Indian Singaporeans: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 170: Line 170:
With the influx of highly qualified Indian Permanent Residents to Singapore, the overall socio-economic indicators of the Indian community have improved, arguably masking the under-achievement of Indian Singaporeans. In 2005, both the average and median monthly income for Indian Residents overtook those for all Singapore Residents, possibly for the first time. Similarly, in the same year, 25% of the Resident Indian non-Student population aged 15 years and above had a university degree as their highest qualification attained. In contrast the national average was only 17%. <ref>http://www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/annual/ghs/r2/indicators.pdf</ref>
With the influx of highly qualified Indian Permanent Residents to Singapore, the overall socio-economic indicators of the Indian community have improved, arguably masking the under-achievement of Indian Singaporeans. In 2005, both the average and median monthly income for Indian Residents overtook those for all Singapore Residents, possibly for the first time. Similarly, in the same year, 25% of the Resident Indian non-Student population aged 15 years and above had a university degree as their highest qualification attained. In contrast the national average was only 17%. <ref>http://www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/annual/ghs/r2/indicators.pdf</ref>


Educations statistics for the Indian community, however, are less positive. In 2004, only 73% of Indians among the Primary One cohort were admitted to post-secondary institution, the lowest of the three main ethnic groups (the figures was 86% for the Chinese, and 75% for the Malays).<ref>http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2035%20(2005).pdf</ref> In the same year, 73.5% of Indian students received 5 or more passes in the [[Singaporean GCE 'O' Level]] examinations, compared to 86.5% of Chinese students, and a national average of 82.7%. <ref>http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2033%20(2005).pdf</ref> Given their performance in the 'O' level examinations, it would appear Indians would have been under represented among students who sat for the 'A' level examination. However, those Indians who did for this exam did marginally outperform the national average. 93% of Indians received 2 'A' and 2 'AO' level passes, compared with 92.6% among Chinese students, and 92.3% nationally.<ref>http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2034%20(2005).pdf</ref>
Educations statistics for the Indian community, however, are less positive. In 2004, only 73% of Indians among the Primary One cohort were admitted to post-secondary institution, the lowest of the three main ethnic groups (the figures was 86% for the Chinese, and 75% for the Malays).<ref>http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2035%20(2005).pdf</ref> In the same year, 73.5% of Indian students received 5 or more passes in the [[Singaporean GCE 'O' Level]] examinations, compared to 86.5% of Chinese students, and a national average of 82.7%. <ref>http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2033%20(2005).pdf</ref> Given their performance in the 'O' level examinations, it would appear Indians would have been under represented among students who sat for the [[Education in Singapore#Singapore-Cambridge GCE "Advanced" Level Curriculum & Examinations|'A' level examination]]. However, those Indians who did for this exam did marginally outperform the national average. 93% of Indians received 2 'A' and 2 'AO' level passes, compared with 92.6% among Chinese students, and 92.3% nationally.<ref>http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2034%20(2005).pdf</ref>


The socio-economic problems, and especially educational underperformance, facing Singapore Indians is addressed by the community and the government through [[Singapore Indian Development Association]] (SINDA), the national ethnic-based 'self-help' group for the Indian community.
The socio-economic problems, and especially educational underperformance, facing Singapore Indians is addressed by the community and the government through [[Singapore Indian Development Association]] (SINDA), the national ethnic-based 'self-help' group for the Indian community.

Revision as of 15:12, 1 April 2007

Indians in Singapore are defined as Singapore residents who trace their ancestry to South Asia. They are the smallest of the city-state's three major 'races', forming about 9% of the population. Among cities, Singapore has the world's second largest overseas Indian population, after London. Singapore’s Indian population is linguistically and religiously diverse, as well as socio-economically stratified, with sizeable elite and working class segments. Due to a recent influx of professionals from India, Indian 'Residents' (defined as Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents now have a higher monthly income and are more likely to possess a university degree than the national average. However, Indian students also perform below the national average in several key examinations, especially in mathematics and science. Indian settlement on the island dates to the establishment of modern Singapore in 1819, and the Indian element is evident in broader Singapore culture. Likewise, Singapore Indian culture has evolved over time, making it distinct from the culture of India. Individual Indians have also made significant contributions to national life in a number of fields, especially in Singapore politics, education, diplomacy and the law.

Definitions

Indian as a ‘race’

In Singapore, the term ‘Indian’ refers broadly to ethnic South Asians, or people who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. The Singapore Department of Statistics defines ‘Indians’ as a ’race’, comprising “persons of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan origin, such as Tamils, Malayalis, Punjabis, Bengalis, Singhalese, etc.” [1] While the department reveals the size of Indian ethnic groups (e.g. Sikhs or Tamils), data like income, education or residence type is given in terms of ‘race’ rather than language or religion.

Faced with this approach to racial classification, some Indian migrants argue that they see race in other terms, preferring such terms as ‘Caucasoid’, or even ‘Aryan’ or ‘Dravidian’ (although the latter two are actually linguistic categories). Others feel ‘race’ is too scientifically discredited and politically problematic to be an appropriate statistical category. Nonetheless, the Singaporean conception of ‘race’ endures, and with it the idea of an ‘Indian race’.

Evolution of Indian identity

While most 19th century South Asian migrants were from an area collectively called ‘British India’, they saw themselves primarily in narrower ethnic terms, such as Tamil or Sikh, rather than as ‘Indians’. However, in the early 20th century, Indian nationalism and the Indian independence movement influenced Indians in Singapore to prioritise an ‘Indian’ identity over their traditional religious or linguistic identities.

