith by which the heart believeth unto
righteousness, though perhaps unable to give any other reason for
their faith, than that God is love, and in proof of his love gave
himself to die for the sins of the world. Whence comes this tendency
among them to imbibe this simple and saving faith, unless it be from
the peculiarities of their education? The discipline of infancy is
prolonged with them. They are kept under the eye of the mother,
whose unsuspected vigilance supplies the place of commands,
imposes an unperceived restraint, and renders the habits of
decorum, propriety, meekness and obedience, a sort of second
nature. Restrained only by the silken cord of love, whose weight
they feel not, they never strain against it, nor try to throw it off.
Their minds and tempers are formed rather by habit than precept,
and their obedience is secured, not by punishment or the fear of it,
but by prevention. They are accustomed to do right, because they
have no opportunities of doing wrong, without violating that instinct
of propriety, which makes it painful to do what we feel to be wrong
in the presence of those we love. When left to themselves, they do
what is right, because they have been long accustomed to do it; and
they know it to be right, because thus acting, they have always lived
in the enjoyment of those peaceable fruits which an upright conduct
can alone produce.

It will be seen that many of my remarks on the subject of
instruction, apply also to that of discipline. I have already shown that
the discipline, whose purpose is to prepare the child for his duties to
his parents, should be modified by a proper regard to his duties to
God. In like manner, that which may be called religious discipline,
should be so regulated as not to counteract what has been already
done. Parental training, if I may so distinguish it, should be so
managed as to cultivate the love of the child for his parents;
religious training, so as to cultivate his love for God. It would be
strangely inconsistent, that we should be careful not to offend and
estrange a child by imposing on him, of our own authority, any
harsh, unexplained and inexplicable commands, and at the same
time load him, by the alleged command of God, with burthens
grievous to be borne. Duties which he is not old enough to
understand the nature of, are not his duties. There is no more
violation of God's law in a child of a certain age playing on the
Sabbath, than in the sports of a puppy. Yet long before he is old
enough to be capable of a violation of this law, it is a matter of great
importance that he should be gradually and carefully trained, and
prepared to obey it. In this training, I would carefully avoid any thing
like austerity. I would familiarize his infant ear to the name of
Sunday, and accustom him to regard it as a day of privileges. Put on
his best clothes, caress him, praise him, warn him to keep himself
sweet and clean, make him take notice that every body else is so,
and that nobody is made to do any work, and all because it is
Sunday; make him observe the staid and quiet behavior of every
body about the house, and see how soon he will get his little stool,
and set up with his hands before him, and try to behave pretty too.
When this is done, enough is done for the beginning. When he is
tired of imitating the grave demeanor of others, let him go. The
spirit of imitation will return again and again; the habits it induces
will make a deeper and deeper impression, and if he is carefully
imbued with a love for his parents, and a love for God, without being
taught to dread and hate the Sabbath, he will be thus well prepared
to submit cheerfully to its restraints, by the time he is old enough to
know the reason of them. Let him see that you too, submit to them

cheerfully. Let him miss nothing of your accustomed kindness or
amenity of manner on that day. Do not let him learn to think of it as
"a day for a man to afflict his soul, and hang down his head like a
bull-rush," a day of fault-finding, and formal observance, and
Judaical austerity. In short, let him see that you esteem the Sabbath
as a day of privilege, and leave the rest as much as possible to the
spirit of affectionate imitation.
I would say the same of other religious duties. Do not force the little
drowsy urchin to sit up to family prayers. When he happens to do
so, let him hear you thank God in simple terms for the privilege of
being permitted to pray to him, and implore of him blessings whose
value he feels and knows. If you find occasion to preach in your
prayers, (a bad practice by the way,) do not preach about matters
which none but a Doctor of Divinity can be expected to understand.
On the interesting subject of fashionable amusements, as they are
called, I own I feel more difficulty. It chiefly arises from the
consideration that the youth who is old enough to take an interest in
such amusements, is at a more unmanageable age than formerly. It
is not so easy to restrain him, without letting him be conscious of
the restraint. It is not so easy to draw him off from a pernicious
pursuit, to one less dangerous. He is no longer to be satisfied with
those cheap equivalents for forbidden gratifications, which made it
easy to command his obedience, without estranging his affections.
The whole business of education at this stage, is a difficult and
delicate operation. I cannot imagine any general rule for a class of
cases as various as all the infinite varieties of the human character.
Let us suppose some of them.
If, in spite of all the care that had been taken to soften and subdue
his heart, and beguile him from self-love to the love of his friends,
and of God his best friend, if in spite of all this he continued
obdurate, wilful and rebellious, I am conscious that I should be at
my wit's end. I do not know but that in such a case, it would be the
part of wisdom to yield to those feelings which a parent would

