The Singapore Ethnic Mosaic

Many Cultures, One People

Mathews Mathew

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9789813234758
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Cultural & Social Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

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Far from being a melting pot, multi-racial Singapore prides itself on the richness of its ethnic communities and cultures. This volume provides an updated account of the heterogeneity within each of the main communities — the Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Others. It also documents the ethnic cultures of these communities by discussing their histories, celebrations, cultural symbols, life cycle rituals, cultural icons and attempts to preserve culture. While chapters are written by scholars drawing insight from a variety of sources ranging from academic publications to discussions with community experts, it is written in an accessible way. This volume seeks to increase intercultural understanding through presenting ample insights into the cultural beliefs and practices of the different ethnic communities. While this book is about diversity, a closer examination of the peoples and cultures of Singapore demonstrates the many similarities communities share in this Singaporean space.

--> Contents:

• Foreword (Janil Puthucheary)
• Acknowledgements
• Introductory: Ethnic Diversity, Identity and Everyday Multiculturalism in Singapore (Mathew Mathews)
• Chinese:
  • The Chinese in Singapore (Tong Chee Kiong)
  • Chinese Community and Culture in Singapore (Soon Su-Chuin, Elvin Xing Yifu and Tong Chee Kiong)
• Malay:
  • The Malays in Singapore (Suriani Suratman)
  • Malay Community and Culture in Singapore (Suriani Suratman and Siti Hajar Esa)
• Indian:
  • The Indians in Singapore (Vineeta Sinha)
  • Tamil Community and Culture in Singapore (A Mani, Pravin Prakash and Shanthini Selvarajan)
  • Malayalee Community and Culture in Singapore (Anitha Devi Pillai)
  • Punjabi Sikh Community and Culture in Singapore (Amrit Kaur and Bhajan Singh)
  • Gujerati Community and Culture in Singapore (Rizwana Abdul Azeez)
  • Minority Indian communities in Singapore (Nilanjan Raghunath)
• Eurasians and Others:
  • The Eurasians and Others in Singapore (Mathew Mathews)
  • Eurasian Community and Culture in Singapore (Alexius Pereira)
  • Filipino Community and Culture in Singapore (Lou Antolihao and Clement Mesenas)
  • Myanmar Community and Culture in Singapore (Moe Thuzar and Christine Lim Li Ping)

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--> Readership: Student and researchers of Singapore society and general readers interested in Singapore and its ethnic culture. -->
Keywords:Ethnic Diversity;Culture;Customs;Traditions;Heritage;Singaporean Chinese;Singaporean Malays;Singaporean Indians;Singaporean EurasiansReview:0

SECTION THREE

Indian

Chapter 5

THE INDIANS IN SINGAPORE

Vineetha Sinha

In Singapore today, the description “Indian” carries within its boundaries a myriad of communities — from varied regions, speaking a multitude of languages and adherents of a range of socio-cultural and religious traditions. It also connotes a cultural identity and for some even registers a “national” identity beyond their location in the nation-state of Singapore. The last two decades have marked a critical phase in the history of the Indian community in Singapore. It is during this period that a “new” category of Indians (from middle and upper-middle class backgrounds) accepted the Singapore government’s invitation to come to Singapore. These arrivals added to a pre-existing base of Indian “foreign workers”, who have been less resented by Singaporean Indians. Collectively, the presence of these clusters has reconfigured the demography and profile of the Indian community socially, culturally and economically, as well as its internal political balance.

In colonial Singapore, race and religion were key markers for categorising and managing a plural native population; these have persisted as categories for governance in a post-colonial context. In a highly selective mode, the descriptors, “Chinese,” “Malay’, “Indian” and “Others” have been used to govern a multiracial and multireligious population. These labels have also been internalised by Singaporeans. The “CMIO” model is the basis for the enumerating census exercise and in formulating policies in post-colonial Singapore. The emergent census data have framed the ethnic and religious demography of Singaporeans and their governance in a multiracial context. There are obvious problems with the unreflective use of census data, not to mention the limitations of census categories.

Expectedly then, the ethno-linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic complexity of the “Indian” community is not captured in its entirety by census enumerations. Nonetheless, the figures do convey some of its ethno-linguistic, regional and nationalistic pluralism. The census category “Indians” is defined as a “race or ethnic group” that includes “persons of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan origin such as Tamils, Malayalees, Punjabis, Bengalis, Singhalese, etc.” While recognising and listing some segments of “Southern” and “Northern” Indians as Malayalee, Punjabi or Gujarati, for instance, other regional and linguistic groups are subsumed in the “catch-all”, residual and imminently useful category of “Others”. The 1980 Census recognised only five sub-classes within the broader “Indian” category: Tamil, Malayalee, Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi. By the 1990 Census the list had expanded to include a total of 10 sub-categories as follows: Tamil, Malayalee, Punjabi, Gujarati Sikh, Hindustani, Urdu, Sindhi, Telugu and Hindi. It is a “highly muddled” label that mixes up ethnic, religious, linguistic and even national identities. The 2010 Census lists the percentage of Indians in Singapore as 9.2 per cent of the total population. Of this, Tamils constitute the largest segment at 54.17 per cent (down from 63.9 per cent in 1990), and include individuals originally from the state of Tamil Nadu in India and parts of Sri Lanka; followed by 6.71 per cent for Malayalees; and 3.72 per cent for the Sikhs. The combined percentages for “Hindustani” and “Hindi” stand at 5.14 per cent, indicating the current strength of Hindi-speakers on the island. In particular, comparative figures for the category “Hindi” (which has been used in Census exercises since 1990) has moved upwards from 1,139 persons in 1990 to a staggering 13,805 persons in 2010.

