148-475: Indian Singaporeans are Singaporeans of Indian or of general South Asian ancestry . They constitute approximately 9.0% of the country's residents, making them the third largest ancestry and ethnic group in Singapore . While contact with ancient India left a deep impact on Singapore's indigenous Malay culture, the mass settlement of Indians on the island began with the founding of modern Singapore by
296-620: A 'bazaar contingent' of washermen, servants and others who came with Stamford Raffles on his first visit in 1819. Throughout the colonial period, military personnel came from all over India. Most returned home after their service without settling in Singapore. Finally, there were the convicts. In the 19th century, the British shipped Indian convicts to Singapore to relieve overcrowded Indian jails. These men (and some women) were used as labour to build public buildings and roads in Singapore. Like
444-451: A common pool, from which resources are drawn to meet the needs of all members, which are regulated by the heads of the family. However, with modernisation and economic development, India has witnessed a break up of traditional joint family into more nuclear families and the traditional joint family in India accounted for a small percent of Indian households. Arranged marriages have been
592-510: A conservative 12 million to 20 million-person diaspora. The British Indian community had grown to number over one million. According to the 2001 UK Census , 1,053,411 Britons had full Indian ancestry (representing 1.8% of the UK's population). An overwhelming majority of 99.3% resided in England (in 2008 the figure is thought to be around 97.0%). In the seven-year period between 2001 and 2009,
740-650: A contingent of Sikh soldiers visited the western coast of Canada, primarily British Columbia which at the time was very sparsely populated and the Canadian government wanted to settle to prevent a takeover of the territory by the United States. More than a million people of South Asian descent live in South Africa, with their ancestors having left colonial India mostly as indentured labourers, and with smaller numbers emigrating later as "Passenger Indians", in
888-478: A figure higher than both the United States and Britain. South Asian Canadians account for 7.1% of Canada's population. According to Statistics Canada, Indo-Canadians are one of the fastest-growing visible minority groups in Canada, making up the second-largest group of non-European descent in the country after Chinese Canadians. The Indo-Canadian community can trace its history in Canada back 120 years to 1897 when
1036-462: A high earning capacity may be granted renewable Employment Passes. These entitle the holder's spouse, children and parents to Dependents Passes. Students may enter on Students Passes. Pass holders may apply for Permanent Residence, which lets them live in Singapore on a long term-basis on a five-year renewal term. As part of Singaporean nationality law , they are also eligible to apply for Singapore Citizenship although acceptance have been stringent since
1184-775: A long history alongside its music and dance. One of the earliest known theatre play is Mṛcchakatika composed by Śudraka . Followed by Aśvaghoṣa 's Śāriputraprakaraṇa and Bhāsa 's Swapnavāsavadatta and Pancharātra . Most notable works are Kālidāsa's Abhijñānaśākuntala , Vikramorvaśīya and Mālavikāgnimitra . Harsha 's Ratnavali , Priyadarsika , and Naganandam , other notable ancient dramatists include Bhatta Narayana , Bhavabhuti , Vishakhadatta , Thirayattam and Viswanatha Kaviraja . Notable fable story-plays Panchatantra , Baital Pachisi , Kathasaritsagara , Brihatkatha and Jataka tales were performed in folk theatres since ancient period. Jataka tales has become part of Southeast and East Asian folklore with
1332-641: A mixture of two major ancestral components, one component restricted to South Asia and the other component shared with Central Asia , West Asia , and Europe . Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia , mostly situated on the Indian Plate , projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas . Geographically, it spans
1480-508: A number of ' dialect ' groups. However, these groups included Sikhs , who are a religious rather than linguistic group. Virtually all of the Sikhs are Punjabi , which was also captured as a separate 'dialect' category (comprising mainly Hindu Punjabis). Given their small absolute and relative numbers, the following table adapts the 2010 census data by combining the 'Sikh' (12,952) and 'Punjabi' (5,672) category under 'Punjabi'. The percentages in
1628-574: A part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent. Maldives, an island country consisting of a small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent, sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund , as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction. The population of Indian subcontinent