naturally experience, and, acting as in obedience to the unerring
instincts of nature, to resort to severity instead of tenderness, and
endeavor to bring down his heart with sorrow. As a part of such a
system, it would be a matter of course, to deny him this indulgence.
A different case would be that of a youth of mercurial temper, and
warm feelings, who had grown up in habitual love and reverence for
his parents and his Maker, and whose buoyant spirit and restless
temper, and keen appetite for enjoyment, might render him
impatient of such restraint. Even in this case I should not too readily
relax it. I should endeavor if possible to ascertain whether it might
be enforced without impairing those tender and reverential
sentiments. If so, I should enforce it. If not, I would yield with
undissembled reluctance, but without reproach. I should endeavor to
draw him into a contest of generosity, with a hope that he would not
long consent to be outdone. But in no case would I surrender the
end for the means, and do violence to the best, and kindliest, and
holiest affections of the human heart, and run the risk of destroying
them, by restraining a youth from things not evil in themselves, but
only evil in their tendencies. The only antidote to the love of
pleasure, is the love of God. In truth the great evil of the love of
pleasure, is that it is an antidote to the love of God, and when the
authority of God is used to force one away from a much coveted
enjoyment, there is danger that it may but make him love God less,
and pleasure more. But it is the saying of a wise man, that where an
appetite for any thing actually exists, the best security against
excess, is in a regulated indulgence; and to this indulgence I would
resort with an humble hope that my pupil might find wisdom to add
this too to the list of blessings experienced at the hands of his
Maker, until the victory should at last result to him to whom it
belongs.
For the remaining case of a young man having no taste for such
pleasures, and content to spend his time in reading and meditation,
I would prescribe nothing more than this; that he should not be
encouraged to bless God that he was not as other men, but be kept

on the alert by a warning that sin enters into the heart by more
avenues than one.
For the Southern Literary Messenger.
EXTRACTS FROM MY MEXICAN JOURNAL.
Festival of San Agustin de Las Cuevas—El Paséo de Las Vigas.
MAY 23d, 1825.—Yesterday and to-day we attended the festival at
San Agustin de las Cuevas. The avenues leading to this little town,
were thronged with people on foot, on asses, on mules, on horses,
and in coaches drawn by six or eight mules. The whole population of
Mexico seemed flocking to it and to Istapalapa, at which latter place
is the feast of the Indians. Most persons take lodgings for the three
or four days of the Pascua,
1
for which they pay enormous rent. From
day-light until ten o'clock, these pious christians hear mass in the
parish church. We had to travel four or five leagues, and, therefore,
did not arrive in time to witness these religious solemnities; but at
twelve, we were introduced into the cock-pit—a rough, circular
building, with seats around it rising one above the other—and in the
centre, an area serving as an arena for the combatants. Its roof,
high and open to admit light and air, was decorated with long wide
shreds of various colors—diverging from the centre—all in scenic
taste. The seats were soon filled with spectators of all ages, sexes
and classes. The most fashionable ladies of Mexico were present,
and the most distinguished men of the republic were engaged in
betting heavily on the champions of the pit. The noisy clamor of fifty
voices, seeking bets with stentorian cries, warned us of the

approaching fight. The cocks, armed with sharp slashers, like double
edged sabres, are arrayed before us—suddenly the pit is cleared—an
awful silence prevails—they rush to the conflict—a few moments
decide the fate of one—and all is again confusion. For three hours
the sport continues, to the great diversion of the spectators, who
appear to take an eager interest in the cruel scene. The women
around me were betting and smoking, and two friars sat at my right
hand. What a picture of Mexican customs is before us! Women—
fashionable women, and priests in a cock-pit on a Sunday! 'Tis quite
bad enough for us to be seen here, but we are curious travellers,
and must observe every thing we can. After witnessing a few fights,
we visited the gambling rooms, to see the game of monte, which
resembles faro. The tables were loaded with doubloons and dollars,
and surrounded by players, who, in a few minutes, won and lost
many hundreds.
2
Here I saw no women betting, but there was one a
looker on like myself, but I don't know if the scene was as novel to
her as to me. On walking next through the plaza, I observed all
species of games, at which the blanket gentry—male and female—
young and old—were trying their fortune, invited in many instances
by an image of the Virgin or of some patron saint. Gambling is, I
may safely conclude, the general vice of this nation. Drunkenness is
not common in these assemblages, and is confined chiefly to the
Indians.
1
Whitsuntide is the period for this festival.
2
Mr. Ward, who is good authority, states that "the bank at these tables varies from
1,000 doubloons (16,000 dollars) to 3,000 doubloons, (48,000 dollars.) Fifty or sixty
of these (800 or 1,000 dollars,) are an ordinary stake upon the turn of a card; but I
have seen as many as six hundred and twenty, (9,920 dollars,) risked and won."—
Ward's Mexico.
After dinner, we walked to a green plot without the village, where
the ladies were dancing to the music of two or three guitars. At this
amusement we left them each evening, and returned to the
Hacienda. At night the cock-pit is carpeted, and converted into a ball

