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The paper studies the presence of Indian Diaspora in Malaysia in transforming the India- Malaysia bilateral relations. At present, both these countries treat the Indian Diaspora as a liability. However, if India and Malaysia consider ethnic Indians as an asset, the ties between New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur will improve significantly.
Keywords: Malaysia; India; Indian Diaspora; HINDRAF; ethnicity; PIO
The diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur were established in 1957, when Malaysia gained its independence. India became the first country to recognise Malaysia as an independent state. The first Prime Ministers of both these countries, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Jawaharlal Nehru shared cordial relations and promoted each other's interests in their regions. Therefore, that era can be described as a golden era of bilateral relations between India and Malaysia. However, despite an early start, historical linkages, present cooperation and New Delhi's proximity with Kuala Lumpur, both these countries did not fully realise their potential in terms of bilateral relations. It is also noticeable that there are several areas of convergence between both these countries to strengthen their bilateral ties. But the marginalised condition of the ethnic Indians in Malaysia is considered to be the major area of divergence or irritant between India and Malaysia (Singh 2011).
In the contemporary globalised world, the Diasporas have emerged as a powerful factor in developing relations between the nation-states. Notably, the Indian Diaspora has acted as a cata- lyst in strengthening bilateral relations between India and the host nations. The India-US Civil Nuclear Deal is a case in point, as ethnic Indians in the USA successfully lobbied for clinching of the N-deal. However, the recent incidents of maltreatment of the ethnic Indians in Malaysia seem to have gone against the general trend of strengthening relations between India and the host countries. Relations with Malaysia, which has a significant number of ethnic Indians, too can go either way, as the Diaspora has the potential of further bolstering India-Malaysia relation- ship to a new height.
The Indian Diaspora has emerged as one of the largest in today's globalised world. There are more than 20 million People of Indian Origin (PIOs) and some 6 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) spread over 136 countries. The Indian Diaspora constitutes more than 40%...