Historical, ethnographic and census data confirm that the Indian community in Singapore has long been defined by socio-cultural and ethnolinguistic complexities and by the religious domain. Today, Singapore is defined unequivocally as a secular state, but which governs a population that is far from secularised. Even though the state is secular, multi-religiosity is an entrenched feature of Singapore. Far from disappearing, forms and modes of religious expression have persisted within the frames of a modern, cosmopolitan and secular outlook. Attachment to religion is strongly discernible, as seen in census data over the last 50 years and confirmed by social science analyses of the local religious scene. According to the Singapore Census of Population, 2010, the percentage of Singaporeans who claim to have a religious identity stands at 83 per cent, while those that declare themselves “non-believers” — including atheists, agnostics and free thinkers — is reported to be 17 per cent.

What is the religious scene within the Indian community in Singapore today? Pluralism marks their religious landscape. Religious and community organisations have been established by Indian migrants to Singapore as early as the 1830s. From mid-19th century onwards, the colonial context in the Straits Settlements can be read as “enabling” for ethnic and religious communities. We see expressions of ethnic and religious community and solidarity, manifest in the establishment of places of worship as well as cultural and religious organisations across Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Sikh segments of the Indian community. The religious profile of the Indian community has remained relatively stable between 1970 and 2000, but some shifts have been statistically registered in the 2010 Census data. In 1980, more than half of the local Indian community was associated with the category “Hinduism” (56.5 per cent), with significant numbers of Christians (12.5 per cent), Muslims (22.1 per cent), and “no religion” (1.2 per cent). “Other religions” (8 per cent) included Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhists and Zoroastrians. Since the early 1990s there have been slight changes in the religious landscape, given the arrival of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Hindus (58.5 per cent) have remained the largest segment of the community, followed by smaller groups of adherents for Islam (21.7 per cent), Christianity (12.8 per cent), with 5.4 per cent belonging to “other religions” — Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism. Only 1.1 per cent had “no religion”. While helpful, the census can furnish only “objective” descriptions of these religious groupings, rather than convey its differentiation along, class, caste and regional lines. Regional and linguistic groups from South and North India add distinct features to the mosaic of Singapore Hinduism. These religious communities are defined by tremendous internal diversity. Surveying the range of religious organisations and places of worship as well as the calendar of festivals and rituals enable us to see their continuing relevance for adherents.

An account of the Indian community’s cultural landscape is incomplete without due attention to language. Linguistic diversity is the norm within the community, with expected tensions in the various linguistic sub-communities attempting to carve a space for themselves. Singapore’s multicultural model rests on recognising, institutionalising and legitimating pluralism along ethnic, religious and linguistic streams. For the Indian community, in addition to Tamil (which had been the only Mother Tongue option for Indian students), a number of non-Tamil Indian languages were made available in 1990. These included Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi and Urdu. Given the changed demography of Singapore’s Indian community, questions have been raised about language maintenance, language shifts and the role of language policy and planning. Statistics on Indian language use and the size of linguistic communities have been cited in support of a reconfigured language landscape. Tamil remains an official Indian language, but in everyday parlance the language field is much wider. This is not surprising given that large numbers of new Indian arrivals, who have become permanent residents or taken up citizenship, are non-Tamil speakers. Satellite television channels from India have greatly expanded the linguistic field to include other Indian languages.

The Indian community’s experience of Singapore’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual landscape has allowed the community to remain committed to its own socio-cultural and religious leanings. In a new milieu, known and recognisable cultural and political sentiments, ideologies, ambitions, practices and institutions have been implanted, with inevitable differences, but without registering radical departures from familiarity. In post-colonial Singapore, Indians have contributed to the national economy through their involvement in various sectors. Most recently, contributions of the Indian community have been visible in the numerous entrepreneurial efforts that are leading business development, consolidation of educational, finance, investment and banking sectors and innovations in research, design and technology. The Singapore’s state’s multiracial model, principle of meritocracy and embracing of all ethnic groups in the process of nation-building framed daily life of Indians, facilitating achievements and supporting aspirations of reaching desired socio-economic and political milestones. The production of a Singaporean national identity has neither subsumed nor marginalised an ethnic Indian identity. The Indian community has not remained isolated in its new environment. Its members have interacted across ethnic, religious and class boundaries, forging important ties and alliances.

Chapter 6

TAMIL COMMUNITY AND CULTURE IN SINGAPORE

A. Mani, Pravin Prakash and Shanthini Selvarajan

INTRODUCTION

Indians constitute about 9.1 per cent¹ of the resident population, making them the third largest ethnic group in Singapore. Tamils form the biggest segment of the South Indian community in Singapore. Originating from the state of Tamil Nadu in South India and northern parts of Sri Lanka, many Tamils came to Singapore during the 19th and early 20th centuries as traders and labourers. Today, the community has made its mark nationally in various areas including poli...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Introduction: Ethnic Diversity, Identity and Everyday Multiculturalism in Singapore
• Section One - Chinese
• Section Two - Malay
• Section Three - Indian
• Section Four - Eurasian and Others
• About the Contributors