The hard snub that has come from Malaysia on the issue of ethnic Indians holding demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur demanding greater rights in Malaysia's discriminatory ethnic policy adopted since 1970s shows the boiling point to which issue has reached among Malaysian Indians. Though the diplomatic spat did not seriously undermine the bilateral relations between the two countries, the issue has highlighted the need to examine whether these demonstrations were a result of the failure of Malayan nationalism or a more pronounced reaction to an emergent Malay identity. Since independence the discourse on Malaya identity and Malayan nationalism has been at the forefront of political discourses in the country. However, the coalition of Malay Chinese and Malay Indians has always managed to tone down potential conflicts over ethnic identities. But in recent years, the preponderance of ethnic identity in the Malayan national discourse has become vociferous enough to affect the sensitive ethnic divisions in the Malayan society. Be it the case of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Annual Meeting or the depiction of the role of ethnic minority in school and university textbooks - the issue of ethnic identities has strongly created creates in this nation's multi-ethnic society.

The prevailing sentiment illustrates the fact that the Malaya assertion has become more pronounced in recent times. The support from the ruling party for this ethnic assertion in order to stymie the increasing influence of opposition parties like the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) over the indigenous Muslim community has further worsened the problem. The resultant radicalisation of Malaysian society and the snowball effect of the discriminatory policy in favour of ethnic Malaya Muslims have led to violent upheavals in the streets of Kuala Lumpur streets. However, it is not just the ruling party which has to be blamed for the current turmoil. To a certain extent, the newly emergent politically-aspiring elite class of people among the Malaysian Indian community have also benefited from such upheavals. The Indian ruling community has in recent years become a powerful lobby which has successfully managed to safeguard their own political interests while contributing nothing substantial to redress the problems of Malaysian Indians. Also the ethnic Indians have forged strong ties with their homeland without forming a strong bonding with their adopted country. This is visible in most of the Tamil schools that are being run in Malaysia. Majority of ethnic Tamils have maintained their cultural identity and have endorsed the Tamil medium of teaching. Also the mass hysteria generated by Tamil movies and emulation of movie stars by youths has been projected negatively by the Malaysian media.

On the other hand, the people of Chinese origin which comprise the business community of Malaysia are better placed than ethnic Indians. Ethnic Chinese have become the bridge between China and Malaysia and have helped Malaysia in getting vital Chinese investment. Also, in the changed geo-strategic calculus, it has been stated by many political and strategic commentators that Malaysia is slowly drifting towards China. The whole ethnic calculus thus tilts in favour of the Chinese as a result of which the relative deprivation factor is skewed against ethnic Indians. As for the demolition of Hindu temples, it has to be noted that most of the temples were built on government land in the plantation area which had to be demolished for developmental activities. However, there were instances when some Hindu religious places were demolished owing to the whims and fancies of the local authorities. Also there are some stringent municipal guidelines by which minority communities could construct their places of worship only after seeking consent from majority community leaders. This discriminatory policy and the preferential treatment given to Malaya Muslims have resulted in exodus of meritorious ethnic Indians to prosperous economies like Singapore and Australia.

The increasing fundamentalist approach of the Malaysia society has led to violent reactions in the past from the ethnic Indian community as exemplified in the mountaineer Murthy issue or even the rampaging of cinema halls by Tamil fans in protest against the delayed screening of the Tamil blockbuster movie, Shivaji. This affiliation to their homeland culture has projected the Tamils in bad light. Besides, owing to their lower economic status in Malaysia, Tamils were increasingly implicated in criminal cases. Though it cannot be inferred that only Indians are involved in anti-social activities, the Malaysian media has worked overtime to negatively project the economically and socially deprived ethnic Indians as being a social menace. The recent demonstrations might be a way of projecting the ire towards the discriminatory policies of the state as well as the media. Therefore, it is imperative that the Indian government's response to such policies should be vocal and strong enough to warn the Malaysian government to resist from such measures. On the other hand, India can contribute to the wellbeing of the expatriate Indian community in Malaysia by taking measures to help them serve their adopted society in a meaningful and responsible manner.

With Malaysia adopting a structured approach to tone down the influx of expatriate labour by 2010, Indians might find lesser opportunities in Malaysia especially when more cost-effective labourers from Bangladesh and Nepal would eventually replace Indian labour in Malaysia. The whole issue needs a holistic and restrained approach from the Indian side while taking care not to ruffle feathers with the government in Kuala Lumpur. India should also look for options other than diplomatic lip service to assuage the feelings of the ethnic Indians in Malaysia.

The writer is a specialist in Southeast Asian Affairs at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.