After Rajendra Chola I's attack on Srivijaya Empire in 1024–1025, there was a noticeable increase in Tamil economic activity in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.

One of direct consequence of Chola invasion was the emergence of Kota Cina, an ancient trading town currently located in northern Medan.

Their presence has been recorded in Lobu Tua Inscription dating from 1088 about Five Hundred Lords of Ayyanuruwar, a Tamil merchant guild in Barus, an ancient port town currently located in Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra.

Many of its sub-mergas, like Colia, Berahmana, Pandia, Meliala, Depari, Muham, Pelawi and Tekan, are clearly of South Indian origin.

[1] Agents visited villages in South India and tempted poor uneducated Tamils to come to "Tanah Deli" (Sumatra) and were promised easy work with good pay.

After World War II and the country's independence from the Dutch, many Tamils left the plantations and they often used cow carts as transport.

Tamil Indonesians always had a harmonious relationship with other ethnic groups in North Sumatra, as the cultural and economic background do not differ too much.