| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 5,500 (June 2021 est.) [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Ho Chi Minh City | |
| Languages | |
| Vietnamese • Tamil • Malayalam • Telugu • English • Languages of India | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism · Buddhism · Islam · Sikhism · Religions of India | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Overseas Indians, Khasi people, Munda people, Nicobarese |
Indians in Vietnam consist of migrants to Vietnam from India, both historical and recent. As of 2011 [update] , there were about 2,000 people of Indian origin settled in Vietnam, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City. [2] Prior to the Vietnam War, there was a vibrant Indian community consisting of primarily Tamils, and specifically the Chettiars.
The Cham people (remnants of the Champa Kingdom) of central Vietnam share a long history with India.
Today, the majority of Indians in Vietnam practice a religious syncretism of Hinduism with Mahayana Buddhism. Hindu temples serve both Hindus and Buddhists.
There are two main groups of Indians in Vietnam: The Pre-1975 Indian-Vietnamese, who have been living in Vietnam since the late 1800s; and the Post-1990s Indian expats who arrived after the Doi Moi economic reforms, as entrepreneurs, business people, professionals and foreign workers.
In contemporary history, Indians began migrating to Vietnam in the late 19th century, in search for better economic prospects, and/or for colonial civil service.
The Indian migrants came from different regions of India:
- From South India (Deccan)
- From North and West India
Per the 1937 census by the French Indochinese colonial regime, about 2000 Indians resided in Southern Vietnam (Cochinchina), and another 1000 in Northern Vietnam (Tonkin), Central Vietnam (Annam) and Laos. An estimated 3,000 - 4,000 Indians lived in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in the 1950s and 60s, very few to none in Communist North Vietnam after its independence in 1945. A Vietnamese source estimated that around 1000 Indians were in Saigon in the 1950s, of whom 400 were from the former French India, and the remainder were the Bombay Gujarati and Sindhi merchants. The Hindu, Muslim and Sikh faiths were represented. The majority were South Indian, and the North Indians were a visible minority. Many Indian-Vietnamese lived in Saigon, coupled with a much smaller presence in Đà Nẵng, Đà Lạt, Huế, and Nha Trang.
The Gujaratis and the Sindhis traded textile, clothing, jewelry and tailoring services; especially in Saigon, where they had many shops. The Chettiars engaged in banking, brokerage, and the rental of commercial buildings, vehicles, boats etc. The Chettiars began their return to India in 1963 due to the political instability after the 1963 coup d'état and assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem. Tamil Muslims built several mosques in Saigon in the 1930s, including the Central Mosque (vi: Thánh Đường Đông Du (Dong Du Mosque)) (ar: Jamia Al-Musulman), [3] [4] the Chợ Lớn Mosque (vi: Thánh Đường Chợ Lớn), [4] and the Jamiul Islamiyah Mosque. [4] Tamil Hindus constructed several prominent temples, notably the Sri Mariamman temple in Ho Chi Minh City, which is also a tourist attraction.; [5] and the Sikhs built a gurdwara, which now serves as a pharmaceuticals office. Some non-Muslim Indians as well as Muslim Indians, married Vietnamese women. Some Chettiars, had both, a Vietnamese spouse in Vietnam and a Chettiar wife in India.
After the Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon or Liberation of the South, the Communist regime confiscated and collectivized all private property in the South for little to no compensation, as it had done in the North since 1945. This included the confiscation of Indian-owned private properties such as homes, businesses and places of worship. The former South's free market economy was ended, as a result of the state-run economy. Foreigners were unwelcome and harassed. The Indian-Vietnamese fearing further persecution, exited Vietnam, depleting the pre-1975 Indian-Vietnamese presence. The pre-1975 Indian-Vietnamese are few in number today.
Transportation in Vietnam is improving rapidly in terms of both quantity and quality. Road traffic is growing rapidly but the major roads are dangerous and slow to travel on due to outdated design and an inappropriate traffic mix. In recent years, the construction of expressways has accelerated. Air travel is also important for long distance travel. Metro systems are under construction in the two metropolises of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is the most populous city in Vietnam, with a population of around 9.3 million in 2023. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, the largest of which is the eponymously-named Saigon River. As a municipality, Ho Chi Minh City consists of 16 urban districts, 6 rural districts, and 1 municipal city. As the largest financial centre in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City has the highest gross regional domestic product out of all Vietnam provinces and municipalities, contributing around a quarter of the country's total GDP. Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan is ASEAN 6th largest economy, also the biggest outside ASEAN country capital.
Chợ Lớn, usually anglicized as "Cholon" in English sources, is a quarter of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Chợ Lớn consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6 and District 11. The quarter has long been inhabited by Chinese people and is considered the largest Chinatown in the world by area.
Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport is the busiest international airport in Vietnam with 32.5 million passengers in 2016 and 38.5 million passengers in 2018. It serves Ho Chi Minh City as well as the rest of southeastern Vietnam. As of April 2023, it had a total capacity of only 28 million passengers, which has caused constant congestion and sparked debate for expanding or building a new airport. The airport's IATA code, SGN, is derived from the city's former name of Saigon. In 2022, It was the 34th busiest airport in the world, and the second busiest in Southeast Asia.
The Independence Palace, also publicly known as the Reunification Convention Hall, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam. It was the site of the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 that ended the Vietnam War, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.
The majority of Vietnamese do not follow any organized religion, instead participating in one or more practices of folk religions, such as venerating ancestors, or praying to deities, especially during Tết and other festivals. Folk religions were founded on endemic cultural beliefs that were historically affected by Confucianism and Taoism from ancient China, as well as by various strands of Buddhism. These three teachings or tam giáo were later joined by Christianity which has become a significant presence. Vietnam is also home of two indigenous religions: syncretic Caodaism and quasi-Buddhist Hoahaoism.
Thủ Dầu Một is the capital city of Bình Dương province, Vietnam, located at around 10°58′0″N106°39′0″E. The city has an area of 118.66 km², with a population of 417,000, and is located 20 km north of downtown Ho Chi Minh City, on the left bank of the Saigon River, upstream from the city.
Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, officially Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Established by French colonists who initially named it the Church of Saigon, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. The name Notre-Dame Cathedral has been used since 1959. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).
Voice of Ho Chi Minh City, more specifically the Voice of Ho Chi Minh City's People, is the official radio broadcasting station of Ho Chi Minh City. The station is located at 3 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Dakao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The Mariamman Temple in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Mariamman. It was built in the late 19th century by Palaniappa Thevar from Pattukkottai, Thanjavur District a trade community from Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is now under the management of the Vietnamese Indian Children brought up by Late priest Attangudi Lakshmanan Chettiar who previously used to be the priest who managed the Thenday Yutthapani Temple at 66, Ton That Thiep, Quan 1, HCMC.
There are an estimated 15,000 people of Indian origin in Panama. Many are employed in the shipping industry while others are mainly engaged in commerce. A majority are Hindu, with a substantial Muslim and Sikh minority, and they maintain Hindu temples, gurdwaras, and mosques in Panama City and Colón.
Châu Văn Tiếp, born Châu Doãn Ngạnh, was an 18th-century Vietnamese military commander, best known for his role as a general of Nguyễn Ánh.
Gia Định was a province of South Vietnam surrounding Saigon. It was one of the country's main industrial centers.
The city now known as Ho Chi Minh City has gone by several different names during its history, reflecting settlement by different ethnic, cultural and political groups. Originally known as Prey Nôkôr while a part of the Khmer Empire, it came to be dubbed Sài Gòn informally by Vietnamese settlers fleeing the Trịnh–Nguyễn War to the north. In time, control of the city and the area passed to the Vietnamese, who gave the city the name of Gia Định. This name remained until the time of French conquest in the 1860s, when the occupying force adopted the name Saïgon for the city, a westernized form of the traditional Vietnamese name. The current name was given after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, and honors Hồ Chí Minh, the first leader of North Vietnam. Even today, however, the informal name of Sài Gòn remains in daily speech both domestically and internationally, especially among the Vietnamese diaspora and local southern Vietnamese.
Vietnam Television, sometimes also unofficially known as the National Television, Saigon Television or Channel 9, was one of two national television broadcasters in the South Vietnam from February 7, 1966, until just before the Fall of Saigon on April 29, 1975. It was the first television broadcaster in Vietnam.
Phan Văn Hùm was a Vietnamese journalist, philosopher and revolutionary in French colonial Cochinchina who, from 1930, participated in the Trotskyist left opposition to the Communist Party of Nguyen Ai Quoc.
Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard is a boulevard in District 1, downtown Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Being one of Saigon's oldest thoroughfares, the boulevard had undergone several transformations; it is currently a famous pedestrian street in the city.
Hinduism in Vietnam is mainly observed by the Balamon Cham people in Vietnam. Balamon Cham are one of the two surviving non-Indic indigenous Hindu people. According to the 2022 US State Department Report, there are 70,000 Hindus living in Vietnam today.
Thủ Đức is a municipal city (sub-city) under the administration of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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| Austroasiatic (Vietic) | |
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| Austroasiatic (non-Vietic) | |
| Hmong–Dao | |
| Tai–Kadai | |
| Sino-Tibetan languages | |
| Malayo-Polynesian | |
| Expatriate | |
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