The partition of India and rise of newly independent nation-states in South Asia did not significantly weaken or split ‘Indian’ identity in Singapore. The (mainly Hindu and Sikh) Sindhi and Punjabi Singaporeans, for instance, accepted the ‘Indian’ identity, as they did not identity with Muslim Pakistan, where all or part of their ancestral homelands were now located. The small but prominent Sri Lankan Tamil community were initially hesitant to abandon their longer standing identity as ‘Ceylonese’, but most eventually did - although a few have resisted racial classification as ‘Indian’, opting instead to be ‘Others’ (the miscellaneous and catch-all fourth ‘racial’ category in Singapore). Similarly, the smaller Singhalese community was also largely subsumed as ‘Indians’.

Nationality and residency

Another aspect of the definition of ‘Indians’ in Singapore relates to nationality and residency status. Most Indians are locally-born Singapore citizens, known as ‘Indian Singaporeans’, or simply ‘local Indians’. These are second, third, fourth and fifth generation descendants of immigrant forefathers from the subcontinent.

Many ethnic Indians with foreign nationality also live in Singapore. While most are citizens of South Asian countries, some are members of the Indian diaspora from countries, like Malaysia or Fiji, and they carry the passports of those countries. Foreign Indians in Singapore include professionals and their families who are Singapore Permanent Residents, who are known as ‘Indian PRs’. Some of them take up Singapore citizenship, and so become ‘Indian Singaporeans’.

Another important group are Indians on short-term work, study or dependants passes. Such persons are often referred to by their nationality, e.g. ‘Bangladeshis’ or ‘Sri Lankans’. Citizens of the Republic of India are called ‘Indian nationals’, or ‘India Indians’, to avoid confusion with Indian Singaporeans.

Ancient cultural influences

Ancient India exerted a profound influence over Southeast Asia through trade, religious missions, wars and other forms of contact. Pre-colonial Singapore was territorially part of 'Indianized Kingdoms' like Srivijaya and the Majapahit, which formed part of a cultural region sometimes called Greater India or the Indosphere. [2]

Prior to the spread of Islam in the region, Singapore society and culture, like the rest of the Malay World, was Hindu-Buddhist. Indian influnces in traditional Malay culture can be seen in the retelling of the Hindu Ramayana epic through Wayang Kulit (shadow puppetry), or in the format of the Malay wedding ceremony. Perhaps, the most extensive and enduring ancient Indian influence in contemporary Malay culture is the vast number of Indian loan words in the Malay language.

Indian influence can also be seen in the mythologys surrounding ancient Singapore. The Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals, describe the Malay prince who founded Singapore - Sang Nila Utama - as descended from Alexander the Great and an Indian Princess.[3] Meanwhile, Singapore's name is derived from a Sanskrit term meaning 'Lion City'.

More tangibly, archaeological evidence points to Hindu or Buddhist cultural artefacts in pre-colonial Singapore. In 1822, John Crawfurd noted what appeared to be the ruins of a Hindu or Buddhist temple on Fort Canning Hill.[4] Indeed, the royal and sacred associations of Fort Canning Hill are related to the Hindu Mount Meru concept.[5] Also found on the hill and in the adjacent Singapore River were a number of artefacts which point to a Hindu-Buddhist cultural context. These include the splendid gold ornaments, including earings and armlet bearing the motif of a Javanese Hindu 'kala' head. [6]

Migration and settlement under British rule

Communities and occupations

Indian contact was rekindled from the late 18th century to World War II, when both India and Malaya (including Singapore) were under British colonial rule. Unlike earlier forms of contact, this led to the migration and settlement of a large and distinct Indian population in Singapore.

Sri Mariamman Temple, founded in 1827, is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore.

The earliest Indians to arrive in Singapore were 120 sepoys in the Bengal Native Infantry - and their 'bazaar contingent' of washermen, milkmen and servants - who accompanied Stamford Raffles on his first trip to Singapore.

Another major group of Indians in early Singapore were convicts, as British colonial administrators sought to reduce overcrowding in Indian jails. Convicts in Singapore were used as labour for public works, and many important early public buildings and roads in Singapore were built using convict labour. Convicts sometimes chose to live on in Singapore after serving their sentences.

A large number of migrants from India were unskilled transient workers, who were often employed as port and dock coolies. Many of these were lower caste South Indian Hindus, especially Tamils, but also Telugus. They came to form a substantial number of the Singapore Indian community in colonial times.

Skilled workers and craftsmen performed a range of ‘traditional’ occupations, from goldsmiths to priests to sculptors. Some tended to cattle, and late went on to establish Singapore’s dairy farms. Again, South Indian Hindus, this time of various middle and upper castes, tended to perform these jobs.

English educated Sri Lankan Tamils and Malayalees, both Hindu and Christian, often came to work as civil servants, clerks, teachers, journalists and even as professionals like doctors and lawyers. They went on to form the core of the educated middle and upper classes of the Indian community.

Another important group were mercantile communities, like Hindu and Muslim Sindhis and Gujeratis, as well as Tamil Muslims, who were traders, dealing in a variety of products. They tended to run family businesses, some of which grew to become large and successful firms in the modern Singapore economy.

Sikh men found their niche working in the army, police force or as private security guards. Their appearance – being bigger built than most other Asians in Singapore, as well as having impressive turbans and beards – made them especially valued in this respect. In the colonial period, Chinese businessmen often decorated their buildings and even graves with sculptures of Sikh guards at the entrance, alongside more traditional lions and dragons.

Finally, the Indian Tamil Chettiar Hindu caste made their mark, and fortune, as moneylenders and currency traders.

Given the diversity of migrants, their experiences were very different. Many were transient unskilled workers, who laboured in Singapore for years before returning to their homes and families in India, hopefully with some saved money. Consequently, while Indians have lived and worked in Singapore from the 1820s, most of those migrant workers returned to their homelands, to be replaced by later migrant. As such, most Indians in Singapore trace their migrant forefathers to the late 19th century and early 20th century.

