Indians in Indonesia

By Pramod Kanakath

In more ways than one, two or three, Indonesia is India’s nearest cousin.

For an Indian, your trip and time in this country will present many a case of déjà vu in the form of names, vocabulary used in the language (Bahasa Indonesia), monuments, symbols and even customs. In case you are flying Garuda Indonesia, that will be the first name to strike you while you are still on your way to this country. Once landed, inside the airport, you will find that Garuda is not just the state carrier, but has an elevated status of being the national symbol with the motto ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ inscribed beneath it. That is ‘Diverse, yet United’. Isn’t that another example of being in the ‘Unity in Diversity’ boat?

The Indian mission in this country probably began with the Sriwijaya kingdom, purportedly in the 7th century AD. Trade between this kingdom, which was based in south Sumatra, and China flourished for a long time. Though very little is known about this kingdom, records show that it existed till the 13th century. This was followed by successive Indian Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms, the last and the most powerful of which was the Majapahit kingdom. The Majapahit kingdom ruled over nearly 75% of the Indonesian archipelago till the beginning of the 15th century. The most important tourist attractions in the present-day Indonesia are the ones left behind by these rich and powerful kingdoms – the Borobudur and the Prambanan temples and the culture and tradition of Bali. This Indian legacy makes every Indian visitor proud by showcasing what Indonesia has imbibed from the royal past.

Now that you have cleared your immigration procedures, you may probably be wondering at the name of the officer who has signed beneath your visa – e.g. it might probably be someone like Herman Adiputra or Wahyu Setiawan. The strikingly historical or religious Indian names (surnames) can be traced back to the kingdoms we were story-telling about. Also, do not be surprised when a waitress/waiter folds the hands in respect at the entrance of a restaurant or a public hall. They are not doing this exclusively for Indians. The old empire charm still holds good. Looking at the menu on the table, you will realise that if Indians can cook potatoes in 300 different ways, Indonesians can prepare as many varieties of sambal (sammandhi, or red chili paste).

Already feeling at home? When I first disembarked in Jakarta back in 2005, my smiling driver greeted me just outside the airport and ushered me to the waiting car. During the traffic-ridden journey from the airport to my residence in south Jakarta the driver asked me about Shah Rukh Khan and ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, a household name and a household tune in many, many Indonesian homes. So far, in my decade-old stint in Indonesia, I have met with SRK fans from different parts of the country who have watched that film more than half a dozen times. Very recently, there has been a widespread craze for Indian soap operas among Indonesian TV viewers. Popular serials like ‘Krishna’, ‘Jodha Akbar’ have been dubbed into Bahasa Indonesia. This has brought about a new opportunity for many Indian sinetron stars to seek new realms in this wonderful country. Some of the Indian actors have even established a kind of niche in the Indonesian idolatry temple.

That brings us to the scene of entertainment industry though it may not be the biggest of opportunities for Indians here. The Indian-Indonesian TV serial and film producer, Manoj Punjabi is the country’s biggest entertainment Moghul with his MD Entertainment and MD Pictures. His company was founded in 2003 and has played an instrumental role in raising the Indonesian film and soap opera to an elevated status. Indonesian language films like ‘Ayat Ayat Cinta’ and ‘Habibie and Ainun’ were Punjabi’s award-winning productions. With a state-of-the-art office named MD Place in the heart of Jakarta, the company aims to spread the film-viewing culture it has already spearheaded. In addition, it also provides opportunities to up and coming artists in Indonesia by helping them unravel their innate talents.

Indonesia certainly will not provide you an environment where it is quite easy to find an Indian restaurant or a tailor or a barber shop that characterise the Gulf nations. A 2012 census found that there are around 9,000 Indian expats living and working in Indonesia. They are mostly concentrated in Jakarta. The Indian Indonesians mainly occupy Jakarta and Medan (north Sumatra). During my second week, I happened to have lunch at the Queens of India restaurant at the Sunlake Hotel (owned by an Indian entrepreneur) with a newfound fellow Indian friend. He is in the textile business, one of the most lucrative enterprises for Indian expats as well as the Indian Indonesians. The Sindhis and the Sikhs, both of whom made Indonesia their home in the first half of the 20th century are engaged in textile and sports equipment business. Many Indian expats have joined hands with them while some have established their own ventures from the cities like Jakarta and Bandung in Java and Medan in Sumatra.

