Culture, education and the Indian community in Malaysia

This article covers the educational, cultural and people-to-people links between India and Malaysia, including students and scholarships, cultural institutions, tourism, and the Indian diaspora in Malaysia. It relies on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026.

Education

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India and Malaysia signed an MoU in 2010 for bilateral cooperation in higher education. There are over 500 MoUs and agreements between Indian and Malaysian higher educational institutions.

There are approximately 10,000 Indian students in schools and higher education institutions in Malaysia. An estimated 2,000 Malaysian students are studying in India.

There are 3 CBSE schools in Malaysia:

Global Indian International School (until Class XII)
Vikas International School (until Class X)
Sprout Academy (until Class V)

Scholarships

The brief lists the following scholarship schemes:

AYUSH Scholarships: India offers 20 AYUSH Scholarships to Malaysian students for pursuing AYUSH courses in Indian institutions.
ICCR scholarships: the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) offers numerous scholarships to Malaysia every year. The brief does not give the number.
Thiruvalluvar Scholarships: in February 2026, India announced setting up Thiruvalluvar Scholarships for Malaysian nationals to pursue education in India.
Indian Scholarship and Trust Fund (ISTF): created in 1946, the ISTF today provides one-time financial assistance to Malaysian students of Indian origin pursuing Diploma or Bachelor courses in higher education institutions in Malaysia. Since 1996, scholarships worth over RM 3.5 million have been disbursed from the ISTF, benefiting more than 1150 Malaysian Indian students.

Cooperation in traditional medicine, including the academic chairs and degree programmes in Ayurveda and Homeopathy at Malaysian universities, is covered in this guide's development partnership article.

Cultural institutions

The Indian Cultural Centre under ICCR was established in Kuala Lumpur in February 2010. It offers classes in carnatic vocal, kathak dance, yoga and Hindi language by trained teachers from India and Malaysia. The centre was renamed the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Indian Cultural Center (NSCBICC) by PM Narendra Modi in November 2015.

The High Commission and NSCBICC organise events to promote Indian culture in Malaysia and India-Malaysia bilateral cultural cooperation.

ICCR and Universiti Malaya (UM) agreed in September 2024 to establish a Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian studies at UM. The Chair was operationalised in October 2025, with Prof. Chellaperumal joining UM as the inaugural Thiruvalluvar Chair. In February 2026, the Prime Minister of India announced that the Chair will be upgraded to a dedicated Thiruvalluvar Centre.

Tourism

In 2025, 1.56 million Indians visited Malaysia. Malaysia is the 6th largest source of foreign tourists to India, with over 330,000 Malaysians visiting India in 2025. The visa arrangements that the brief says facilitate these exchanges are covered in this guide's practical article.

The Indian diaspora

The brief gives separate estimates for the Indian diaspora as a whole, for Persons of Indian Origin and for Indian nationals. As of the brief, Malaysia is home to an estimated 2.9 million members of the Indian diaspora. The total number of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in Malaysia is estimated at 2.75 million, making it the second largest PIO community in the world.

Approximately 90 per cent of the PIOs can be classified as of South Indian origin, including about 2 million Tamil-speaking PIOs. The rest speak Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali and other languages.

The brief estimates that there are about 160,000 Indian nationals in Malaysia. This includes over 47000 professionals and their dependents, 100,000 workers and 10,000 students.

Community recognition and events

Seven Malaysian PIOs have been awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. Malaysian participation in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conventions has ranged from 50 delegates in 2003 to the largest delegation ever, of over 500 delegates, in 2019.

Malaysia is the second country, after Mauritius, to celebrate Aprawasi Diwas (PIO Day). It has done so annually since 2023, to mark the arrival of Indian migrants to the region.

Since the brief of June 2026

Later developments in India and Malaysia relations, from MEA publications, newest first. The article above reports the brief at its date.

Questions and answers

How many Indian students are there in Malaysia?

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, there are approximately 10,000 Indian students in schools and higher education institutions in Malaysia, and an estimated 2,000 Malaysian students are studying in India.

How large is the Indian community in Malaysia?

Malaysia is home to an estimated 2.9 million members of the Indian diaspora. The number of PIOs is estimated at 2.75 million, the second largest PIO community in the world, and there are about 160,000 Indian nationals.

What scholarships does India offer Malaysian students?

India offers 20 AYUSH Scholarships and numerous ICCR scholarships every year, and announced Thiruvalluvar Scholarships in February 2026. The Indian Scholarship and Trust Fund also helps Malaysian students of Indian origin studying in Malaysia.

Sources

This article reports what the sources state at their date and does not add facts from elsewhere. Figures, office holders and agreements may have changed since. Diplo is independent and not affiliated with any government. Suggest a correction.