room. Thus the fashionable people of the city of Mexico, celebrate
for three successive days this religious feast.
In choosing San Agustin for these amusements, the selection is
certainly a good one. Conveniently situated at the edge of the plain
of Mexico, about twelve miles from the city, to the south, the site is
very pretty, and the scenery is extremely gay in contrast with the
sterility which immediately surrounds the capital. Water is so
abundant in this village, that every garden is irrigated, and the trees
and plants always possess a freshness of verdure which is rarely
seen upon the table land. The mountain of Ajusco
3
rises behind the
town—the tallest peak of this southern ridge—its top is rugged and
barren. It is sometimes sprinkled with snow during the winter. A
remarkable bed of lava from an adjacent peak, overlays a large
corner of the plain near San Agustin, round the point of which the
road leads from Mexico—so distinctly is it defined, that it is easy to
imagine the melted mass flowing from the furnace of the volcano till
it gradually congealed.
3
The Cerro of Ajusco is, according to Humboldt, 12,119 feet above the sea—
consequently 4,649 feet above the plain on which the city of Mexico is situated.
FEBRUARY 26th, 1826. I have just returned from witnessing the gayest
sight which Mexico ever presents. This is the promenade of Las
Vigas.
El Paséo de Las Vigas is a beautiful road just without the inhabited
part of the city, at its south-eastern extremity. It is bordered by
double rows of aspins and willows; and upon one side of it, passes
the canal which connects the lakes of Chalco and Tescuco. Though it
is the month of February, nature has assumed the gay mantle of
spring—all is verdant—all is smiling with luxuriant sweetness. The
temperature of the shade is most delightful.

At the moment when the sun, sinking behind the mountains, has lost
its oppressive warmth, the population of Mexico pours itself upon
this charming spot. Hundreds of coaches roll along amid multitudes
on horseback and on foot. These ponderous vehicles, uniform in
shape, are various in their decorations, showing the several fashions
which prevailed at the time of their construction;—some adorned
with paintings commemorative either of heathen mythology or of
remarkable historical events; the pannels of some tell us of sieges or
of battles in days long gone by; some represent the perils of the
deep; others exhibit Neptune riding gently upon his subdued waves,
or perhaps the "pale Diana" or the "laughing Venus," or Calypso in
her grotto using her bewitching sorceries to win the youthful hero.
These, and similar devices, mark the period of vice-regal
magnificence, and are now peculiar to the hackney coach. Those of
modern date, are in better taste, being painted modestly, of a
uniform color, but the wheels and carriage part are generally richly
gilded.
The coaches are filled with well dressed women—I won't say that
many of them are beautiful—who recognize their acquaintances by a
coquetish quirk of the fan—(a never-failing attendant even in coldest
weather)—or an active play of the fingers, at which the Mexican
ladies are very dexterous, and which might be misconstrued by the
uninitiated as a beckon to approach. Horsemen, in the characteristic
costume of the country elsewhere described, pass and repass,
exhibiting their proud and gallant steeds; and the multitude on foot
display their Sunday dresses, in which there has been of late a
manifest improvement.
The canal is strewed with boats, crowded with passengers of the
lowest class, who are amusing themselves with guitars, to which
they sing and dance. They return decorated with flowers woven into
a chaplet, which, contrasted with the black hair hanging down in a
single plait behind, of a pretty Mestiso girl, renders her quite
interesting, notwithstanding her copperish color.