The Indian community was socially divided along lines of language, religion, caste, etc. However, as India went through a process of internal social reform and political awakening in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Indian communities in Singapore were likewise affected, which helped to consolidated their shared identity as ‘Indians’.

Historical personalities

The most prominent early Indian settler was one Narayana Pillay, a clerk in the colonial treasury from Penang. He arrived with Raffles on his seodn visit to Singapore in May 1819. Pillay went into business and set up the first brick kiln in Singapore, and made his money from that as well as from building construction and selling textiles. He was appointed a leader of the Indian community, and he founded Singapore oldest Hindu temple, the Sri Mariamman Temple in 1827.

Another prominent Indian was P Govindasamy Pillay, who established a large and successful retail shop serving the Indian community in Little India, Singapore. He was seen as a leader of the Indian community in Singapore in the middle of the 20th century, and was an early Member of Parliament of the Peoples Action Party.

Historical demographics

The long term proportion of Indians in the Singapore population has generally hovered between 6% and 10%, consolidating Indians as an enduring Singaporean community, and the second largest minority group after the Malays. Notwithstanding these long term trends, Indians have experienced the greatest fluctuation in their numbers, as compared to the Chinese and Malay communities. A study of the annual rates of population growth for Singapore's three main 'races' from 1824 to 1978 shows that Indians had both the greatest increase (rising by 16.7% from 1824 to 1830) and decrease (being the only group to shrink - by 1.5% from 1860 to 1871).[7]

As early as Singapore's first census in 1824, Indians formed roughly 7% of the population, or 756 out of nearly 11,000 residents.[8] In 1845 they constituted under 10% of the population. By 1860, they had grown to around 16%. During this time, Indians briefly ovetook the indigenous Malays, for the first and only time, to become Singapore's second largest communtiy.[9] This significant rise in the relative size of the Indian cummunity was matched only by its fall. In absolute terms, their numbers shrank from 13,000 in 1860 to slightly more than 12,000 twenty years later.[10] Based on Singapore's population of 137,722 in 1881, this meant Indians formed about 9% of the total population.[11]

In 20th century Singapore, the size of the Indian community ranged from 9.4% in 1931 to 7.7% in 1947. Following independence, the Indian population reached a low of 6.2% in the 1980 census, but then proceeded to grow steadily from that point, especially in the 1990s, with a new influx of workers from the Indian subcontinent.

Recent migration trends

Following Singapore independence in 1965, migration from India and other countries dwindled, and the Singapore population gradually acquired a more settled character. However, in the 1980s, a significant number of Indian Singaporeans began to migrate to Australia and other English-speaking developed countries. This was part of a a minor brain drain from Singapore. Most emigrating families were middle class but culturally marginalised English-speaking minorities like the Peranakans, Eurasians, and gays.

The loss of more successful Indian families in the 1980s has been somewhat balanced by the arrival of highly qualified professionals from India since the 1990s. From the 1990s, Singapore's policy has been actively to attract highly skilled migrants from around the world and this has produced a fairly large expatriate Indian community of well-educated and wealthy professional and business people. It remains to be seen how permanent this migration is. Most have retained their Indian citizenship, although some have been granted Permanent Residence status. Interaction between the local and expatriate Indian community remains ambivalent rather than easy and natural.

Transient foreign workers who come to work in Singapore on short-stay work permits (two years validity, renewable) as unskilled or semi-skilled workers working in the as domestic workers and construction workers form a third Indian community. There is little interaction between this group and either the expatiate or local Indian communities.

Contemporary population size

According to official figures, there were 319,100 ethnic Indian Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents (collectively termed 'Residents'), out of 3,608,500 Singapore Residents in June 2006.[12] This works out to 8.8%. However, this figure does not take into account the 875,400 foreign citizens on short-term passes in Singapore, who formed about 18% of Singapore's total population of 4.48 million in 2006.[13] [14] Scholars have noted that "(o)fficial figures for workers on temporary contracts are difficult to obtain because the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore considers the information sensitive."[15]

Dr Rajesh Rai from the National University of Singapore writes that "(I)ndependent surveys approximate the number of South Asians on work permits to be between 30-35 per cent of the total 'Indian' population in Singapore, or approximately 90,000-100,000."[16] However, this number excludes students, professionals and dependants on different passes. [17] The number of South Asians in Singapore on other passes would likely run into the thousands, if not tens of thousands. The estimated 90,000 to 100,000 South Asians on work permits was for 2004/2005. In 2004, Singapore had a total population of 4,238,300, a Resident population of 3,484,900 (including 293,100 Indians) and a non-Resident population of 753,400. Taking the most conservative figures, non-Resident South Asians would have formed more than 12% of the non-Resident population. Adding Resident and non-Resident South Asian populations together, there would have easily been more than 400,000 ethnic Indians living in Singapore in 2004, or at least 9.4% of the country’s 4.24 million population that year. Based on this, Singapore ranks second to London in having the world's largest overseas urban Indian community outside South Asia.

Language communities

A group of Tamil girls.

The 2000 census categorised the Resident Indian population of 257,791 into a number of so-called 'dialect' groups. This term may be more appropriate for describing the linguistic makeup of the Chinese, rather than the Indians, whose main languages are quite distinct, each with its own literature, grammar and script. More significantly, the statistical categories include some that are religious, rather than strictly linguistic. For example, virtually all Sikhs are Punjabis, yet these are presented separately. Likewise, the members of the 'Hindustani', 'Hindi' and 'Urdu' communities share a mutually intelligible language. Given their relatively small absolute and relative numbers, the following table adapts the census data by combining the 'Sikh' (13,188) and 'Punjabi' (4,711) category under 'Punjabi', while 'Hinustani' (5,064), 'Hindi' (3,971) and 'Urdu' (2,989) are combined as 'Hindi' (figures in brackets refer to the size of these groups according to the census). The percentages in the table refer to the proportion of each language group within the larger Resident Indian community in Singapore.

