28 | SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY January 26, 2017 INDIAN COMMUNITY Indians in : A pinch of sugar

t just over 0.1 percent courtesy, safer living conditions, of the total population, especially for women.” the Indian commu- Indians with strong com- Anity of approximately munity ties tend to group func- 300,000 is like a pinch of sugar tions around religious festivals in Indonesia, sweetening and en- and events, and temples are a hancing the culture and economy. great venue for these commu- The Indians in Indonesia, both nity events. The Sri Mariamman expatriates and people of Indian Temple in and Shiva tem- origin, are generally well educat- JP/Arief Suhardiman ple in are the most popu- ed, hardworking and law abiding, Poonam Sagar lar. Other temples are the Dewi with high purchasing power. Mandir, Sai Mandir and Gurud- Indonesia is a country where majority pribumi, or natives. In this wara in Pasar Baru and Tanjung Indians are welcomed and re- era of rapid globalization, we can Priok, as well as the ISKCON spected for the knowledge, skills only benefi t from sharing knowl- Temple in Bogor. and values they add. Shared cul- edge and information with both More than 30 Indian restau- tural roots and interest have Indo-Indonesian citizens and resi- rants are found just in Jakarta. In- linked the two nations for over dents and visitors, with whom we dian Restaurants can also be found two millennia, from Ramayana have so much in common, cultural- in the major cities of Surabaya, and Mahabharata to Bollywood ly and in development terms,” said Bandung, Medan, Surakarta and JP/Arief Suhardiman and TV serials. Yuli Ismartono, from the TEMPO even Semarang. Bali has a grow- Dancers from the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center in Jakarta perform the Kathak dance during the The roughly 7,000 expatriate English magazine. ing Indian population, and to ca- celebration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Indian Diaspora Day) on Monday night at JW Marriott Hotel in Ja- Indians are involved in all indus- Indonesia is very similar to ter to the taste buds of the tourists, karta. The event was organized by the Indian Embassy in Jakarta. tries and areas as entrepreneurs, India with its large diverse, there are more than 15 Indian res- IT professionals, consultants, fi - growing population, where tra- taurants across Bali. The Indian sociations, and the Indonesian promoting Indian cultural heri- sia. The Jakarta Cricket Associa- nancial managers, engineers, etc. ditional family values and ties Embassy has established cultural chapters of Indian associations. tage amongst Indian families, tion has many teams and Indian Most advertising agencies and top are important. The spirit of centers in Jakarta and Bali, where The oldest Indian association children and other nationalities. players. Badminton groups are positions at major luxury hotels Bhinneka Tunggal Ika or ‘unity Yoga, classical music and dance in Indonesia, Gandhi Seva Loka A calendar of events includes cul- close-knit and have been play- have Indians at the helm. Entre- in diversity’ resonates with both are taught. (formerly known as Bombay Mer- tural programs, Indian festivals, ing together for many years, and preneurs of Indian origin, as well cultures and demonstrates tol- A long-term expat from the chants Association), was founded art exhibitions, Bollywood mov- the golfers have their own group as dominating the textile and fi - erance and respect for other re- sub-continent, Rajah, shared in 1947 by the elders of the Sindhi ies etc. The three main events known as Bunkers Golf Club. nance industries, have a big stake ligions in both countries. Indi- that, in his opinion, “the ex- community with the primary aim organized by the club every year An online community initia- in the movie business, from cine- ans like to live in Indonesia. pat Indians hardly interact with of fostering the spirit of love, un- are Holi, Gala Deepawali eve and tive, www.indoindians.com, brings ma screens to production houses. Aarti Gadre, the founder of any other nationalities other or derstanding and brotherhood and the Diwali Mela. Find out more at together all the dispersed Indian “We tend to ignore, or worse, un- bookmyfi t.com shares that, “As even outside their own language providing the best possible edu- www.indiaclubjakarta.org groups and information of inter- dervalue the contributions of eth- an