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#17327930576331776-500: A policy set by Afonso de Albuquerque , then Viceroy of India . These people were Goan Catholics ( Konkani Catholics) and Bombay East Indians (Catholics of Marathi descent ). Kuparis who were of mixed Samvedic Brahmin, Goan and Portuguese descent also arrived. Sinhalese and their children from Portuguese that include Portuguese Burghers from Portuguese Ceylon also came later. Their children already intermarried with Malay population, losing their ethnic identities. Indian contact
1924-412: A political discourse of racial integration and national identity, it came to recognise that important differences in the socio-economic profiles of the three main races continued to endure in the post-colonial period. Initially, it had set up Mendaki, a quasi-autonomous Malay community self-help group to promote educational advancement within that community to address underperformance by Malay students. In
2072-656: A relationship with Indian spirituality, such as the Baháʼí Faith which recognises Buddha and Krishna as manifestations of the God Almighty. Despite the strong role of religion in Indian life, atheism and agnostics also have visible influence along with a self-ascribed tolerance to other people. According to the 2012 WIN-Gallup Global Index of Religion and Atheism report, 81% of Indians were religious, 13% were not religious, 3% were convinced atheists , and 3% were unsure or did not respond. Traditionally, Indian society
2220-415: A river or a no man's land . The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent. Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies. Afghanistan , despite often considered as
2368-428: A similar number use Tamil . The remainder speak either Malay (11%) or other languages, including other Indian languages and Kristang (11%).There are about 3000 families which speak Marathi at home. 3.1% of all Singapore residents speak mainly Tamil at home and it is one of the country's four official languages . Tamil is taught as a second language in most public schools. Tamil content (produced locally or abroad)
2516-1529: A symbol for zero , interpolation formula , Fibonacci's identity , theorem , the first complete arithmetic solution (including zero and negative solutions) to quadratic equations . Chakravala method , sign convention , madhava series , and the sine and cosine in trigonometric functions can be traced to the jyā and koti-jyā . Notable military inventions include war elephants , crucible steel weapons popularly known as Damascus steel and Mysorean rockets . Other notable inventions during ancient period include chess , cotton , sugar , fired bricks , carbon pigment ink , ruler , lac , lacquer , stepwell , indigo dye , snake and ladder , muslin , ludo , calico , Wootz steel , incense clock , shampoo , palampore , chintz , and prefabricated homes . Indian cultural aspects, religions , philosophy , arts and architecture have developed over several millennia and have spread through much of Asia in peaceful manner. Many architectural structures of India such as Sanchi Stupa , Taj Mahal and Mahabodhi Temple are UNESCO World Heritage Sites today. In modern times, Indian people have continued to contribute to mathematics , sciences and astrophysics . Among them are Satyendra Nath Bose , Srinivasa Ramanujan , Jagadish Chandra Bose , Meghnad Saha , Homi J. Bhabha , Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis , and notable Nobel Prize recipients C. V. Raman , Har Gobind Khorana , Venkatraman Ramakrishnan , and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who
2664-839: A variety of lentils (dal), whole-wheat flour (aṭṭa), rice and millet (kutki, kodra, bājra), which has been cultivated in Indian subcontinent since 6200 BCE. Over time, segments of the population embraced vegetarianism during Śramaṇa movement while an equitable climate permitted a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year. A food classification system that categorised any item as saatvic , raajsic or taamsic developed in Ayurveda tradition. The Bhagavad Gita prescribed certain dietary practices. During this period, consumption of various types of meat became taboo , due to being considered sacred or impure. Indian cuisines use numerous ingredients, deploy
2812-700: A vedic tribe mentioned in the Rigveda , notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings . India is named after legendary Emperor Bharata who was a descendant of the Bhāratas tribe , scion of Kuru Dynasty who unified the Indian Subcontinent under one realm. In early Vedic literature, the term Āryāvarta ( Sanskrit : आर्यावर्त) was in popular use before Bhārata . The Manusmṛti (2.22) gives
2960-481: A wide range of food preparation styles, cooking techniques and culinary presentation depending on geographical location. The oldest preserved examples of Indian music are the melodies of the Samaveda (1000 BC) that are still sung in certain Śrauta sacrifices; this is the earliest account of Indian musical hymns. The Samaveda, and other Hindu texts, heavily influenced India's classical music tradition, which