All these in themselves present a highly exhilarating picture; but
added to the fine prospect of the mountain barriers of the Mexican
plain, and especially of the snowy peaks of the volcanoes of Puebla
which rise in full view to the south-east, this scene can scarcely be
equalled.
As pleasing however, as the scene is, and though we meet none but
smiling faces, yet I cannot refrain from observing that remarkable
inequality so revolting to the feelings of a republican. Marchionesses
and countesses with the richest jewels, are seen at one glace with
the poor lepero, whose all is the single blanket which hides his
nakedness. Nor is it agreeable to see a strong guard of cavalry,
whose attendance it must be presumed, is necessary to prevent
disorder. Sentinels, indeed, are posted around and in all the public
buildings of Mexico—they are posted at the entrance to the halls of
Congress and to the galleries, in various parts of the palace, (a
name by which the government house is still known,) where the
President resides, and in which are the public offices—and they are
posted even in the theatre. I am sorry thus to detract any thing from
the scene which I witnessed this evening with so much pleasure, but
candor requires it.
Lent has now commenced. Public amusements (except occasionally
a concert at the theatre,) and large parties are suspended for a
while. The ladies complain occasionally of ennui. Their present
diversion is stupid enough. They assemble in small tertulias every
night at each others' houses, and play an uninteresting game with
cards, called lottery. The sole object achieved is to kill time, of the
value of which Mexicans have no idea, for in themselves they have
no resources whatever. Reading is so irksome they cannot endure it
—and work of any kind costs labor. They can do naught but eat,
sleep, smoke, talk, and visit the theatre.

For the Southern Literary Messenger.
NATURE AND ART.
There is extant a beautiful tradition relative to the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King
Solomon, when she "proved him with hard questions," in order to ascertain the
greatness of his wisdom and the acuteness of his ingenuity. She ordered before him
two vases of elegant flowers—one natural, the other artificial, but of workmanship
and colors so exquisitely beautiful, that to detect in them any unlikeness or inferiority
to the genuine ones, seemed beyond the power of the human eye. They were placed
in a lattice which opened on a parterre of the royal palace, the appropriated residence
of swarms of bees, which were engaged in gathering their delicious food. The King
ordered the lattice to be opened, and the gathering and nestling of the bees among
the honied petals of the natural blossoms, developed at once the eye-defying secret
and the ingenuity of the monarch.
The wily Queen at the lattice placed
    Twin vases, rich and rare,
Each with a cluster of blossoms graced,
    Beautiful, bright and fair.
Roses, the glory of Sharon's vale—
    Lilies of thousand hues,
Such as are rock'd by Judean gales
    And nursed by her crystal dews,
Mingled in beauty their tints of light;—
    "Which," said the royal dame,
"Are the fresh-born buds of the day and night?
    And which from the artist came?"
The Tyrian dyes and the Tyrian skill,
    Glow'd in the art-made flowers,—
Those that were nursed by the gurgling rill
    Or petted in Flora's bowers,

No grace of fashion or shade could show
    With the beauteous things to vie;
Alas! for him who the truth must know
    Alone by his own keen eye.
But the lattice ope'd on a soft parterre
    That blushed to the sun's warm kiss,
And Bees at their nectar banquet there
    Revelled in summer bliss.
"Open the lattice," the Monarch cried—
    Sweet in the melting ray
The humid blossoms the Bees descried,
    And pilfered the sweets away.
Trembled in pride on their wiry stems
    The flowers that the artist made,
But show'd not a cup where the honied gems
    Or soft farina laid.
Fragrance was not! oh! the blighted heart,
    Lured in a fatal hour,
By the dazzling glow of deceptive art,
    Like a Bee to the scentless flower,—
How it turns in the blight of its grief away
    From the figure that looks so fair,
But in Love's own blessed, unclouded ray,
    Is soulless and senseless there!
ELIZA.
Maine.
For the Southern Literary Messenger.
A TALE OF THE WEST.

FOUNDED ON FACT.
The course of true love never did run smooth.—Shakspeare.
The incidents which I am about to relate, suggest some very natural
reflections. He who now migrates to the mighty west, in pursuit of
wealth or fame, encounters none of those innumerable hidden and
open dangers which thronged the way of those who turned their
faces thitherward half a century ago; he feels not, nor need he
possess, the adventurous spirit, the intrepidity, and the astonishing
resoluteness and daring of those brave and hardy pioneers. They
ascended the lofty Alleghany, and looked off upon the ancient and
almost unbroken forest, extending far beyond the Mississippi, and
covering the vast valley which lay between them and the Rocky
Mountains; while only here and there a small settlement, composed
of a few families collected together for mutual convenience, and
defence against their common enemy, disturbed its solitary reign. So
soon as they entered upon it, they met with a foe the most wary and
subtle, the most sleepless and untiring in his hostility, the most
vigilant to seize every opportunity to satiate his bloodthirsty
disposition, inflicting the most cruel and merciless tortures, and
murdering indiscriminately every age and sex; the bold and
dauntless husband, who met him hand to hand in murderous
conflict, the helpless imploring wife, and the innocent babe sleeping
upon her bosom, ruthlessly torn from her dying grasp, fell alike
beneath the deadly blow of the savage, as he smiled with a fiendish
satisfaction over his bloody deed. And is there no cause to mitigate
our anger when contemplating such scenes? Is there no excuse for
the wild, uncivilized Indian, though pursuing with a hatred the most
vindictive his enemy, yet displaying towards his friend a noble and
disinterested conduct which puts to blush the enlightened white
man? Yes! They had discovered the designs of the whites; oppressed
with a thousand wrongs, driven from their homes and the tombs of
their ancestors, to which they are more fondly attached than any

