MASYARAKAT INDIA DAN PERJUANGANNYA SELEPAS PENDUDUKAN JEPUN DI TANAH MELAYU, 1945-1950

Abstract

The Indian community in Malaya faced a range of serious problems immediately after the end of the Second World War. War did not immediately bring much relief to the Indians rather it compounded some of the existing problems. Many of their leaders who were involved in the Indian Independence League (IIL) and the Indian National Army (INA) were imprisoned. This article examines the developments of the immediate postwar period between 1945 and 1950 to consider in some depth the nature of the problems faced by the community, drawing on primary sources and some personal memoirs which provide a revealing insight into the problems. In particular, this article examines the leadership problem, the issue of repatriation of labourers who were jobless, the conflicts resulting from low wages in estates and the work of the Indian Relief Committee in Malaya which with the aid of the Indian government sought to assist the displaced Indians. The article reveals how as a result of these severe problems faced by the Indian community, a few leaders led by John Thivy, began to plan and organise support for the establishment of an Indian political organisation to address the problems faced by the Indians. As a result of their efforts, the Malayan Indian Congress was formed in August 1946 and soon emerged as the dominant political organisations for the Indians.