page_title: Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin
section_title: Indonesia
hierarchical_section_title: Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin / Diaspora by host country / Asia / Indonesia
caption_attribution_description: English: Sri Prakash Lohia.
context_page_description: Overseas Indians, officially known as Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin, are people of Indian birth, descent or origin who live outside the Republic of India. According to a Ministry of External Affairs report, there are 32 million NRIs and PIOs residing outside India. India remains the largest country of origin for expatriates and immigrant communities with a 55 million-strong diaspora across the world, including the Romani people.
context_section_description: The official figures, it is estimated that there are around 125,000 Indians living in Indonesia and 25,000 PIOs/NRIs living in Indonesia of which the Indian expatriate community registered with the embassy and consulate in Medan numbers around 5,000-7,000 people. Most are from Tamil descendants. There are other sources stated that there are more than 400,000 Indians in Indonesia.
  Indians have been living in Indonesia for centuries, from the time of the Srivijaya and Majapahit Empire both of which were Hindu and heavily influenced by the subcontinent. Indians were later brought to Indonesia by the Dutch in the 19th century as indentured labourers to work on plantations located around Medan in Sumatra. While the majority of these came from South India, a significant number also came from the north of India. The Medan Indians included Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. They have now been in Indonesia for over four generations and hold Indonesian passports. While local statistics continue to suggest that there are some 40,000 PIOs in Sumatra, the vast majority are now completely assimilated into Indonesian society, though some elements of the Tamil, Punjabi and Odia communities still maintain their cultural traditions.
  The Indian diaspora also includes several thousand Sindhi families who constitute the second wave of Indian immigrants who made Indonesia their home in the first half of the 20th century. The Sindhi community is mainly engaged in trading and commerce.
  Among these communities, Tamils and to a lesser extent Sikhs were primarily engaged in agriculture while Sindhis and Punjabis mainly established themselves in textile trade and sports businesses.
  The inflow of major Indian investments in Indonesia starting in the late 1970s drew a fresh wave of Indian investors and managers to this country. This group of entrepreneurs and business professionals has further expanded over the past two decades and now includes engineers, consultants, chartered accountants, bankers and other professionals.
  The Indian community is very well regarded in Indonesia, is generally prosperous, and includes individuals holding senior positions in local and multinational companies.
  Due to economic factors, most traders and businessmen among PIOs have over past decades moved to Jakarta from outlying areas such as Medan and Surabaya. Almost half the Indian Community in Indonesia is now Jakarta-based; it is estimated that the population of Jakarta's Indian community is about 19,000. There are six main social or professional associations in Jakarta's Indian PIO/NRI community. Gandhi Seva Loka (formerly known as Bombay Merchants Association) is a charitable institution run by the Sindhi community and is engaged mainly in educational and social activities. The India Club is a social organisation of PIO/NRI professionals. An Indian Women's Association brings together PIO/NRI spouses and undertakes charitable activities. There is a Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee in Jakarta and Sindhis as well, Sikhs are associated with Gurudwara activities. The Economic Association of Indonesia and India (ECAII) brings together leading entrepreneurs from the Indian community with the objective of promoting bilateral economic relations, but it has been largely inactive. Finally, there is the Indonesian Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
caption: Sri Prakash Lohia, founder of Indorama Corporation and sixth richest person in Indonesia according to Forbes
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