Indian, I have experienced speaking group and the only time cation to the children of the com- Other active associations in- est for the Indians in Indonesia nic-Indian Indonesians, who have warmth and friendliness every- they break out is for supporting munity. Gandhi Memorial Inter- clude Indonesian Tamil Sangam, on a single platform. It provides as much claim to the nation as oth- where. Compared to the condi- the Indian cricket team.” continental School, Kemoyaran, Kannada Sangha, Telugu Associa- the facility for people to share er historical immigrants, like the tions back home, I fi nd almost no He also observes that, “it is a Jakarta, is an international IB tion, Kerala Samajam Agarwak their expertise and skills, at the Chinese and the Arabs, and as the road rage, more politeness and pity that almost 95 percent of school run by Gandhi Seva Loka. Samaj and Amhi Maratha. Some same time stimulating interac- local Indians from Medan that I There is a Gurudwara Praband- are formed for specifi c occasions, tion and connections. have met do not want to speak or hak Committee in Jakarta, and such as Navaratri or Ganesh Utsav. With all the positive aspects of try to teach their children their Sindhis as well as Sikhs are asso- Finally, there is the Indonesian life in Indonesia for Indians, it is ethnic mother tongue, and this ciated with Gurudwara activities. chapter of the Institute of Char- not a surprise that more Indians is not the case with the Indian The association Yayasan Social tered Accountants of India (ICAI). are seeking opportunities here. community from Malaysia or Guru Nanak has also set up the Most associations participate “I have learned a lot of pa- Sri Lanka”. Punjabi Gurmat School in Ciputat. in social work and charitable ac- tience, smiling and happiness Put many Indians together and “There are several Indian-run tivities in Indonesia. The Sad- from this country. With so many they will resolve themselves into preschools, schools and training hu Vaswani center is notable for traits in common, Indonesia and groups based on language, faith centers in Indonesia that cater its artifi cial limb program. Since India should be working together or common interests. At the last not only to Indians but also to the 2007 it has provided 11,722 artifi - harder than ever to further their count, there were 40 Indian as- wider communities here,” says cial limbs in Indonesia, made in- mutual understanding,” thinks sociations registered with the In- Shareen Ratnani, cofounder of digenously by local technicians Geetika Sainani, a restaurateur. dian Embassy, which include the Kiddie Planet Montessori. in a dynamic venture of transfer Courtesy of Poonam Sagar India Club, the Indian Women’s India Club Jakarta has been in of skills and knowledge from ‘The (From left to right) Anand K Bapat, Amith Baxi, Jaideep Bhattacharjee, Association, Indian regional asso- existence since 1981 with the pur- Jaipur Foot technology’. The writer is a committee mem- Sidharth Tekriwal, Hari Krishnan, Rakesh Jain, C.S Sheshadari, Kanika ciations, religious and faith-based pose of representing the Indian Cricket, badminton and golf ber of India Club and owner of the Rajpurohit, Poonam Sagar and Shailendra Halbe attend the India Club associations, social and charitable community at large in Indonesia are the most popular sports websites www.infotech.co.id and Diwali event in Jakarta in 2016. organizations, schools, alumni as- and maintaining, developing and among Indians living in Indone- www.indoindians.com. Sindhi community in Indonesia: Keeping strings connected

Sebastian Partogi THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA

he Sindhi community in Indonesia represents a Tgroup of businesspeo- ple hailing from the province of Sindh, which used to be part of united India until partition in 1947. Equipped with capital to start up businesses overseas, the com- munity now thrives in diff er- ent regions, including Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Courtesy of GMIS Jakarta Hong Kong and Indonesia. Suresh G. Vaswani, executive member of the Gandhi Sevaloka (left) with “We are not refugees. We al- the late former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam (center, with long grey ways go overseas with money in hair) and members of the Sindhi community in Jakarta when the latter order to invest and make a living,” visited Jakarta in 2007 after he fi nished serving his offi