Language Number Percentage
Tamil 150,184 58.25%
Malayalam 21,736 8.43%
Punjabi 17,899 6.9%
Hindi 12,024 4.7%
Sindhi 4,071 1.58%
Gujerati 3,260 1.26%
Sinhalese 2,427 0.94%
Other Indians 46,244 17.94%

The sizeable Tamil community includes both Sri Lankan Tamils (locally referred to as 'Ceylonese') and Tamils from India. Tamil and Malayalam, the two main South Indian Dravidian language communities in Singapore, formed two-thirds, or 66.7% of the Resident Indian community. The four main North Indian Indo-European languages in Singapore - Punjabi, Hindi, Sindhi and Gujerati - constituted 14.5% of all Resident Indians. The remaining 19% comprised smaller language groups from both South India (e.g. Telugu and Kannada) and North India (e.g. Bengali and Kashmiri).

Language use

While the information above captures information about the ancestral languages of Residents, it does not necessarily reflect the actual use of these languages in the community. According to the 2000 census, Tamil was the language most spoken at home for 42.9% of Indian Residents, in contrast to the 58.3% of Indians who are deemed to be ethnic Tamils. The disparity was greater for other Indian languages. Only 9.3% of Indian Residents mostly spoke a non-Tamil Indian language at home, in contrast to the 41.7% who are deemed to be non-Tamil ethnic Indians. On the national scale, 3.2% of all Singapore Residents used mainly Tamil at home, which is an increase from 2.9% in 1990. Meanwhile, 35.6% of Indians spoke mainly English at home, in contrast to 23% nationally.

Tamil language in Singapore

Tamil is the only Indian language afforded official status in Singapore. It is also by far the largest language community amongst Indians. Tamil is taught in almost all schools in Singapore, and enjoys its own daily national newspaper (Tamil Murasu), national free-to-air public television channel (Vasantham Central), cable television channel (Sun TV) and radio stations (Oli 96.8FM), as well as dedicated cinemas (Yishun 10) and sections in public libraries. Tamil is also used widely in Tamil Hindu temples, mosques and churches in Singapore as well as among the shops, restaurants and other businesses in Little India, Singapore. Singapore also has a Tamil theatre scene, in the form of groups like Agni Koothu and the Ravindran Drama Group. Apart from these public policies and facilities as well as commercial services, there are a large number of Tamil community, business, religious, education, arts and culture non-government organisations in Singapore.

Non-Tamil Indian languages

The use and prominence of the other Indian languages depends on the size of the community using them, and the corresponding practical and commercial viability of offering media and other services in these languages. With the economic resurgence of India and the influx of Indian professionals into Singapore, as well as the growing popularity of Bollywood, Hindi and, to some extent, other Indian languages are growing in popularity among both Indians and even some non-Indians in Singapore. Non-Tamil Indian students, for example, are now able to offer some of their native languages as a second language or 'mother tongue' in the Singapore education system. As with the Tamil community, the other Indian communities also support a number of community groups for the promotion of social and cultural activities catering to each community.

Religious communities

The beginning of the Book of Genesis in a bible from 1723 published in Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu. The translation is believed to have been commissioned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark.

Indian Singaporeans are a religiously heterogeneous group. According to the 2000 census, 179,187 Indian Residents aged 15 years and above belonged to the following religious groups:

Religion Number Percentage
Hinduism 99,328 55.4%
Islam 45,927 25.6%
Christianity 21,702 12.1%
Sikhism 9,626 5.4%
Buddhism 1,166 0.7%
No religion 987 0.6%
Other religions 453 0.3%


Hinduism in Singapore

Main article: Hinduism in Singapore

In the year 2000, 99,904 people, or 4% of the Singapore Resident population aged above 15 years, were Hindu. Almost all Hindus in Singapore were ethnic Indians. The small numbers of non-Indian Hindus refer to mainly Chinese women who were adopted by or married into Hindu families.

As part of its promotion of a multi-cultural society, the secular Singapore State recognises the Hindu festival of Deepavali as a national public holiday, alongside the religious holidays of other communities. Another form of ‘official’ recognition or acknowledgement of the Hindu community in Singapore is the fact that two Hindu temples have been gazetted as National Monuments of Singapore. These are the Sri Mariamman Temple and the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple. Like many Hindu temples in Singapore, these were built in the South Indian Dravidian style and serve a broad South Indian Tamil community.

Other Hindu communities have also established their own temples. For instance, the Sri Lankan Tamil community established the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple at Ceylon Road and the Chettiar community set up the Sri Thandayuthapani Temple at Tank Road. The North Indian community also established the Sri Lakshminarayan Temple, built in the North Indian style.

A unique feature of Hinduism in Singapore is the fact that a noticeable number of non-Indians, usually Buddhist Chinese, do participate in a variety of Hindu activities, including praying to Hindu deities, donating money to the temple funds and participating in Hindu festivals like the fire-walking ceremony, and Thaipusam. Certain temples, such as the Sri Krishnan Temple in Waterloo Street, or some Hindu temples in Yishun have also built up substantial followers among the Chinese community, who often visit these temples on their way to or from visiting nearby Chinese temples.

Other religions communities

Established in 1912, the Central Sikh Temple was the first gurdwara in Singapore.

