India in the Making of Singapore

164 Pages·2008·2.721 MB·English

by  Asad Latif

By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times
In memory of my other parents
Shri Parameshwara Raghava Kurup
and
Shrimati Nilima Kurup (nee Bose)
who taught me to find Kolkata
everywhere in India
and find India
everywhere in the world
Vasudaiva Kutumbakkam
By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times
The Singapore Indian Association, established in 1923,
seeks to fulfil the material, intellectual, cultural and
recreational aspirations of the community. The IA left its
mark on the destiny of the Indian community during the Great
Depression, World War II, and the Japanese Occupation of
Singapore. Since Singapore’s Independence in 1965, it has
provided a link between Indians and the larger multi-racial
community that constitutes the nation. With the rise of India,
the IA is serving as a platform where new arrivals from
India can socialize with settled Indians.
The Singapore Indian Association Book Series is a new
initiative to make available scholarly works on the Singapore
Indian community to a wide audience, both Indian and
non-Indian, whether in Singapore or abroad. Carefully
researched and engagingly written, these books are part of
the IA’s outreach efforts as it continues to identify itself
with the needs and aspirations of Indians in a globalizing,
multi-racial Singapore.
By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times
Singapore indian aSSociation Book SerieS no. 1
IndIa

In the MakIng
of SIngapore
Asad-ul Iqbal Latif
SINGAPORE INDIAN ASSOCIATION
2008
First published in Singapore in 2008 by the Singapore Indian
Association
69 Balestier Road
Singapore 329677
Distributed worldwide by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
(ISEAS)
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the author.
© 2008 Asad-ul Iqbal Latif
The responsibility for facts and opinions in this publication rests
exclusively with the author and his interpretations do not necessarily
reflect the views or the policy of the publisher or its supporters.
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Latif, Asad-ul Iqbal.
India in the making of Singapore.
(Singapore Indian Association book series ; no. 1)
1. Singapore—Relations—India.
2. India—Relations—Singapore.
3. Indians (Asian people)—Singapore.
I. Title.
I. Series.
DS610.47 I4L35 2008
ISBN 978-981-08-1539-4 (hard cover)
ISSN 1793-8325
Typeset by Superskill Graphics Pte Ltd
Printed in Singapore by Utopia Press Pte Ltd
By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times
Contents
Preface ix
1 RAffLeS’ BeNgAL CoNNeCtIoN 1
2 WoRkeRS AND SoLDIeRS 25
3 Chalo DElhI! 42
4 LookINg WeSt to INDIA 62
5 LookINg eASt to SINgApoRe 75
6 gLoBAL INDIANS 90
appendices 97
Bibliography 145
about the author 154
By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times
By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times
Preface
In 1995, professor tan tai Yong and Dr Andrew J. Major
wrote a path-breaking chapter, “India and Indians in the
Making of Singapore”, in Singapore-India Relations:
a Primer, edited by Yong Mun Cheong and V.V. Bhanoji
Rao and published by Singapore University press. I tried
to follow up on the insights present in their work in my
chapter, “From Mandalas to Microchips: the Indian Imprint
on the Construction of Singapore”, included in the volume
Rising India and Indian Communities in East asia, edited
by Ambassador k. kesavapany, professor A. Mani and
professor p. Ramasamy and published by the Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.
This monograph is an expanded version of my chapter
in the volume. It limits itself to India; the role of Indians
in the making of Singapore is covered comprehensively in
Dr Akurathi Venkateswara Rao’s history of Indians in
Singapore. I came to know of his book, which is being
published by osmania University press, just as this
monograph was about to go to press. I contacted Dr Rao. Very
generously, he e-mailed me a soft copy of his manuscript,
but it was too late for me to read it and incorporate its
conclusions. What I would like to do here is to cite his
book, which will add undoubtedly to existing scholarship
on the subject.
This monograph does not attempt a detailed history of
India’s relations with Singapore. Instead, it highlights several
turning points in that relationship: the role of Bengal in
By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times
x Preface
Sir Stamford Raffles’ decision to set up a base in Singapore;
the contribution of Indian labour to the construction of
Singapore; the Singapore Mutiny of 1915; Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose’s arrival in wartime Singapore and the
revitalization of the Indian National Army; independent
Singapore’s early relations with India; the dramatic
breakthrough in ties created by India’s Look east policy
following the end of the Cold War; and the arrival of
global Indians in Singapore. Footnotes have been kept
to a minimum to appeal to a broad audience; the select
bibliography reflects this choice.
I am grateful to the Singapore Indian Association,
and particularly to its president, Mr M.V. Rajendran, for
publishing this monograph. I am grateful to Ambassador
k. kesavapany, my Director at the Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies, for his encouragement and guidance. To
Mr Deepak Nair at ISeAS, I owe my gratitude for his
intellectual companionship and critical indulgence over
the past two years. I would like to thank my colleague,
Ms Sheryl Sin Bing peng, for all her care and help. I
thank professor Sugata Bose of Harvard University for
his kind permission to draw from a paper, co-authored by
Ambassador kesavapany and myself, that was presented at
an international conference on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
in kolkata in 2007.
May this humble volume contribute to continuing good
relations between India, which was my country once, and
Singapore, which is my home today.
By: ROS Size: 135 x 216mm J/No: 08-13270 Fonts: Helv, Times