Indians in Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Türkiye'deki Hintliler (Turkish) | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 1,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Istanbul | |
| Languages | |
| English • Malayalam • Telugu • Tamil • Turkish • Hindi • Gujarati • Indian Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism |
Indians in Turkey are a small community numbering around 1,000, comprising students, professionals and families.[1] Most of them work as doctors and computer engineers or employees in multinational corporations.[2] India also has a small business presence in Turkey through representative offices of Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, and Indorama.[2]
Most Indians are Hindu and the community forms the bulk of Hindus in Turkey. In recent times, there have been efforts to promote tourism and culture from India as a means of developing the community and establishing better relations with Turkish society.[2] There are also Hyderabadi Muslim students in Turkey[3] and Sikhs in Turkey.[4]
Ancient era
Indians were employed in the Achaemenid army of Xerxes in the Second Persian invasion of Greece (480-479 BCE). All troops were stationed in Sardis, Lydia, during the winter of 481-480 BCE to prepare for the invasion.[5][6] In the spring of 480 BCE "Indian troops marched with Xerxes's army across the Hellespont".[7][8]
