On 25 November 2007, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), a group of Hindu NGOs led a demonstration of some 10,000 ethnic Indians in Malaysia demanding the same rights and opportunities as ethnic Malays. Ethnic Indians comprise 8 per cent of the total population of 26 million in the country numbering about 1.8 million. The native ethnic Malays constitute 54 per cent of the total population while ethnic Chinese form the second largest and most economically dominant community with 26 per cent of total population.

The difficulties and deprivation of ethnic Indians are rooted not only in the colonial past but the government's recent discriminatory policies as well. During the colonial period, Indians were moved to Malaysia as indentured labor for the rubber plantation industry. However, with time, the changed economics of the plantation industry forced many of them to move to the big cities. Due to their unprivileged position they were not able to benefit from the changed economic scenario in the country and were left with no option other than living the life of slum dwellers.

Ethnic Malays are the beneficiaries of the government's affirmative action policy under the Bumiputra ("sons of the soil") system but the government has been most reluctant in working towards the well-being of ethnic Indians. Moreover, the demolition of Hindu temples in the name of development intensified the grievances of ethnic Indians who are generally Tamil Hindus.

On looking at the immediate consequences of the HINDRAF's move, it appears that it has been successful in highlighting the grievances of ethnic Indian's in Malaysia and generated a worldwide awareness in this regard. HINDRAF put forward a non-Malay perspective demanding the revamping of the present political system which favour the Malays.

However, due to its Tamil-Hindu orientation, the HINDRAF unfortunately also delivered a negative message to Malaysian society and politics, which could be detrimental to their interests in the country in the long run. In order to garner the support of ethnic Tamils and Hindus, P Waythamoorthy, a leader of HINDRAF fled to India and met with Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and with the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main national opposition party which is considered to be a strong advocate of Hindu nationalism.

HINDRAF's strategy provided room to the government to crush the movement which accused its activists of having links with the LTTE. The Malaysian government responded severely and rejected the allegations made by HINDRAF as a "blatant lie," arresting a number of its activists and charging 31 of them with sedition.

HINDRAF's agitation was also condemned by the president of Malaya Indian Congress (MIC) and Work Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. The MIC is a member of the ruling Barison National Alliance represents Indians in the Malaysian government.

In order to exert pressure on the government, Waythamoorthy stated that Malaysia could become the next Sri Lanka. Both HINDRAF and the Malaysian government should learn from the situation in Sri Lanka and accept that a positive outcome cannot be achieved by the politics of exclusion. A sustainable and constructive solution can be achieved only through tolerance and integration among the various components of Malay society. Unfortunately, however, ethnicity is a core element of the political culture of Malaysia and as a result, the political process in Malaysia is dominated by an ethnically structured political system which is too rigid to respond to the legitimate demands of deprived minorities.

The state of affairs in Malaysia does not appear entirely depressing because the ruling government, despite the domination of Malays, has a more liberal agenda in comparison to the main opposition party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) which wants to establish a theocratic state in the country . Also, HINDRAF's argument that there is a situation of ethnic cleansing in Malaysia is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the marginalization of Indians cannot be completely ignored. The increasing Arabization of the moderate Islamic culture of Malaysia could provide a fertile ground for a clash of civilizations in the future. Therefore, the situation needs to be addressed sincerely and through meaningful ways. Anti-government demonstrations in the time to come may be transformed into violent riots as happened in France where the Arab Muslim minority expressed their frustration through violence.

In a multicultural society such as Malaysia, threats to social harmony occur when the majority places its values, culture and interests in a superior position as compared to other groups. As a result, minority groups feel excluded and marginalized. This politics of exclusion makes the process of national integration difficult. This is evident in the case of Malaysia, which after 50 years of its independence is still facing problems in the process of nation-building. Indians in Malaysia do not have any separatist ambitions and they have identified themselves as Malaysians but because of their underprivileged conditions they want their genuine rights recognized so that they too can be integrated with the mainstream. Thus, their demand is for the politics of recognition.