[see also -
Ronit Ricci
Comparative Literature - “Islamic Literary Traditions in Javanese and
Tamil” and
Hindu Javanese Temple Sculpture - Kristine Marx]
[courtesy info-indo.com] "The Tamils were brought in by the Dutch in the early
build-up of the plantation industry, probably in the 1830s. Agents
visited villages in the Drawidia Kingdom in South India and tempted poor
uneducated Tamils to come to 'Tanah Deli", which then was more known to
them than "Sumatran". In order to convince these people they used
amazing stories about the riches of 'Tanah Deli" and were promised easy
work with good pay, for example to guard sugar from being eaten by
birds. Some were even told that there picking tress on which money grew
and that the Tamils would work with hasty and most of them had to take
the decision instantly and where taken to the harbors to wait for a
sailing ship.
The majority left without even telling their families.
After the arrival in the harbor Labuhan Deli in 'Tanah Deli" the reality
was different from the stories told in India. The Tamils were used for
hard labor and housed in simple huts. Most of them worked for the Dutch
company deli Maatschappij under harsh conditions. A part of the Tamils
were brought back to India after the contract. In the end of 1940s many
Tamils got an opportunity to return back and left, but maybe 5000-10,000
Tamils stayed on in North Sumatra, mainly in Medan, but also in Binjai
and Lubuk Pakkam. Today the Tamil population in North Sumatra is
approximately 40,000. Not until the last two generations did they star
to intermarry with other ethnic groups.
After World War II and the independence from the Dutch,
many Tamils left the plantations and they often used a cow cart to do
that. These vehicles became their tools for making a living. Some even
bought abandoned Japanese military vehicles, which they used to
transport sand and building material for building projects. This
occupation has been inherited through the generations and still today
one can see many Tamil waiting with their pick-ups and lorries for
charters on Jl. Iskandar Muda and in Sunggal. Other Tamils have
specialized in spice trading at the markets and a few become contractors
or government officials.
The Tamils have remained in North Sumatra except for a
few hundred families in Jakarta and Tamils that went to Sigli in Aceh in
an early stage. Most of the Tamils are Hindu, but Islam and Christianity
are also represented amongst them. The Tamils have always had a
harmonious relationship with the original ethnic groups in North
Sumatra, as the cultural and economic background and their fate do not
differ too much. The word Kelling is in North Sumatra a somewhat
derogative word for people with dark skin and used for Indians,
especially Tamils. However, originally it was used for Javanese from the
Kingdom of Kalingga in central Java, but due to Dutch mispronunciation
it became Keling."
