The link between Chennai and the Far East | Madras Day 2025

There was a time when in the 1980s, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea were referred to as the ‘Asian Tigers’, whose growth was worthy of emulation, especially by India, which was likened to a slumbering elephant. Around this time, writer Manian returned from a tour of Thailand and wrote what can only be termed a rousing article on that country. Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and we have always had a relationship, one way or another. And now we have Vietnam — it is being spoken of as the new growth story — and earlier this month, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu inaugurated the electric vehicle facility of VinFast, a Vietnamese company, in Thoothukudi.

The Nagarathars had a presence in the Far East, going all the way up to Vietnam. And until the Great Depression struck, it was at a chattram in George Town that the interest rates for lending were decided every fortnight, and it held across all these nations.
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives

The interesting aspect is that we have had something to do with most of these nations since historical times. The Chola conquest of the Far East is well documented. Likewise, the Dutch, while trading in cloth here, were also dealing with many commodities from Indonesia and eventually migrated there. Our cotton cloth was exported to all the nations in the Far East as it was to the West Indies as well, where, as is well known, Madras became synonymous with checked designs. The Nagarathars had a presence in all these countries, going all the way up to Vietnam. And until the Great Depression struck, it was at a chattram in George Town that the interest rates for lending were decided every fortnight, and it held across all these nations.

The Singapore model

In recent times, Singapore has been held up as the gold standard to which Chennai needs to aspire. The Singara Chennai programme, whatever be its avatar, has always claimed that it will make Chennai a second Singapore. It is fabulous as a slogan, but there it rests. Singapore will always remain an ideal, though the craze for visiting Mustafa on Serangoon Road and returning laden with locks and Tiger Balm has faded somewhat. Of late, cultural exchanges between Singapore and Chennai have been on a high.

South Korea arrived with a bang in the post-liberalisation era. The setting up of the Hyundai plant in Irungattukottai did not just bring a car company to Chennai. An entire ecosystem sprang up around it, with multiple component manufacturers setting up shop here. The Samsung factory in Sriperumbudur is another significant presence.

The Samsung factory in Sriperumbudur is another significant marker of Korean presence. File
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu

Since then, we have learnt to watch Korean serials, rejoice at similarities in words with Tamil, and have also come to appreciate Korean cuisine. And Indian golfers know that Koreans love a good tee on the greens. The Korean spread has since included Andhra Pradesh, with a plant for Kia at the historical Penukonda, and those cars too have come to dominate Chennai roads.

The Pallavas and Siam

Thailand and the Tamil land seem to have had trade links for centuries, as did Cambodia. A Pallava prince is said to have sailed, married a princess, and settled somewhere in the Far East, and it is said his descendants were the ones who rekindled the Pallava dynasty when it was in danger of dying out. Likewise, during Yale’s time as Governor here in the 1680s, a delegation came from Siam (Thailand), and this was not considered unusual, thereby hinting at continuity of trade for a long while. Yale, it is said, cheated the delegation.

And so, it goes on.