Indians in Réunion are people of Indian origin in

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. They form two ethnic groups on the island, Malbars (Tamils) and Zarabes (Muslims).

Origins

Originally brought in as indentured laborers, as in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, they were mostly of South Indian Tamil origin. The second and smallest group were Muslims (from

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and West India, mainly from the modern day region of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

.) There were also later emigrants, mostly

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

traders and businessmen. In Réunion, Indians from South India, often Hindu, are known as Malbars and Muslim Indians from North and West India are known as Zarabes.

Today

Indo-Réunionnais people have affected the culture of

, bringing Indian cuisine as well as flora and fauna to the island. The Indo-Réunionnais Hindus have mainly assimilated with other ethnicities on the island.

Malbars

Originally brought in as

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...

d labourers as in

, they were mostly South Indian

Tamils The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...

. Tamils in Reunion have recently exhibited the desire to learn their ancestors' culture and have started studying their language and religions, especially from

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

and

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

. They also want to translate their newly acquired civic and political rights into a gradual and increasing participation in local and other elections. Notable contributors include: * Mr Jean-Paul Virapoullé, Mayor of Saint-André (1972-2008 and since 2014), Deputy of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

(1986-1997),

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

(2001-2011) and First Vice President of the General Council of Reunion. * Mrs Nadia Ramassamy, Deputy of the

since 2017, previously Vice President of the General Council. * Mr Saminadin Axel Kichenin, Mayor of Sainte-Marie (1983-1990), Vice President of the General Council. * Mrs Denise Nillameyom, Deputy Mayor of Le Tampon.

Demographic factors

Many are

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, including some who are nominally Christian but include Hindu practises. There is a significant

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

minority known as Zarabes. Others are

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

, Baháʼí or non-religious. Hare Krishna is also practised in

. They speak

Réunion Creole Réunion Creole, or Reunionese Creole (; ), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken on Réunion. It is derived mainly from French language, French and includes terms from Malagasy language, Malagasy, Hindi, Port ...

and French. There are a handful of schools where Indian languages such as Tamil may be studied as a third or fourth language.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reunionnais Of Indian Origin Ethnic groups in Réunion Reunionnaise, Indo- Indian diaspora in Africa