The Contemporary Dynamics of the Bay of Bengal Maritime World in the Tamil-Muslim Immigrant Community of Malaysia

Abstract

This paper examines how the Bay of Bengal maritime network, which preceded the nation-state era, has evolved and continues to influence today’s Tamil-Muslim immigrant community in Malaysia. Since pre-modern times, Tamil Muslims have migrated from South India to the Malay Peninsula, primarily as traders or merchants. They established a cosmopolitan community through partial settlement and intermarriage with local Malays. Despite significant changes to the character of this community during the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, the migration pattern and the fluidity of members’ ethnic identity persisted into the nation-state era.

Detailed ethnographic field research conducted in Penang reveals that the contemporary Tamil-Muslim immigrant community retains its cosmopolitan character, encompassing individuals with diverse backgrounds in birthplace, official ethnic classification, and nationality. This enduring diversity is sustained through the continuous influx of new immigrants based on historical maritime networks. Thus, the Tamil-Muslim immigrant community in Malaysia has persisted into the present, rooted in the historical continuity of the Bay of Bengal maritime network, which has overlapped with the framework of the nation-state.