Malaysian Telugus, Untold Stories of Andhra Pioneers

Author: Ramanan Malini
Publisher: Areca Books
ISBN: 9789675719479
Page: 224 m/s
Year: 2023
Price: RM50

Who are the Malaysian Telugus? In studies on South Indians in Malaysia, the Malaysian Telugu ethnic community is mentioned only in passing or ignored altogether. Indeed, Malaysian Telugus are a minority within a minority.

Telugus from Andhra Pradesh in British India came to British Malaya in the nineteenth century to work as farmers. The early Telugu migrants in Bagan Datoh and Teluk Intan, Perak, made unrelenting efforts to preserve their language and culture through Telugu schools, ritual worship and foodways. The early matriarchs proved themselves to be heroic pillars of strength and guardians of tradition; the next generations of Telugus derived immense pride from their remembered histories.

Today, the Telugu Association of Malaysia (TAM) organises language classes and activities to build Telugu ethnic identity in a multicultural Malaysia.

Written in a narrative style, this work describes the development of the Malaysian Telugu community and the identity contestations that inevitably occur in pluralistic environments. Based on a six-year PhD study, this book demonstrates that Teluguness is alive and well, and likely to flourish in Malaysia.