Singapore’s 9,733 Sikhs formed 0.4% of the Resident population aged above 15 years. As a long-established community in Singapore, Sikhs have also been given special space by the state, in the form of special exemptions from having to wear motorcycle helmets or standard military headgear (including caps, berets and helmets), due to their religious requirement to wear turbans. Likewise, Sikh schoolboys are allowed to wear turbans in national public schools, which otherwise maintain a strict policy of standardised uniforms. Like other religions communities, Sikhs have built several places of worship in Singapore, the oldest of which is the Central Sikh Temple, founded in 1912.

Among Muslims Singapore Residents, 12.4% were Indian, with most of the remainder being Malay. Among Christian Singapore Residents, 6.0% were Indian, with most of the remainder being Chinese. Within the Christian community, Indians formed 10.3% of Roman Catholics, and 3.9% of Non-Catholic Christians (mainly Protestants).

Within the wider Muslim and Christian communities, Indians have established their own places of worship, where sermons, services and prayers are conducted in Indian languages. Consequently, there are a substantial number of 'Indian' churches, mosques and Buddhist temples in Singapore. For example, the Masjid Jamae, built in 1826, is the oldest Tamil mosque in Singapore, and a National Monument. In 1888, the Tamil Catholic community set up the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Singapore's oldest Tamil Catholic Church, as well as a National Monument. The Sakyamuni Buddha Gaya Temple is a Theravada temple, built in a mix of Chinese, Indian and Thai styles, and is quite differeent from most Chinese Buddhist Mahayana temples in Singapore. The small Indian Buddhist community in Singapore often frequents this temple, which is located in Litte India.

Socio-economic profile

More than other ethnic groups, Indians are highly stratified in terms of class with little upward mobility. Although a fairly large group occupies the middle and higher sectors of Singaporean society, the community is disproportionately represented at the bottom of the social ladder. This imbalance has been accentuated by the emigration of a number of middle class Indian Singaporeans in the 1980s. This loss has been somewhat balanced by the arrival of highly qualified professionals from India since the 1990s. However, they tend to become Permanent Residents rather than Singapore Citizens, and their long term settlement in Singapore remains to be seen.

With the influx of highly qualified Indian Permanent Residents to Singapore, the overall socio-economic indicators of the Indian community have improved, arguably masking the under-achievement of Indian Singaporeans. In 2005, both the average and median monthly income for Indian Residents overtook those for all Singapore Residents, possibly for the first time. Similarly, in the same year, 25% of the Resident Indian non-Student population aged 15 years and above had a university degree as their highest qualification attained. In contrast the national average was only 17%. [18]

Educations statistics for the Indian community, however, are less positive. In 2004, only 73% of Indians among the Primary One cohort were admitted to post-secondary institution, the lowest of the three main ethnic groups (the figures was 86% for the Chinese, and 75% for the Malays).[19] In the same year, 73.5% of Indian students received 5 or more passes in the Singaporean GCE 'O' Level examinations, compared to 86.5% of Chinese students, and a national average of 82.7%. [20] Given their performance in the 'O' level examinations, it would appear Indians would have been under represented among students who sat for the 'A' level examination. However, those Indians who did for this exam did marginally outperform the national average. 93% of Indians received 2 'A' and 2 'AO' level passes, compared with 92.6% among Chinese students, and 92.3% nationally.[21]

The socio-economic problems, and especially educational underperformance, facing Singapore Indians is addressed by the community and the government through Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA), the national ethnic-based 'self-help' group for the Indian community.

Indian culture in Singapore

Indians are a long-settled and distinct minority community in Singapore. As such, they have played a part in helping to shape several aspects of the nation's social and cultural landscape. Also, the history, culture and traditions of the Indian community in Singapore are recognised as an important part of Singapore's national heritage, alongside those of the Chinese, Malay and European/Eurasian communities. Just as importantly, Singapore and its other communities have also shaped the life of the Indian community, whose own culture is fairly distinct from that practiced in India, or by members of the diaspora in other parts of the world.

Food

Singaporeans take great pride in their national cuisine, which is found in the ubiquitous hawker centre, kopi tiam (a local coffeeshop) and food court. The great variety of Singapore food includes Indian food, which tends to be Tamil cuisine and especially local Tamil Muslim cuisine, although North Indian food has become more visible recently. Indian dishes have become modified to different degrees, after years of contact with other Singapore cultures, and in response to locally available ingredients as well as changing local tastes. The local forms of Indian food may be seen as localised or even regional variations of Indian food, or in some cases, a form of hybrid Indian-Singaporean cuisine. Popular 'Indian' dishes and elements of Indian cuisine (although sometimes prepared and sold by non-Indians) includes:

  • Achar - Indian pickle of mixed vegetables. Now also served by Chinese and Malays with their traditional food.
  • Biryani - Popular dish of saffron rice and meat. It is sold by both Indians and Malays, and is essential at Malay weddings.
  • Curry - This basic Indian vegetable or meat gravy is now ubiquitous in local Chinese and Malay 'traditional' cuisine.
  • Fish head curry - Iconic Singapore dish, very popular with the Chinese, and not found in India.
  • Indian Rojak - Salad of dough fritters, potatoes, eggs, seafood, tofu and other items. Served with a hot and sweet chilli sauce.
  • Indian Mee goreng - Chinese yellow noodles, prepared 'Indian style' and fried with minced mutton, green peas and potatos.
  • Murtabak - A hearty pan-fried pastry stuffed chicken, mutton and sardines.
  • Roti john - A split, panfried baguette topped with egg, minced mutton and onions, and served with ketchup.
  • Roti Prata - 'Singapore's answer to the croissant'. A popular supper after leaving nightclubs. Variations include durian and cheese prata.
  • Teh tarik - Literally 'pulled tea', named after its preparation technique. Compared to the cappuccino because of its frothy top.

