In North Sumatra, Indonesia, There's an Indian Village called Madras. What's Its History?

INDONESIA, RBTVDISWAY.ID – It's no surprise that there's an Indian village in North Sumatra, INDONESIA. This village is called Kampung Madras.

Kampung Madras is located in Medan, North Sumatra. The name is inspired by a region in India.

As the name suggests, Kampung Madras is one of the few areas inhabited by Indians in Indonesia.

This village is even known around the world. According to indonesia.go.id, Kampung Madras covers approximately 10 hectares.

This village is located between Polonia and Petisah Districts, encompassing the area around Jalan KH Zainul Arifin, Jalan Gajah Mada, and Jalan S Parman.

Kampung Madras is characterized by a large gate dominated by yellow, decorated with peacock ornaments and various carvings.

At the end of Jalan KH Zainul Arifin, there's a sign that says "Welcome to Little India." The nickname "Little India" is indeed aptly given to this village.

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Around 100 families of Indian descent live here. The presence of the Indian community in Medan and its surroundings is inseparable from the influence of a Dutch tobacco plantation owner from Deli, Jacobus Nienhuys, who established land in East Sumatra, the former name for North Sumatra.

The majority of Indians living here are immigrants from Tamil Nadu who arrived in Medan in 1873. They worked as laborers on the Deli tobacco plantations.

Like other immigrants, they later formed communities and clustered themselves in the city of Medan.

In 1880, Sultan Mahmud Al Rasyid of Deli granted permission for immigrant communities, including Indians, to occupy land owned by the sultanate.

Getting to Know Kampung Madras

Indians also spread to areas such as Binjai, Tebing Tinggi, Tanjungbalai, Pematang Siantar, and Deli Serdang.

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