Indians in Thailand
Thai Indians are Thai people with full or partial Indian ancestry. Nearly all Thai people have Indian ancestry due to strong cultural and religious ties.[2] But these ancestral ties are usually left out of statistics. About 65,000 Indian Thais have full Thai citizenship, but around 400,000 persons of Indian origin settled in Thailand mainly in the urban cities.
Total population | |
---|---|
Indian nationals 65,000 People of Indian descent 465,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Bangkok · Pattaya · Chiang Mai · Phuket | |
Languages | |
Thai · Malayalam · Tamil · English · Gujarati · Urdu · Punjabi | |
Religion | |
Hinduism · Buddhism · Sikhism · Islam historically Zoroastrianism[1] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
People of Indian Origin |
Migration history
Since ancient time, there have been various exchanges between India and Thailand. Modern Indian communities have been around since the 1860s. Most of the Indians arrived in the last century, notably from Tamil Nadu and other areas of Southern India. Some others came from Northern India such as Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and some from Gujarat. Buddhism and Hinduism originally arrived in Thailand from India and spread over the centuries.
The historical number of the Indian population in Thailand can be seen in British consular statistics; however, these figures often lumped Indians together with Sinhalese and Malays. According to 1912 statistics, there were 30 Indians registered in the Chiengmai (Chiang Mai) consular district, 41 Indians and Malays in the Puket (Phuket) consular district, 40 Indians and Malays in the Senggora (Songkhla) consular district, and 423 Indians, Sinhalese, and Malays in the Bangkok consular district. These figures were also believed to be a gross undercount of the true population; for example, the Bangkok consular district had registered only 517 British subjects, but other estimates claimed the number was 20 times higher.[3]
Notable people
- Savika Chaiyadej - Thai soap actress
- Napakpapha Nakprasitte - Thai actress and Model
- Ratana Pestonji - Thai film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer
- Vidya Dhar Shukla - Chief Hindu priest of Thailand
- Ammar Siamwalla - One of Thailand's most prominent economists
- Santi Thakral - Member of the Privy Council of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand
- Nishita Shah - Businesswoman
- Aloke Lohia - Billionaire Businessman
- Lek Nana - Businessman and Politician
- Kalayil Thomas Varghese - Notable Bureaucrat in Thailand
- Chalida Vijitvongthong - Thai actress and model
- Rajbul Bhatiasevi - Prominent Businessman
- Satish Sehgal - President of the India Thai Business Association
- Praveenar Singh - Model and Miss Universe Thailand 2020 1st runner-up
See also
References
- Somlak Wongrat (n.d.). อิหร่านใน...8 ทิวาราตรี [8 Days in Iran]. Nonthaburi : Amarin Book Center, p. 111-112
- Kutanan, Wibhu; Kampuansai, Jatupol; Brunelli, Andrea; Ghirotto, Silvia; Pittayaporn, Pittayawat; Ruangchai, Sukhum; Schröder, Roland; Macholdt, Enrico; Srikummool, Metawee; Kangwanpong, Daoroong; Hübner, Alexander (June 2018). "New insights from Thailand into the maternal genetic history of Mainland Southeast Asia". European Journal of Human Genetics. 26 (6): 898–911. doi:10.1038/s41431-018-0113-7. ISSN 1476-5438.
- Bangkok and Siam, directory, Straits Settlements and Siam: Bangkok Times Press, 1914, p. 199
External links