Different roots and religious beliefs are keeping apart Thais and ethnic Indians living here despite the enormous influence India has had on almost every aspect of Thai daily life.

From language to food, Thais are in contact constantly with Indian influences since they have been part of Thai life from before the Sukhothai empire.

Thais speak and write a language which derives from Pali and Sanskrit, their traditional clothing, or sarong, was introduced by Indians, and they deeply enjoy nam phrik, a dish adapted from an Indian recipe.

“Surely, we would not know how to eat nam phrik had we not befriended the Indians,” said the late venerable Buddhadasa Bhikku.

Indians mix onions and chili with vinegar in their dish, wrote the renowned monk in his book “India's Benevolence to Thailand”. Without contact with Indians, Thai cuisine would be totally different. The other major culinary influence, Chinese, does not use peppers and spices.

Indeed, the four basics in life - food, clothing, housing and medicine - all comprise Indian elements to varying degrees here in Thailand, and of course there are the rites and ceremonies rooted in Brahminism, he writes.

But the most important gift of all, the monk said, is Buddhism.

“Indian culture and its religions, Buddhism in particular, coalesced under the name of the Wheel of Law and were firmly established here, thus giving birth to the Thai Buddhist Realm.

“Had the Wheel of Law not been established here, we might have been followers of other religions, maybe Christianity or Islam.”

Buddhism is believed to have been introduced to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries more than 2,000 years ago when the land was ruled by the Khmers. The great Indian king, Ashok, is said to have dispatched two Indian monks, Sona and Uttara Bhikkus, to introduce Buddhism here.

Karuna Kusalasaya, a well-known writer who spent 13 years in India studying the Sanskrit and Hindi languages, confirms the influence of India on Thailand, saying religious and cultural links closely knitted the two countries.

But these bonds have not translated into close contacts between Thais and Indian immigrants, unlike with the Chinese, another major ethnic group, who have integrated smoothly with the local people.

Thais and Chinese mix easily due to their shared Mongol roots while Indians are Indo-Aryan, according Mr Karuna, who translated Buddhadasa Bhikku's book and other Indian literature.

Both the Indians and Chinese left their home countries to settle in Thailand to take advantage of the better economic opportunities here. But the Indians brought with them their religious beliefs and social barriers which make it difficult for them to integrate with non-Hindus because of religious factors, he said.

“The class system discourages Indians from marrying local people” and this has blocked their full integration.

“Blood is very important in binding different groups to each other so they sympathise with each other,” he said.

Worse, Indians have a negative image among many Thais typified by the old saying: “When confronted by an Indian and a snake, hit the Indian first.”

Mr Karuna said Indians still suffer from the impression created by the first immigrants, who lived rough while trying to build a new life similar. This is common to all such immigrants. “Even the Chinese were once looked down on by Thais.”

“We cannot use this image to generalise about all Indians,” he said, adding that things are changing as Indians become more involved in the country's development.

Mr Karuna called on Thailand to study India, which is seen as an impoverished nation characterised by selfishness despite the fact it is a land of freedom where many religions were given birth.

“The world is smaller in this age of globalisation so we should put more effort into understanding countries around us based on facts and information. We should no longer underestimate them.”

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Historical & Cultural Ties between India & Thailand by Mrs Wanna Sudjit, Cultural Attache to the Thai Consulate Mumbai - the article covers historic links, Indian influence on Thai dance, language and ceremonies.

http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_inside.asp?cat_name=history&sid=162&count1=0&cid=983. Excerpts from her article are -

1. The ceremonies of Coronation of Thai kings are practiced more or less in its original form even up to the present reign. The Thai idea that the king is a reincarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu was adopted from Indian tradition. Though this belief no longer exists today, the tradition to call each Thai king of the present Chakri dynasty Rama (Rama is a reincarnation of Vishnu) with an ordinal number, such as Rama I, Rama II etc. is still in practice.

2. Thai literature and drama draws great inspiration from Indian arts and legend. The Hindu epic of Ramayana is as popular in Thailand as it is in India. Thailand has adapted the Ramayana to suit the Thai lifestyle in the past and has come up with its own version of the Ramayana, namely, the Ramakien.

3. Thai language too bears close affinity with Indian An indication of the close linguistic affiliation between India and Thailand can be found in common Thai words like Ratha Mantri, Vidhya, Samuthra, Karuna, Prannee etc. which are almost identical to their Indian counterparts. Thai language basically consists of monosyllabic words that are individually complete in meaning. His Majesty King Ramkhamhaeng the Great created the Thai alphabet in 1283. He modeled it on the ancient Indian alphabets of Sanskrit and Pai through the medium it on the ancient Indian alphabets of Sanskrit and Pali through the medium of the old Khmer characters.

4.Loy Krathong ­ the Festival of Lights which is celebrated on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month, when the rainy season has ended and the rivers and streams are filled with water. The floating of lanterns, which began in the Sukhothai period, continued throughout the different stages of Thai history. Prior to setting their krathong afloat, people place in it a lighted candle, incense sticks, flowers, a coin and some food offerings. They make a silent prayer of thanks for the water received, a request for forgiveness for wrongs done, and a wish for the fulfillment of a secret dream. The present day understanding is that the festival is celebrated as an act of worship to Chao Mae Kangka-the Goddess of the Waters for providing the water much needed throughout the year, and as a way of asking forgiveness if they have polluted it or used it carelessly.

5.According to the Thai monk Venerable Buddhadsa Bhikkus writing, Indias Benevolence to Thailand, the Thais also obtained the methods of making herbal medicines from the Indians. Some plants like Sarabhi of Guttiferae family, Kanika or hursinghar, phikun or mimusops and bunnak or the rose chestnut etc. were brought from India. He pointed out that Thai food too was influenced by India. He claimed that Thai people learned how to use spices in their food in various ways from Indians.