3108-605: Is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent , particularly in India . The family is headed by a patriarch, the oldest male, who makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire family. The patriarch's wife generally exerts control over the household, minor religious practices and often wields considerable influence in domestic matters. A patrilineal joint family consists of an older man and his wife, his sons and unmarried daughters, his sons' wives and children. Family income flows into
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#17327930576333256-714: Is available on free-to-air and cable television as well as radio channels, and in libraries, cinemas, theatres and bookshops. Tamil is used in temples, mosques and churches catering to the community. Some business and non-profit groups, especially those in the Little India neighbourhood, use Tamil on a daily basis. Many Indian loan words are found in Malay, and, to a lesser extent, in English. The influence of Indian vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation are also found in Singlish ,
3404-542: Is composed of many smaller groups with ancestry from both southern India (such as the Telugus ) and northern India (such as the Hindustanis , the Malay colloquial term for Hindi-speaking Indians), or ethnically mixed Singaporeans with paternal Indian ancestry. Ancient India exerted a profound influence over Southeast Asia through trade , religious missions , wars and other forms of contact. Pre-colonial Singapore
3552-596: Is derived ultimately from Sindhu , the Sanskrit name of the river Indus, but also meaning "river" generically. The history of India includes the prehistoric settlements and societies in the Indian subcontinent ; the blending of the Indus Valley civilization and Indo-Aryan culture into the Vedic Civilization ; the development of Hinduism as a synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions;
3700-596: Is grouped according to their caste . It is a system in which social stratification within various social sections defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups are often termed jāti or castes . Within a jāti , there exists exogamous groups known as gotras , the lineage or clan of an individuals. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in cities but still exists in some form in rural areas. Most Indian states are majority Hindu . However, Kashmir and Lakshadweep are majority Muslim ; Nagaland , Mizoram , and Meghalaya are majority Christian and Punjab
3848-499: Is known today in two distinct styles: Hindustani music and Carnatic music . Both the Hindustani and Carnatic music systems are based on the melodic base known as Rāga , sung to a rhythmic cycle known as Tāla . These principles were refined in the nātyaśāstra (200 BC) and the dattilam (300 AD). The nātyaśāstrais an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts , encompassing theatre , dance and music . It
3996-438: Is majority Sikh . Although participants in the Indian census may choose to not declare their religion, there is no mechanism for a person to indicate that he/she does not adhere to any religion. Due to this limitation in the Indian census process, the data for persons not affiliated with any religion may not be accurate. India contains the majority of the world's Hindus , Jains , Sikhs , Zoroastrians and Baháʼí . Christianity
4144-468: Is notable for currently accepted theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars, including black holes. Bharat Mata ( Hindi , from Sanskrit भारत माता , Bhārata Mātā ), Mother India , or Bhāratāmbā (from अंबा ambā 'mother') is the national personification of India as a mother goddess . The image of Bharat Mata formed with the Indian independence movement of the late 19th century. A play by Kiran Chandra Bandyopadhyay, Bhārat Mātā ,
4292-404: Is one of the earliest form of materialistic and atheistic movement in ancient India. Sramana , Buddhism , Jainism , Ājīvika and some schools of Hinduism like Samkhya consider atheism to be valid and reject the concept of creator deity , ritualism and supernaturalism . India has produced some notable atheist politicians and social reformers . Although approximately 80% of
4440-546: Is the third-largest Asian American community in the United States after Chinese Americans and Filipino Americans . After slavery was abolished in the European colonies, Indians were hired under the Indian indenture system to become indentured laborers to fill the need for cheap labor and for their skills in agriculture. In the English-speaking Caribbean and Suriname , Indians primarily came from
4588-561: Is trending away from traditional arranged marriages, they find that the marriage trends in India are similar to trends observed over last 40 years where arranged marriages were previously common, particularly in China and Japan. India's clothing styles have continuously evolved over the course of history. Cotton was first cultivated in Indian subcontinent around the 5th millennium BC. Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo , red madder , lac and turmeric . Silk