Less widely available foods, which can still be found in several areas serving a more specifically Indian clientel, especially in and around Little India, Singapore:

  • Appam - Sri Lankan milk hoppers, where a spoonful of thick coconut milk/coconut cream is added to the doughy centre.
  • Bhatura - North Indian soft and fluffy Indian fried bread, often eaten with a chickpea curry.
  • Chutney - Condiment or side dish. Popular versions include coconut, mint and mango chutneys.
  • Dal or Sambar - Lentil curry, served with rice, roti prata or thosai.
  • Idli - South Indian rice cakes, served with sambar.
  • Muruku - Savory snack mix, historically sold at some Singapore bars and most cinemas, in lieu of beer nuts or popcorn
  • Putu mayam - Also knowns as Idiyappam. Steamed rice vermicelli noodles served with orange sugar, and sometimes curry.
  • Samosa - Fried triangular pastry with a savory potato, onion and pea stuffing
  • Tandoori - Originally sold mainly in restaurants but increasingly available in food courts
  • Thosai - Savoury South Indian crêpe, usually eaten with butter, sugar, dahl or a fish or meat curry. Has many variations.
  • Upma - A dish made of semolina, similar to cous cous
  • Various sweets - a variety are locally available, including jalebi, halva, laddu, paayasam and gulab jamun.

Heritage sites

Main article: Little India, Singapore

The Indian imprint on Singapore's urban landscape can be seen in the form of the Little India neighbourhood, which is a gazetted as a urban conservation area. It can also be seen in various Indian places of worship, many of which are gazetted as National Monuments. These places have a strong Indian cultural character, and contribute very much to Singapore's sense of place and identity. They are also amongst Singapore’s most popular tourist destinations.

Language

Given the long period of contact between India and the region, as well as the multifarious contact over the centuries between Britain, India, Malaya and China (especially Hong Kong), Indian influences have crept into a variety on non-Indian Singapore languages through a number of paths -

  • Ancient Indian loan words in the Malay language (during the 'Indianisation' of ancient Southeast Asia). There are a very large number of such words, but a few examples include 'bumi' (or 'earth', from the Sanskrit 'bhumi'), 'kapal' (or 'ship', from the Tamil 'kappal') and 'katil' (or 'bed', from the Tamil 'kattil'). Also, some Malay words that have entered into Singlish (and sometimes Singapore Hokkien and Mandarin), are terms which were originally Indian loan words. These include 'suka' (or 'happiness'), 'sama' (or 'same') and 'roti' (or 'bread'). In addition, there are words in the English that are derived from Malay, but which in turn are derived from Sanskrit originals. These include such words as camphor and mandarin.
  • 19th and 20th century Indian loan words in English (often considered archaic now), Singlish, Malay and/or Chinese languages. Example include the English/Singlish and Chinese 'congee' (or 'porridge', from the Tamil 'kanji'), the English/Singlish and Malay 'godown' (or 'warehouse', from the Tamil 'kidangu') and the English/Singlish, Malay and Chinese 'amah' (or 'maid', of Anglo-Indian origin, from Portuguese 'ama' or nurse). The 'guni' in the English/Singlish, Malay and Chinese 'karang guni man' (rag and bone man) derive from the Hindi 'goni', meaning 'sack' (which is also the source of the English term 'gunny sack'). Other Indian loan words in Singlish include 'goondu' (or 'idiot', from the Tamil 'goondu', or 'fat'), 'mamak' - as in 'mamak shop' (or 'uncle', from the Tamil 'maama'), and 'dey', a common Tamil term for hailing another man, similar to 'hey', 'buddy' or 'man'.
  • The influence of Indian teachers of English in Singapore schools, who brought elements of Indian English pronunciation, syntax, etc into Singapore English. Dr Adam Brown, a professor of phonetics and liguistics, writes "It may surprise many readers to think that Singapore English is heavily influenced by Indian English. However, English had been spoken in India for at least a century before Raffles established Singapore for the East India Company in 1819, and Singapore was administered as part of India for most of the 19th century. Also, as Ho & Platt (1993) and Gupta (1994) note, many teachers in Singapore were of Indian origin. Between 1920 and 1940, for example, there were similar numbers of Indian and European teachers in English-medium schools in Singapore, and Indians have always been well represented in the teaching profession." [22]

Naming conventions

Because of their linguistic and religious diversity, Indian Singaporeans use a variety of naming conventions.

Some North Indian groups, such as the Gujaratis and Bengalis, use family surnames, although the Gujaratis may choose whether to merge their father's name with the surname. Sikh men invariably adopt 'Singh' as their surname, while Sikh women adopt 'Kaur', as is their traditional practice. However, some Sikhs have also re-introduced supplementary family or clan names, thus instead of simply 'Charanjit Singh', an individual might adopt the name 'Charanjit Singh Siddhu' for himself or his son.

Following exposure to British colonial bureaucracy, many Tamils placed their father's name after their given name, linked by 's/o' (son of) or 'd/o' (daughter of), e.g. 'Ravi s/o Govindasamy'. Similarly, Tamil Muslims would have names in the form: Abdul s/o Rahman, or Abdul Rahman [in contrast to Malay Muslims, who use the connector 'bin' (son of) or 'binte / bte' (daughter of)]. In contemporary Singapore, most Indians omit this connector. i.e. simply using 'Ravi Govindasamy'. Although the name now looks more like a Western name format, Govindasamy technically remains the father's name, not the family surname. As such, the individual should be addressed as 'Mr Ravi', rather than 'Mr Govindasamy'. On occasions, the father's name is reduced to an initial, hence 'G. Ravi'. Some South Indian Singaporeans now use their father's name as a surrogate surname (in the Western style), i.e. Ravi calls himself 'Mr Govindasamy' and uses it as a surname for his children, instead of, for example, calling his so 'Arun (s/o) Ravi', he might name him 'Arun Govindasamy' (or even 'Arun Govind').