other people,—"hunted down like the partridge upon the mountain,"
they had formed a deadly hostility, an undying revenge against
those, whom, when few and defenceless, they had received with
open arms, and by whom they were now, viper like, stung to the
heart; and they had stationed themselves upon the verge, and
lurked throughout what they believed to be their own possession,
their own inheritance,—determined to dispute every foot of it with
those who were encroaching upon them, and pursuing with a steady
purpose their extermination.
Slowly would the emigrant plod his weary and fearful way, for
months, before he could reach the place of his location, his thoughts
frequently recurring to the peaceful and quiet abode he had left, for
a home in the wilderness filled with multiplied hazards. Here a small
hut was erected to shelter his family, while he labored from morn till
night, with his rifle by his side to protect him from his insatiate
enemies, bent upon the destruction of all who invaded their territory.
Almost every day, reports of aggravated murders perpetrated by the
Indians reached his ears, filling his family with alarm and terror lest
they should become the next victims; and himself liable at every
moment to be hurried off from them upon an expedition to drive
back the enemy, and check for a while their invasion of the
settlements. No one ever felt secure; and never did they retire to
rest without taking all necessary precaution to repel an attack, and
barring securely every entrance into the house. And even in the
more dense settlements, should they collect together for the
purpose of divine worship, it was necessary that every one should
meet well armed, lest even there they might be attacked by their
relentless and implacable enemy.
Now how changed the scene! What wonders have fifty years
effected! The mighty tide of emigration has rolled on rapidly,
diffusing prosperity and every convenience in its train. The vigorous
and powerful arm of the government, after all other proffered terms
had been rejected, has forced the savage hordes beyond the limits
of the Union, or reduced them to a tame submission, and subdued

their natural warlike and ferocious disposition by the introduction
among them of the arts and principles of civilization. The inhabitant
upon the most extreme western frontier, feels as secure in his log
cabin as the wealthy farmer upon the seaboard. Under the fostering
protective wing of a free constitution, the population has swelled to
an astonishing amount. States have sprung up, exercising a large
degree of weight and influence in the government, where but
yesterday the red man, now constrained to retire, pursued through
the tangled woods the wild deer, secure and undisturbed in his
enjoyment by the presence of one single envious pale face. Where
once the savage held his frantic revels or pitched his wigwam, now
stands the populous and flourishing city, whose spires pierce the
clouds, and where arts, science, and literature, flourish in all the
vigor of maturity. Cultivated farms and splendid mansions, occurring
at short intervals, beautify the interior, where but lately the wild
beasts roamed their native forests. Upon the placid bosoms of the
most noble and beautiful streams, where once naught was seen or
heard but the rough hewn canoe of the Indian and the dip of his
paddle, now may be constantly heard "the puff of the engine and
flutter of the wheel" of that most beneficial production of Fulton's
immortal genius, as it rides majestically by, wafting to a profitable
market the productions of a fertile and alluvial soil. For the
advantage of commerce and the facility of communication, distant
waters have been united and noble thoroughfares constructed from
one section of the country to the other; mountains have been
levelled and plains elevated. An energetic government sends with
unrivalled rapidity, and unerring certainty, intelligence of every kind
from one end of the Union to the other, so that the most distant
friends scarcely realize their separation. The whole region now
teems with industry and enterprise. Independence, ease,
contentment and hospitality characterize the inhabitants. The
emigrant from the eastern states now leaves his home and his
friends with a light heart, for a country where merit receives its
reward, where he will meet with success in every undertaking, and
where wealth or fame will crown his labors. And all this in fifty years!
The valley of the Mississippi, then a wilderness, now a populous and