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4736-498: Is unclear if this referred only to Employment Pass holders, or if it included Permanent Residents, Student Pass and/or Dependant Pass holders. Based on these figures, the number of short-term or 'non-resident' Indians in Singapore in 2007 is likely to be in the region of 100,000. As such, the proportion of Indians in the total population is likely to range from 9% to 10% (suggesting 89,000 to 135,000 'non-resident' Indians). The advance release figures from Singapore's 2010 Census show, for
4884-526: Is widespread in Northeast India , parts of southern India, particularly in Kerala and among various populations of Central India. Muslims are the largest religious minority. India is also home to the third-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan . Historically, India had a prevailing tradition of the joint family system or undivided family . Joint family system
5032-458: The 'A' level examination . However, those Indians who did reach the 'A' level and sat for this exam marginally outperformed 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. The socio-economic problems, and especially educational under-performance, facing Singapore Indians is addressed by the community through Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA),
5180-648: The Amoghavarsha of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty was described by the Arab traveller Sulaiman as one of the four great kings of the world. The medieval south Indian mathematician Mahāvīra lived in the Rashtrakuta dynasty and was the first Indian mathematician who separated astrology from mathematics and who wrote the earliest Indian text entirely devoted to mathematics. The greatest maritime empire of
5328-754: The Arab states of the Persian Gulf , former British colonies, and the Western world . While the demonym "Indian" applies to people originating from the present-day Republic of India , it was also used as the identifying term for people originating from what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh prior to the Partition of India in 1947. Particularly in North America , the terms "Asian Indian" and "East Indian" are sometimes used to differentiate Indians from
5476-599: The British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent. Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India , an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with the landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas. It is one of the most populated regions in
5624-549: The Coromandel Coast , most of whom were males. Initially, Indian immigrants were predominantly adult men who came from India to find work, serve military duties or prison sentences for several years before returning home. There was a constant flow of Indians in and out of the city, keeping the local community fairly transient. A minority of Indians were also wealthy merchants who settled in Singapore and built local commercial and social institutions. Best known amongst them
5772-639: The Cretaceous . Insular India subsequently drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, during the Eocene , forming the Indian subcontinent. The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains geologically active, prone to major earthquakes. Physiographically , it is a peninsular region in South Asia delineated by the Himalayas in
5920-690: The Hindi Belt , especially the Awadh region in central and eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Bhojpur region of eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar , and northwestern Jharkhand , along with a significant minority who came from South India , and a smaller minority who came from other parts of India. They arrived from the late 1830s to the early 1920s as indentured laborers to work primarily on sugarcane estates , as well as on cocoa , rice , banana , coconut , and coffee estates after indentureship. After
6068-451: The Indian subcontinent and has been influenced and shaped by a history that is several thousand years old. Throughout the history of India, Indian culture has been heavily influenced by Dharmic religions. They have been credited with shaping much of Indian philosophy , literature , architecture , art and music . Greater India was the historical extent of Indian culture beyond the Indian subcontinent . This particularly concerns
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6216-475: The Indian subcontinent or 'dialect group'. Most Indians in Singapore have ancestral links to Southern India and Sri Lanka , with substantial groups from Northern India and Western India accounting for most of the remainder. These are generally the descendants of both free and indentured settlers from India during the 19th and early half of the 20th century. In 2010, the Singapore census categorised 237,473 Singaporeans and 110,646 permanent residents into
6364-786: The Marathas , the Rajputs , the Pathans , the Jats and the Sikhs , gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience. Following the death of Aurangzeb in the early 18th century, the empire saw the emergence of autonomous regional powers such as Marathas , the Rajputs and various de facto independent Mughal governors and other Hindu and Muslim princely states, though they all continued to recognise