ce term. merchant association Gandhi Seva Loka foundation executive ly known as Bollywood. with their spouses and mixed- member and Gandhi Memorial The community’s footprint race children, the community Intercontinental School (GMIS) in Indonesia actually goes back amounts to 30,000 people. chairman Suresh G. Vaswani told a long way even before the 1947 “We, however, have decided The Jakarta Post in an exclusive partition. not to dabble in politics because interview. “Like the Hadramaut [clan] of we are too small to become politi- Currently, the Indonesian the Arabs, we had been working cal. We, however, are very active chapter of the community, which abroad even before partition,” he in community service activities,” represents around 20,000 people, explained. he said. most of whom live in Jakarta, has The Sindhi people fi rst set foot Through GMIS, as well as oth- some of the most prominent busi- in Indonesia in around 1840 or er schools owned by community nesspeople in the fi elds of textiles, 1850 to expand their textile busi- members across Indonesia, they upholstery and fi lms. In textiles ness. At that time, before parti- donate money to around 10 trust alone, the community controls tion, the non-Muslim merchants funds, including the Rawinala approximately 75 to 80 percent of were still able to return to their School of Multiple Disabilities and market share in Indonesia. homeland once in every two the National Movement for Foster In the fi lm industry, big pro- years. Parents (GNOTA), among others. duction houses in the country are In the aftermath of partition, Rapi Films owner Gope also owned by the Sindhis. Exam- however, the area of Punjab was di- Samtani, meanwhile, runs the ples include MVP Indonesia (for- vided into two. The Sindh province Prem Prakash Mandal foun- merly known as Multivision Plus) in West Punjab, with its predomi- dation, which helps the poor by Raam Punjabi, Rapi Films by nantly Muslim population, became undergo cataract surgery in Gope Samtani as well as MD En- part of Pakistan and as a result, cooperation with the Cipto tertainment by Manoj Punjabi. non-Muslims who were Hindus Mangunkusumo Hospital in “The best cotton and mus- and Sikhs had to leave the region. Jakarta. lin are made in India. When you “Wherever we are, we try to be Meanwhile, to maintain soli- think about indigo blue denims, good citizens, because we have no darity among community mem- the indigo also comes from In- country. We found a new country in bers, the Sindhis hold regular ac- dia. So most of the carpets that Indonesia, so we are integrated into tivities at its community center you see in Indonesia, including the local communities,” he said. on Jl. Samanhudi, Pasar Baru, prayer carpets, are also manufac- According to Vaswani, it is rela- Central Jakarta. tured by our merchants,” Vaswani tively easy for the Sindhi commu- “We conduct regular gather- explained. nity to adapt to the Indonesian ings for prayers every Thursday, a Meanwhile, community mem- way of living as there is a strong puja [off ering] ritual on Mondays, Distributor: bers who are players in the local affi nity between the two cultures. as well as a full-moon gathering fi lm scene bring with them the “Ancient Javanese Hindu-Bud- once every 15 days,” he said. strong cinematic traditions from dhist kingdoms like Sriwijaya The community members also PT. Radha Krishna 0816 982 331 India to Indonesia. and Majapahit [from the seventh help each other. “In India, it’s hard to make a and 14th centuries, respectively], “We wouldn’t let our members living as the soil is not as fertile as embody many aspects of Indian become destitute. If the parents Sales & Services : (62)21 - 22293096 Indonesia’s, so people work hard. culture. The Gujarati merchants of members pass away, the com- When they celebrate, however, from India also spread Islam in munity will take care of the fu- they celebrate in style. They like Indonesia [in the 11th century],” neral, death certifi cates and other www.akidynex.com to do so by watching fi lms, one of he explained. things,” he explained. the cheapest forms of entertain- One way community mem- The community center in Ja- ment there,” he said, tracing the bers achieve integration with karta also has a subsidized mar- roots of India’s strong attachment Indonesians is through inter- riage hall open to everybody, in- to fi lm-making, which is popular- marriage. When combined cluding Indonesians.