Some Singaporean Tamils and other South Indians (e.g. Telugus or Malayalees) use their clan or caste-derived names as surnames in the Western mode, e.g. Iyer, Nair, Naidu, etc.

Prominent Indians in Singapore

Indian Singaporeans have made their mark nationally and even internationally in a variety of arenas.

National politics

Indian Singaporeans have generally been well represented, if not over-represented, in the nation's political leadership, including both the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) as well as opposition parties. Indians have served as two out of six Presidents of the nation, one out of three Senior Ministers, two Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers of several key ministries, including Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, National Development, Education and Home Affairs. Indians are currently over-represented in Cabinet (21% of Ministries) as well as in Parliament among both elected (10.7%) and unelected MPs (20%).

Presidents of Singapore

President S.R. Nathan during an open day at the Istana.
  • The late Chengara Veetil Devan Nair (1923-2005) - Singapore's third President (1981-1985) and former head of the National Trades Union Congress, the umbrella body for trades unions in Singapore. Widely seen as the founder of the modern trades union movement in Singapore. During Singapore's brief membership of Malaysia, Nair was the only PAP member to win a national seat in the Federal Parliament in Kuala Lumpur. He was from a Malayalee Hindu background and married to a South Indian Singaporean Hindu.
  • Mr Sellapan Ramanathan (1924- ) - Singapore's sixth President, incumbent since 1999. He was formerly a very senior civil servant, serving as Permanent Secretary at the Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Ministries. He was also Director of the Security and Intelligence Department, the Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings and Singapore Mint. From 1990 to 1996, he was Ambassador to the United States, and subsequently an Ambassador-at-Large. He is an Indian Tamil Hindu married to a Bengali Singaporean Hindu.

Cabinet ministers

  • The late Sinnathamby Rajaratnam (1915-2006) - Singapore's first Foreign Minister, Culture Minister and Senior Minister, as well as a former Labour Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Widely regarded as one of the core members of the 'old guard', or the founding fathers of Modern Singapore, he cofounded the PAP as well as ASEAN. In the wake of racial riots, he wrote Singapore's National Pledge, which enshrines the ideals of the nation. He was from a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu background and was married to a Hungarian. Both were secular agnostics.
  • Mr Suppiah Dhanabalan (1937- ) - Current Chairman of DBS Bank and Temasek Holdings. former Minister of Trade and Industry, National Development, Foreign Affairs, Culture and Community Development in the 1980s and 1990s. He was publicly mentioned by Singapore's first Prime Minister as one of the four men he considered as his successor, but he decided against Dhanabalan as he felt Singapore was 'not ready' for a non-Chinese Prime Minister. He is an Indian Tamil Baptist married to a Chinese Singaporean Baptist.
  • Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam - Minister for Education, Second Minister for Finance (after PM Lee Heien Loong) and former Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the defacto Central Bank. As Second Dinance Minister (the current Finance Minister is PM Lee Hsien Loong), Tharman became the first Indian Singaporean to deliver the nation's Budget in 2007. He is a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu married to a Japanese Singaporean.
  • Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (1961- ) - Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. He was the former CEO of Singapore General Hospital. He is a Chindian, or son of a Telugu Singaporean father and Chinese Singaporean mother. His wife is Chinese Singaporean and they are Christians.

Junior ministers

  • Dr Balaji Sadasivan (1955- ) - Senior Minister of State at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Information, Communications and the Arts. He was formely a neurosurgeon at Gleneagles Hospital. He is a South Indian Hindu.

Opposition leaders

  • Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (1926- ) - the first opposition politician to break the PAP monopoly on parliament when he won a by election in 1984. In the 1980s, he was the leader of the Workers' Party and was seen as the defacto leader of the Singapore opposition. He served several terms in Parliament as a MP before he was bankrupted by government lawsuits and disqualified from being an MP. He was a former majistrate and is currently a lawyer in private practice. He was from a Sri Lankan Tamil Christain background, and he married an Englishwoman.
  • Mr James Gomez (1965- ) - is a prominent opposition politician. He is Second Assistant Secretary-General and Chairman of the Policies and Communications Committee in the Workers' Party, Singapore. Prior to entering politics, he founded Think Centre a political non-government organisation dedicated to promoting human rights, democracy and more open political discourse in Singapore. He is a South Indian Catholic Singaporean of Goan or Portuguese-Indian descent.

Other Members of Parliament

People's Action Party
Nominated Members of Parliament

Law and the judiciary

Indians have historically been heavily over-represented in the legal profession, including the judiciary. In 2006, 12 out of 45 persons listed in the Singapore Academy of Law's senior counsel directory, or 26.7%, were Indian. The current President of the Law Society of Singapore, Philip Jeyaretnam, is Eurasian with an Indian father, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam.

In the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, 9.8% of all District Judges was ethnic Indian. Meanwhile, in the Supreme Court of Singapore, about 14%, or two of the 14 Supreme Court Judges and Judicial Commissioners, are Indian. They are:

Diplomacy and foreign relations

The Singapore Diplomatic Service is another area in which Indians have traditionally served the nation in numbers out of proportion to their population share. The Second Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bilahari Kausikan, is Indian, as have been three of its Ministers in the past.

In 2007, about 27% of the heads of Singaporean diplomatic missions - Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Permanent Representatives to the United Nations (UN) - were Indian, including missions to the following key positions: Permanent Representatives to the UN in New York and Geneva, High Commissioners to Malaysia and South Africa as well as Ambassadors to Belgium (de facto representative to the European Union) Germany, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Education and higher learning

Since the colonial period, teaching has been one of the jobs that Indians have traditionally been involved in. In 2006, Indians remained fairly well represented in the Singapore teaching service. A survey of the Singapore Government Directory Interactive website in March 2007 showed that amongst primary school principals, 13.3% were Indian, while 10.3% of all secondary school principals were Indian.