6512-551: The Mughal emperor as their suzerain . The period also saw the emergence of the British East India Company who took control of large parts of the empire, though they nominally ruled and traded under the authority of the emperor and nominally considered him as their suzerain. The regions under Company rule witnessed a period of rapid development of infrastructure, economic decline and major famines . During
6660-555: The Oxford English Dictionary , the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent". Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from the early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them. It
6808-406: The Partition of India , citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in the term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries. Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use
6956-682: The Primary One cohort were admitted to a post-secondary institution , compared with 86% for the Chinese, and 75% for the Malays. In the same year, 73.7% of Indian students received 5 or more passes in the Singaporean GCE 'O' Level examinations, compared with 86.5% of Chinese students and 59.3% of Malays. Given their performance in the 'O' level examinations, it would appear Indians would have been under represented among students who sat for
7104-489: The Ramakrishna Mission , Arya Samaj and Sree Narayana Mission were active conduits of this reform movement. Traditional religious practices, especially among lower caste Hindus, centred around various rural folk traditions, esoteric rituals and superstitions. In contrast, the new movement appealed to better educated urban Hindus, by conducting religious education classes for children and adults, and interpreting
7252-522: The Roman Empire and was one of the major exports of ancient India to other parts of the world along with Indian spices and Wootz steel . Traditional Indian clothing greatly varies across different parts of the country and is influenced by local culture, geography and climate. Women traditionally wear Sari , Gagra Choli , Angarkha , Phiran , Shalwar Kameez , Gharara and Bandi with Dupatta or Ghoonghat worn over head or shoulder to complete
7400-588: The Shudra caste as well as Adi Dravidas or ' Untouchables '. These were often indentured labourers who were brought through various labour recruitment systems to work on rubber plantations in Malaya . Many later came to work in Singapore once free of their bonds. Another group which was less than free was the military. The first Indians in Singapore were 120 sepoys in the Bengal Native Infantry and
7548-838: The Sri Lankan Tamil community built the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple at Ceylon Road, while 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. Two Hindu temples have been gazetted as National Monuments of Singapore . Indian people Indian people or Indians are
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#17327930576337696-649: The United States , are widely used in official discourse and in law. The name Bhārata has been used as a self-ascribed name by people of the Indian subcontinent and the Republic of India since 1949. The designation "Bhārata" appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, Bhārata Gaṇarājya . The name is derived from the ancient Vedic and Puranas , which refer to the land that constitutes India as Bhārata varṣam and uses this term to distinguish it from other varṣa s or continents. The Bhāratas were
7844-444: The citizens and nationals of the Republic of India . In 2022, the population of India stood at 1.4 billion people, of various ethnic groups . According to United Nations forecasts, India overtook China as the world's most populous country by the end of April 2023, containing 17.50 percent of the global population. In addition to the Indian population, the Indian overseas diaspora also boasts large numbers, particularly in
7992-646: The indigenous peoples of the Americas . Although the misidentification of indigenous Americans as Indians occurred during the European colonization of the Americas , the term "Indian" is still used as an identifier for indigenous populations in North America and the Caribbean . This usage is growing rarer, as terms such as indigenous, Amerindian, and specifically First Nations in Canada , and Native American in
8140-520: The law and sports, among others. The Singapore Department of Statistics broadly defines Indians as a race (or ethnic group ), comprising "persons of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan origin such as Tamils , Telugus , Malayalis , Punjabis , Bengalis , Sinhalese etc." Indians 'in Singapore' may be further defined in terms of nationality and residency status. Most ethnic Indians are Singapore residents, known in local parlance as 'Singaporean Indians', or 'local Indians'. They are usually