mighty empire! What unbounded resources, what powerful energies
do the people of this country possess! What glorious and
encouraging fruits are these, of self government—of a republican
constitution.
Among the emigrants to Ohio, just after the revolution, were a Mess.
Claiborne and Newton, who removed, with their families, from one
of the tide-water counties of Virginia, and settled upon the beautiful
banks of the Scioto, some distance above its mouth. Mr. Newton
selected as a site for his dwelling, a small hill upon the west side of
the river, gently descending to the water's edge, sparsely covered
with the tall majestic trees of the forest, and commanding a
delightful prospect of the river, as it lay like a polished mirror
reflecting the sunbeams from its smooth surface, or gently rippling
as the soft breezes of evening played upon its bosom; also, of the
extensive rich bottoms on either hand, and of the extensive
woodland in front. Behind, the country gracefully undulated,
presenting the pleasing variety of hill and dale, of wood and prairie.
It was, in fact, a charming situation. And long since that time, the
enterprise of another owner has made it the most handsome country
seat in the state. A noble mansion now crowns the hill with every
ornamental appurtenance, while the flats on each side, regularly
divided, wave in golden plenty, or are clothed in living green, on
which hundreds of cattle graze, or repose beneath a few of the old
trees which are yet standing. It fails not to arrest the attention and
call forth the admiration of the passenger along the Scioto. 'Twas
here Mr. Newton built him a tolerably convenient cabin, and
commenced his labors. He had taken up a large tract of country,
sufficient to present each of his children with a handsome patrimony.
To the bank was moored a graceful sail boat, such as had never
floated on those waters before, and which glided upon their even
current as "a thing of life." This was kept principally for the purpose
of visiting Mr. Claiborne, who had selected a level grove about half a
mile above, on the other side, in full view of Mr. Newton's. Directly to
the rear, a frowning cliff reared itself to the clouds; the river laved
the rocky bank in front, down which there was a descent by a flight

of steps hewn out of the limestone, where also was tied a small sail
boat. There was, however, a broader and better way a little above.
Mr. Claiborne too, had made extensive surveys in the country,
intending to divide his large possessions among his children. Modern
improvements have also made this a spot upon which the eye of the
delighted and tasteful traveller is pleased to linger.
An undisturbed intimacy had ever existed between these two
families; and now that they were separated entirely, as it were, from
the rest of the world, exposed to a common danger, and were
pursuing no clashing interests, it had refined into a warm and steady
friendship. A constant intercourse was kept up between them, and
means provided to communicate immediately the alarm, should
danger threaten. These two gentlemen being in the prime and vigor
of manhood, labored with untiring industry. As there was no
underwood, and the trees were tall and did not grow very thick
together, girdling sufficed, and they soon had a considerable farm
prepared for planting Indian corn.
The woods abounded in excellent game, and they frequently
accompanied each other in hunting excursions, but never venturing
too far, for fear of accidents or attacks from the Indians; and always
taking along their eldest sons, in order to gratify their anxiety; but
principally to instil into them a bold, fearless, and adventurous spirit,
—to teach them some of the rudiments of the arts and stratagems
of border warfare,—and to train them to a skilful management of
their rifles,—all qualifications indispensably necessary for the
inhabitants of an unsettled and hostile country.
Among all the youths of these two families, Charles Claiborne had
early attracted notice. He displayed indubitable evidences of a
superior intellect, the most gratifying to his father, and which at the
same time won for him the respect and love of his associates. No
envious feelings rankled in their pure bosoms; they sincerely
admired him, and felt that in hours of peril to his skill, intrepidity and
bravery, they must principally look for safety. He had now nearly

attained his eighteenth year, tall and erect as an Indian Chief,
possessing an ease and grace the most simple and natural. No mark
of effeminacy was visible about his manly frame; compact, nervous,
and as active as the wild panther which he hunted. His high, broad
and open forehead, over which his smooth dark locks fell in
neglected richness, betokened the freeness and equability of his
disposition, and at the same time his resoluteness and
determination; and a slight wrinkle betrayed the existence of busy
thought. Beneath an arched projecting brow, his dark gray eye shot
forth the fire of youth and genius. It shone with a peculiar lustre; it
would kindle with indignation or contempt, as he contemplated
crime or baseness, or soften down to tenderness as a tale of woe or
distress enlisted his sympathies. The whole contour of his face was
of a perfect mould. Devotedly fond of intellectual culture, of
acquiring information, he soon made himself master of the little
library which his father had brought with him, composed of a few
standard histories, Shakspeare and the Spectator; and was now, at
every spare interval, drawing rich stores of legal knowledge from a
musty old Coke, which he found among the rubbish brought in his
father's wagon, determined to "offer his professional services" to the
litigious part of the community when the country should become
more densely populated.
Several other families had already settled in the neighborhood, and
Charles was deservedly the favorite of them all. But there was one
to whom I shrewdly suspect he was even now peculiarly agreeable,
and for whom the kind and obliging neighbors,—who will have their
young acquaintances in love or engaged, any how, and who arrange
all such matters in their gossiping conclaves without the conusance
of the parties,—had already allotted him. In this case they were not
(as usual) without some ground for their suspicions.
Eliza Newton was now arrived at that most interesting period in a
woman's life, just sixteen, when combined with the simplicity and
coyness of the girl, she possesses many of the graces and charming
attractive attributes of maturer womanhood. Like the opening rose,