At tertiary institutions, some of the schools and think tanks headed by Indians include the following:

Civil Service

In addition to the foreign, legal and education services, Indians have also traditionally entered the Singapore Civil Service. Several individuals have risen to prominence in various government ministries and statutory boards. 9.4% of the heads of Singapore's 64 statutory boards are Indian - these are the National Library Board, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Hindu Endowments Board, Hindu Advisory Board and Sikh Advisory Board. Senior civil servants include:

Arts and culture

File:Classical indian dance 4.jpg
Bharatnatyam, a form of classical Indian dance.

Indian Singaporeans have distinguished themselves in a number of cultural fields, including contemporary forms of art targeted at a broad national and international audience, as well as more traditional Indian art forms. From 1979 to 2006, Indian Singaporeans have won 10, or 11.4%, of the 88 Cultural Medallions conferred, the highest honour to artists given by the Singapore government.

Dance

Literature

Music

  • Alex Abisheganaden – 1988 Cultural Medallion winner. He is a classical guitarist, double-bassist, stage actor and singer in operas and musicals. He has been called “the father of the guitar in Singapore.” He is a Tamil Christian Singaporean.
  • Jacintha Abisheganaden – songwriter and jazz singer. She has released 13 albums. She is a Chindian Singaporean Christian.
  • Paul Abisheganaden – 1986 Cultural Medallion winner. He has been called "the doyen of orchestral music in Singapore". He is a Tamil Christian Singaporean.
  • Michelle Saram – pop singer who performs in Mandarin. She is a Chindian Singaporean Christian.

Visual arts and architecture

Science and medicine

  • The late Dr Shan Ratnam - Emeritus Professor Sittampalam Shanmugaratnam (1928–2001) was head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the National University Hospital of Singapore. He was widely recognised as a world leader in human reproduction research. He was a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu Singaporean.
  • Prof Ariff Bongso - Dr Ariff Bongso holds several patents and has 430 research publications in internationally refereed journals, conference papers and chapters in books. He was one of the founder scientists of Embryonic Stem Cell International (ESI), a Singapore registered Biotechnology Company. He is currently Research Professor and Scientific Director of the Assisted Reproductive Technology programme at the NUS Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He is also Principal Investigator for In Vitro Fertilization and human embryonic stem cell research at the NUS National University Hospital. He is a Sri Lankan Muslim.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Leow, p.16.
  2. ^ Hall, pp. 12-24
  3. ^ Low, Cheryl-Ann Mei Gek, 'Singapore from the 14th to 19th Century' in Miksic & Low (2004) p.14
  4. ^ Low, Cheryl-Ann Mei Gek, 'Singapore from the 14th to 19th Century' in Miksic & Low (2004) p.16
  5. ^ Low, Cheryl-Ann Mei Gek, 'Singapore from the 14th to 19th Century' in Miksic & Low (2004) p.15
  6. ^ Low, Cheryl-Ann Mei Gek, 'Singapore from the 14th to 19th Century' in Miksic & Low (2004) p.17
  7. ^ Saw, Swee-Hock, 'Population Growth and Control' in Chew & Lee (1991) p.224.
  8. ^ Turnbull, p.27.
  9. ^ Turnbull, pp.36-37.
  10. ^ Turnbull, p.96.
  11. ^ Saw, Swee-Hock, 'Population Growth and Control' in Chew & Lee (1991) p.221.
  12. ^ http://www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/mqstats/mds/mds22.pdf
  13. ^ http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pdtsvc/pubn/softcopy/population2006.pdf
  14. ^ http://www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/annual/ghs/r1/chap1.pdf
  15. ^ Lal, p. 176.
  16. ^ Lal, p. 176.
  17. ^ http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/communities/work_pass.html
  18. ^ http://www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/annual/ghs/r2/indicators.pdf
  19. ^ http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2035%20(2005).pdf
  20. ^ http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2033%20(2005).pdf
  21. ^ http://www.moe.gov.sg/esd/ESD%20Interactive/Table%2034%20(2005).pdf
  22. ^ Brown, p.viii
  23. ^ http://www.biotechnics.org/2chandrasekaran.html
  24. ^ http://www.stemcell.edu.sg/people/gpLeaderDetails.php?userID=18&pageType=profile

References

  • Brown, Adam (1999). Singapore English in a Nutshell: An Alphabetical Description of its Features. Singapore: Federal Publications. ISBN 981012435X (pbk.). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  • Chew, Ernest C.T. (1991). A History of Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195885651 (pbk.). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Hall, D.G.E. (1994 (pbk.)). A History of South-East Asia (4th ed. ed.). London: Macmillan Press. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |year= (help)
  • Lal, Brij V. (gen. ed.) (2006). The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet in association with National University of Singapore. ISBN 9814155659 (hbk.). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Leow, Bee Geok (2001). Census of Population 2000: Demographic Characteristics. Singapore: Singapore Department of Statistics. ISBN 9810444486 (pbk.). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  • Leow, Bee Geok (2001). Census of Population 2000: Education, Language and Religion. Singapore: Singapore Department of Statistics. ISBN 9810444591 (pbk.). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  • Miksic, John N. (2004 (pbk.)). Early Singapore 1300s-1819: Evidence in Maps, Texts and Artefacts. Singapore: Singapore History Museum. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Turnbull, C.M. (Mary) (1989). A History of Singapore, 1819–1988 (2nd ed. ed.). Singapore: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195889436 (pbk.). {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

Further reading

See also

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_Singaporeans&oldid=119495837"