Punjabi is a widely spoken language in the Punjab region in South Asia, which in present-day consists of parts of both Pakistan and India. The term “Sikh” is also used to describe the Punjabi-speaking community, which while can also be used, actually refers to a follower of Sikhism, a religion that originated in the Punjab region in the 15th century. While many Punjabis are Sikhs, there are also Hindus, Muslims, and other religious groups within the Punjabi community. Sikhs in Singapore predominantly come from Punjab, and Punjab culture is an important part of these communities.

Timeline

1850 → Record of the first Sikh to arrive in Singapore, Maharaj Singh. He was exiled to Singapore on grounds of being revolutionary actions against the British Empire in Punjab (Kaur and Singh 2017). Singh, upon arriving, was placed in solitary confinement in Outram Road Prison (present-day Pearl’s Hill), before passing away in 1856 (Kaur and Singh 2017).

1881 → The first large-scale migration of Sikhs to Singapore occurs in this year, as part of a police contingent of Sepoys (policemen) for the Straits Settlements Police Force (Kaur and Singh 2017).

1900s → Another significant population of Sikhs arrive. Most go are recruited into law enforcement or the military, but a sizeable number join other trades such as clerks, court interpreters and teachers (Kaur and Singh 2017).

1920-30s → More Sikhs migrate to Singapore, diversifying into several fields as well as being entrepreneurs of small businesses themselves (Kaur and Singh 2017). During this period, many Sikh women also joined their husbands in Singapore, and these families began to establish roots in the small colony (Kaur and Singh 2017). Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship, were also being erected in this period (Kaur and Singh 2017).

1931 → Several Sikh students from Raffles Institution, citing an absence of a Sikh organisation for sports and culture, founded the Singapore Khalsa Association (SKA) (Singapore Khalsa Association 2024).

1960s → SKA becomes the primary sector for the teaching of the Punjabi language (Kaur and Singh 2017). It also began to host cultural events for the Sikh community in Singapore (Singapore Khalsa Association 2024).

1966 → The four official languages of Singapore (Malay, English, Chinese, Tamil) were enacted by the Singaporean Government.

1970s → Citing declining interest in the Punjabi language, Sikh religious activities such as samelans (youth camps) and inspirational sessions were established.

1990 → Educational reforms allowed for NTIL students to sit for their Mother Tongue “O” Levels in the five approved NTIL languages (Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu). Due to this, the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation (SSEF) was also established to provide a formal institution for the teaching of Punjabi language to students.

1994 → NTIL students can sit for their Mother Tongue Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLEs) in the five approved NTIL languages (Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu).

The C-M-I-O categorisation, and “Punjabi-ness”

The first Punjabi-speaking migrants to Singapore had primarily formed their social connections back in Punjab, where these migrants were either from the Jatt rural land-owning caste or the urban Arora and Khastri castes (Bal 2012). Much of their identity stemmed from their land of origin, Punjab, and being displaced into a new environment in Singapore led to them being faced with certain questions about their identity as Punjabis (Bal 2012). To that end, religion and specifically, Sikhism, played a huge role in rooting their unique identity as part of the larger Indian population in Singapore (Bal 2012).

The second generation of the Punjabi community in Singapore were primarily born in either Punjabi and Singapore, and by growing up in the 1960s and 70s when Singapore was emerging as an independent country led to their cultural identity being shared between Punjab and Singapore. During this period, as with the first wave of Punjabi migrants, religion as well as Punjabi family social dynamics played a major role in anchoring their cultural identity in the growing Singapore (Bal 2012). The People’s Action Party advocated for multiracialism and meritocracy as part of their rule, and de-emphasised the importance of one’s race and Ethnicity in the public political sphere (Bal 2012). C-M-I-O, or Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others, became a framework that dictates language and race policy in Singapore, with the roots of this tracing back to British colonial policy (Jain and Wee 2018). While Punjabis had identified themselves as “Sikh” or “Punjabi” on their identification cards, they ended up predominantly classified under the larger umbrella of “Indians” to participate economically and socially within Singaporean society (Bal 2012). This likely created a divide in the cultural identity of Punjabis, as they had both the public identity of being “Indian” and the private identity of their Punjabi culture (Bal 2012).

The third generation of the Punjabi community, from the 1980s until present-day, has also inherited this troubling dilemma of dealing with this fragmented “public” vs “private” identity (Bal 2012). While the first and second generation of Punjabi immigrants still saw Punjab as their homeland, many Punjabis in the third generation do not share the strong sentiments as their predecessors. This is especially so in Singapore, being such an international hub and cosmopolitan city. With the fast-paced nature of Singaporean society, an increasing focus on personal success in a capitalist society could lead younger Punjabi generations to feel more distant from their cultural communities (Bal 2012).

Punjabi-speaking community in Singapore today

Having their roots in security and military roles, Sikhs of Singapore in the present day have diversified into a wide variety of industries. Especially prominent are those in law and the civil service, with renowned individuals such as Davinder Singh, a former Member of Parliament and one of Singapore’s top lawyers (Kaur and Singh 2017). Another famous individual is Dr. Kanwaljit Soin, the first woman to serve as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament as well as founder of AWARE (Kaur and Singh 2017).