which displays its crimson folds at morn before one sunbeam has
kissed the dew-drop from its leaves of softest texture, or dimmed its
fresh rich tints, her loveliness was unfolding every day. Like the wild
flowers which she loved to gather from the meadow, she had grown
up without any artificial culture of fashionable hot beds, in all her
native sweetness, unpretending beauty, and unaffected modesty.
Roaming at will among the delightful groves around her father's
dwelling, brushing the early dew with her pretty feet from the
fragrant herbage, or wandering at even along the silent banks of the
gentle Scioto, when each zephyr
Offered his young pinion as her fan,
she acquired all the freshness and buoyancy of perfect health. Agile
as the young roe upon the mountain, she moved with the ease,
elegance and elasticity of a Sylph. Not too low to want a sufficient
dignity of mien, she was not so tall as to exceed the proper stature
of her sex. "Her hair's long auburn waves," curbed by a silken fillet,
rolled back from her small white forehead, flowed upon a chiselled
neck white as an Alpine mountain top; her dark blue eyes lay
sleeping behind long raven lashes, until roused, when they betrayed
every sentiment of her soul, beaming with affection or melted with
pity; the transcendent hue of her cheeks contrasted finely with the
pure, healthful whiteness of her complexion, and her sweet moist
lips, just curved out enough to bespeak her mild and even temper.
In fine, she was so perfect a model that
The eye might doubt if it were well awake,
She seemed so like a vision.
Amiability and kindness were the prominent traits of her character,
accompanied with the other female graces. Of a most delicate and
acute sensibility, she was keenly alive to the slightest insult, and
would repel it in a firm and dignified manner; but was ever ready to
pour the balm of reconciliation into a wound mistakenly inflicted.
She carefully forebore to speak disrespectfully of any one, and

always endeavored to place their conduct in the fairest light, which
sprang from the pure benevolence of her heart. And yet withal, she
had no little of the pride of her sex, ready to tear herself from a
heart where she had reason to believe she reigned not sole
empress; slightly imbued with jealousy, which is frequently a
concomitant of the most ardent and devoted attachment, as the
deadly viper oft lays encoiled under the bed of violets upon which
we are tempted to repose. From the small stock of substantial
literature which her father's poorly filled book case afforded, she had
cultivated her mind to a degree which thousands fail to do who have
skimmed over an Alexandrian library.
Let no one deem these portraitures exaggerated in any respect, for
these families were among the most respectable and intelligent on
the eastern shores of the Old Dominion; but the barrenness of their
sandy plains yielded them but a small quantum of what was
necessary to sustain them in their high and expensive mode of
living. They found that vast retrenchments were to be made, or they
must experience the pinchings of poverty; and, too proud to endure
the mortification of either in the midst of their old associates and
visiters, they determined to emigrate to the west, where the rich soil
affords, with but little labor, abundance of the necessaries of life,
while the woods and rivers furnish many of its luxuries.
The parents of Charles and Eliza themselves, had marked with
satisfaction and pleasure their growing attachment, and failed not by
evidences of approbation to encourage it. And for once the designs
of prudent parents and the inclinations of inconsiderate, confiding
youths coincided, and promised to result in the happiest of
consequences. Would that it could be always so! How many gray
hairs would it save from going down to the grave loaded with a
weight of sorrow! how many tender hearts would it preserve from an
early and hopeless blight! How many lovely and interesting females
would it save from tortures worse than the fabled one, of being
linked to dead bodies, those of being wedded to rich fools, or sots,

or knaves, upon whom they can never place their affections, and
whom they frequently hate from their inmost hearts.
Though they had ever been in habits of constant intimacy, taught to
view each other in the light of brother and sister, and mingling freely
for years in every sport of their childhood, yet a year or two having
almost magically brought Eliza to womanhood, she began to feel a
strange restraint in the company of Charles, which the presence of
no one else produced. As rapidly as the sweet accents might be
falling from her active tongue, his entrance hushed them completely;
and even he would labor for some time, through a few short
sentences. Yet notwithstanding these unusual effects, each felt that
the cause which produced them was not unwelcomed; and when
plagued about it, (as the phrase is) the crimson blush that mantled
their burning cheeks, indicated too clearly where arose this sudden
alteration in their deportment towards each other,—what had put an
end to all the little familiarities before so frequent. Gradually,
however, would the leaden weight fall from Charles' tongue; and as
he would relate to the company in most graphic and thrilling terms
his dangerous pursuit of the fierce panther or infuriated wolf,
following them into the most retired recesses, encountering them in
their darkest caverns, and drawing them forth dead, to the
astonishment of his less venturesome associates,—or his "hair
breadth escapes" in wresting from the infuriated she-bear her
whelps, the very great interest vividly manifest in Eliza's
countenance, the breathless attention with which she hung upon
every word and caught each syllable as it fell from his lips, and the
quickly averted glance, her color slightly heightening as he
frequently directed his eye towards her, soon convinced Charles that
he was the object of something more than an ordinary regard in her
bosom; nay, that he had actually won her affections. As for himself
he had long since been enthralled; nor could it be otherwise. There
is in every bosom, susceptibilities for all the emotions; and so soon
as causes calculated to excite them are presented, quick as an
electric flash the emotions succeed. Thus in love, there is a
susceptibility in every mind to be pleased with certain virtues or

