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Sikhism in Singapore
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Sikhism in Singapore has its roots in the military and policing forces of the British Empire. Currently, there are 12,000-15,000 Sikhs in Singapore.[1] There are 7 Sikh Temples along with a missionary society, a welfare society, two youth organizations and two sports clubs.[2]
Introduction[edit]
Early Sikh pioneers[edit]
The first Sikh to migrate to Singapore was Maharaj Singh in 1849; he was sent there as a political prisoner by the British Empire after the Second Anglo-Sikh War.[3] The Central Sikh Temple[1] was built to commemorate the 518th anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru. The temple boasts a skilful blend of modern and traditional architecture. The Guru Granth Sahib, or holy book, is enshrined in a magnificent prayer hall which has a 13-metre wide dome.
Prominent Sikhs[4][edit]
The Sikh Foundation and The Punjabi Foundation of Singapore are prominent associations that are promoting Sikh heritage an Punjabi language there. Some prominent Sikhs who earned name in public life are
- Justice Choor Singh Sidhu, First Sikh Judge of Supreme Court.
- Kanwaljit Soin, First Female Nominated Member of Parliament, Orthopaedic Surgeon and co-founder of AWARE
- Harinder Sidhu, Australia's High Commissioner to New Delhi
- Jaswant Singh Gill, first commander of Singapore Navy
- Inderjit Singh and Davinder Singh, the first two Sikh MP's in Singapore Parliament
- Sharanjit Leyl, BBC World News Presenter
- Kartar Singh Thakral, founder of Thakral Corporation Ltd
- Balli Kaur Jaswal, international bestselling author and speaker
- Major-General Ravinder Singh, chief of the Singapore Army.
- Inderjit Singh, PAP MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC
- Pritam Singh, WP MP for Aljunied GRC
History[edit]
Singapore was part of Malaya under British rule and Sikhs migrated there as policemen. Some Sikhs in Singapore are immigrants from India (mainly from the Punjab region in India). Others are the descendants of Sikh prisoners from British India who were sent to Singapore by the British Army for protesting, attacking or killing British Soldiers, attacks; assaults; and vandalism of British buildings and property. They lived in British prisons in Singapore. Sikh migration to Singapore was popularised by the demand of Sikh police officers and guards in British colonial Malaya. A substantial amount of Sikhs in Singapore are also descendants of Indian Sikh Businessmen who immigrated to Singapore. Most Sikhs today are from the Jat community.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Iyer, Raman. "Sikhs in Singapore: Turbanators with rich tradition of donning uniform". Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ↑ "Sikhs benefited from Singapore prosperity, says CSGB president". hindustantimes.com. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) 2009/04/15/Sikhs in Singapore 1850 - ↑ Kahlon, Swarn Singh (2016). "Sikhs in Singapore". In Virk, Dr. Hardev Singh (ed.). Sikhs in Asia Pacific:Travels among the Sikh Diaspora from Yangon to Kobe. New Delhi: Manohar Publisher, Ne Delhi.
External links[edit]
- [2] Visit Singapore
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