The historiography of Malaya that deals with Indian diaspora rarely differentiates Indians on the basis of their ethnic3 origins and their relationships during the British era. The ethnic Indian populations during the British era comprised the majority Tamils, and the other groups such as the Telugus, Malayalees, Gujeratis, Chettiars, Sikhs and Indian Muslims. The ethnic groupings among those of Indian origin could be divided into three main economic classes: labour, business and civil service. This article focuses on the Chettiars as the group that comprised the business class and looks at their interactions with the other ethnic groups of Indian origin belonging to the labour class and civil service. This article demonstrates that although the Chettiar provided credit to other Indian ethnic groups, the moneylending system was one-sided, favouring only the Chettiar, who did not play a positive role in ensuring the overall socio-economic interests and welfare of working class Indians.
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