actions; and when we perceive them, it is as impossible not to
admire them as to believe that they have never existed. And when a
combination of such qualities without a blemish is discovered in any
person, he had as well try to drive back the current of the Mississippi
as to resist the inevitable consequence. The emotion of love
involuntarily arises; he must love, for such is his mental constitution;
the feeling becomes a part of himself; he had no agency in effecting
it; he feels not, nor can he feel a disposition to divest himself of it.
Circumstances may induce him to check it, to trample it down, to
clip each bud as it appears, but he can never extinguish it; he
cannot destroy it. But let him give himself up to be bound in its
pleasant fetters; let him suffer it to sway an undivided sceptre over
him; let him give loose reins to it; let him plunge himself into its
delicious tide, and drink with a quenchless thirst its intoxicating
draughts; and then let him be thwarted, and no one may safely
predict the consequences to even the most powerful intellect, that
contemns every other loss or reverse of fortune. Until something is
done to excite a contrary emotion, ages of separation cannot dim or
extinguish it. For as in some fluids the application of heat may
entirely alter their qualities, so in love, a deception or
disappointment in some admired or prominent qualification,
frequently changes every feeling of regard for the object, into the
most bitter and relentless hatred.
A very short time intervened, before Charles summoned the
resolution to communicate the existence of his passion. Upon a mild
evening in May, as the shadows stretched their gigantic lengths
across the plain, Charles moored his little boat at the foot of the hill,
and ascended to Mr. Newton's. Eliza (as usual) met him at the door,
and ushered him into an apartment denominated the parlor, though
appropriated to various uses. They were seated by an open window
toward the west, along the frames of which a honey-suckle twined
its clinging tendrils; the mild, red rays of the setting sun peered
through its thick foliage, and added a brighter tint to Eliza's fine
complexion; the evening dews were falling upon the blooming
honey-suckle, which breathed its fragrant odors upon the happy pair.

She seemed to look peculiarly sweet and lovely. A few desultory
remarks upon the serenity and pleasantness of the evening, and
then—in language which I shall not detail—he poured out his heart's
fulness into her ear. At this avowal, her face budded into a rich
rubescent glow, and the veins in her clear, round neck, swelled
almost to bursting. She replied not; but a yielding of her soft little
hand, which be involuntarily pressed to his lips, confirmed the
happiness of the enraptured swain—and blew into an
inextinguishable flame, that spark of love, which he had long
cherished within his heart, and fanned with a sleepless assiduity. He
soon departed for his father's; he rowed slowly up the river, whose
waves reflecting the moonbeams, seemed like molten gold, while the
stars twinkled brightly above him: the scene was enchanting, and his
already excited feelings caught the inspiration. A plunge against the
bank awakened him from his reverie, and he discovered that he was
far above his father's. The delighted girl retired to her room, and
wept herself to sleep—when she dreamed incessantly of Elysian
fields, and happy islands upon the bosom of the deep blue sea,
through which she and her Charles roamed happy as their fabled
inhabitants. Very frequently after this, was Charles' little boat seen
gliding, in the cool of the evening, towards Mr. Newton's; and he
seemed much more addicted to hunting of late, particularly on the
west side of the river, especially as he never failed, on his return
from his fatiguing rambles, to meet at Mr. Newton's the best
refreshments, prepared in Eliza's most tasty style.
Thus a year marched onward in the track of time, unmarked by any
unusual incident. The parties heeded not its rapid flight, but
enjoying together every amusement and innocent pleasure which
their imaginations could devise, they lived in a state the nearest to
bliss they ever saw on earth.
Early however, in the following summer, as Mr. Claiborne's family
were sitting beneath a large oak in the yard, being refreshed by the
pure, cool breezes from the river, Charles espied Eliza wandering,
with a little sister, along the meadows on the opposite side, gayly

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Malaysian Indians And Education Reimagined Development Opportunities Rajendran Nagappan

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