However, when it comes to the biggest business by an Indian in this country, one inevitably turns to Sri Prakash Lohia’s Indorama Synthetics, a spun yarn firm which has expanded its wings significantly since its inception in the early 1970s. A huge number of Indian expatriates are employed with Indorama in the managerial, accounts and consultant positions. Sri Prakash Lohia is an Indian by birth and an Indonesian by citizenship. He was recently awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. The company’s plant is located in the green environments of Purwakarta, an hour’s ride from Jakarta. The Rama Global School has been set up here to provide education for the children of the company’s employers. The company has its corporate head office in Jakarta.

Sports shops and businesses related to sports equipment are plenty in the Pasar Baru area of central Jakarta. These shops exist side by side innumerable textiles which create an aura of little India in Jakarta. Walk into the busy and crowded alley here and on either side of it you will find textiles with tailors inside, reminding you of those oft-passed-by streets anywhere in India. In addition to sports equipment and fabrics, there are kitsch items like sunglasses and wallets sold in established stores and out on the street.

Cricket aficionados there? Is that question a joke, you must be muttering. In a country where millions embrace the game as their religion. There is good news for you. The Jakarta Cricket Association has been running since 1993 and there are at least 16 clubs playing league, T-20 and Sixes under its supervision. I was a member (still am, but not active) of one of the clubs called Senayan Cricket Club (SCC). JCA has played a pivotal role along with Cricket Bali and Cricket Bogor in making many Indonesians aware of the rules of cricket and has successfully campaigned for an Indonesian national cricket team. Currently Indonesia has a national team comprising mainly of Indian expats who have turned Indonesian citizens. The team usually participates in the East Asia-Pacific tournaments. For many Indian expats who are die-hard cricket fans, driving all the way to the lush green cricket ground at Cibubur (45-60 minute-drive) and enjoying a game of cricket is a big weekend relief. Some of them usually bring families and arrange picnic at the pavillion. Apart from Indians, expats from Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan participate in the games.

Social life is getting more and more active for Indians as there are clubs and associations exclusively for the community. One of the oldest and the strongest is the India Club, an organization which is more than 30 years old and boasts about hundreds of members. The Club has been able to host events featuring popular names from Bollywood and the Indian classical music industry. The recently formed Kerala Samajam Indonesia and the Tamil Sangam also add to the organisations formed by the diaspora. Better still, there are more organisations in and out of Jakarta. Gandhi Seva Loka is an Indian Indonesian organisation which runs charity works in the country. The Gandhi Memorial International School in north Jakarta is run by this organisation. Information on these can be found on www.indoindians.com .

That brings us to the portal of IndoIndians, the Indian community portal which has been in existence since 2000. Under the leadership of the charismatic personality, Poonam Sagar, IndoIndians has tried its very best to bring the expats under one umbrella. Sagar has contributed immensely toward the development of cultural activities, expat life styles, info on living and working in Indonesia and a number of other programmes in the interest of the Indian community. She has also opened a forum on her website for the community members to help each other on matters that affect everyone. Moreover, she is also willing to answer queries related to life in Indonesia personally.

Most Indians prefer destinations like Singapore and Malaysia when it comes to tourism in south-east Asia, but once they reach Indonesia for a job, they unearth the innumerable spots that this country showcases. Within a year of arriving here, I took a train all the way to Yogyakarta, known as the cultural capital of Indonesia. Climb the steps of the imposing Buddhist temple of Borobudur and you will feel that a part of Indian history is beckoning you. The sculptures and reliefs in this temple which was built in 8-9th centuries are great pieces of art, igniting the envy of many temple architects. An hour away from the Borobudur temple lies the Hindu temple of Prambanan. There are at least 4 temple towers still existing in this compound. The rest lay in ruins, destroyed in an earthquake. Still, walking among the ruins itself is walking through history as the place exudes a spiritual feeling among the visitors.

Head to the island of Bali where Hinduism is practised in a slightly different style. The temple structure here does not carry artistic and intricate carvings, but are built in a way which reminds us of small temples throughout India. The Balinese migrated to this island from Java when Hinduism started to decline after the arrival of Persian invaders. They are avid religious practitioners and still follow rituals in fervent styles. You may be amused to have a conversation with a Balinese in the following way:

The Balinese: Are you from India?
You: Yes.
The Balinese: You Hindu?
You: (Assuming you are) Yes.
The Balinese: Your number? One, two, or…?
You: What number?
The Balinese: Like we have four numbers, first is Wayan, the highest, then, Made, Ketut and Komang.

Slowly you make sense out of it. They are talking about the caste system. Not that the Balinese are strict about castes and are very orthodox about the caste system. They are just being aware of a traditional practice in its very basic form. Inter-caste marriages are very common and they are not at all frowned upon. Rather, they just view marriage as marriage and not as same caste or inter-caste marriage.

Pramod Kanakath is a freelance writer based in Jakarta.