8288-527: The spread of Buddhism out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The Islamic expansion arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to the Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea. In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh , Bhutan , India, Nepal , and Pakistan , besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of
8436-612: The 1915 Sepoy Mutiny, was an incident concerning 850 Indian Army soldiers who mutinied against their British superiors on 15 February 1915 in Singapore, as part of the 1915 Ghadar Conspiracy (not to be mistaken for the Indian Mutiny of 1857 ). The predominantly Muslim soldiers mutinied because they believed they were being sent to fight against Islamic Ottoman Empire as part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I . This mutiny lasted nearly seven days, and resulted in
8584-422: The 1960s to 1990s lifted many out of poverty and created a broad middle class. In the process, many Indians experienced upward social mobility for the first time. Despite this progress, Indians remain somewhat stratified in terms of class relative to other ethnic groups. With the influx of highly qualified Indian Permanent Residents, the socio-economic indicators of the Indian community have improved, arguably masking
8732-561: The 1980s, this approach – which was initially seen as an exceptional measure taken in the case of the Malay community – became entwined with the rhetoric of Asian values , which saw the promotion of a greater consciousness and pride in each citizen's own ethnic heritage, as a bulwark against the supposedly negative influence of Western culture. Consequently, the government established the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) in 1991 to address
8880-426: The 1990s, leading to an influx of foreigners in Singapore, particularly Indian nationals. This led to a new phase in the history of the Indian community in Singapore. A second phase began in the early 1990s, when immigration policies were liberalised to attract foreign professionals to boost the size and skills of the local workforce. The government was keen to draw in well educated migrants from Asian countries who, it
9028-428: The 2010s. In contrast, unskilled foreign workers enter Singapore with Work Permits. They are rarely allowed to stay in Singapore for more than two years and are never allowed to bring dependents with them. Nor are they eligible to apply for either Permanent Residence or Citizenship. Demographic statistics are generally restricted to 'Singapore residents', defined as both Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents. Many of
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#17327930576339176-545: The British Empire in 1819. Initially, the Indian population was transient, mainly comprising young men who came as workers and soldiers. By the mid-20th century, a settled community had emerged, with a more balanced gender ratio and a better spread of age groups . Indian Singaporeans are linguistically and religiously diverse, with ethnic Tamils forming a plurality – although there are significant amounts of Singaporeans of South Asian descent that do not identify with
9324-589: The British for their radical union activism. Later, some of these men join the more moderate wing of the PAP. Devan Nair went on to build the modern trades union movement in Singapore, the National Trades Union Congress . Consequently, Indians in Singapore tended to align themselves, both individually and as groups, with parties advocating specific political or economic ideologies, rather than along purely racial lines. This basic difference between
9472-411: The Hindi Belt made up the majority of Indians in the Anglo-Caribbean and Suriname. Hence, their dialect of Hindustani, known as Caribbean Hindustani collectively, is based mostly on Bhojpuri and Awadhi, and it became the lingua franca of the early Indians. Also, since they formed the largest group of Indians, the traditions and culture from the Bhojpur and Awadh regions became the dominant culture for
9620-450: The Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory . Unlike "South Asia", sometimes the expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka. According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included
9768-493: The Indian Plate along with the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge , a submarine ridge that was generated by the northern drift of the Indian Plate over the Réunion hotspot during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic times. The Maldives archipelago rises from a basement of volcanic basalt outpourings from a depth of about 2000 m forming the central part of the ridge between Laccadives and the Great Chagos Bank . According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies
9916-465: The Indian Singaporeans are Hindus. The proportion of Indians following Islam, Christianity and Buddhism are relatively higher as the census include Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and other South Asian ethnic groups under the category of "Indians". According to the latest 2020 Census, 57.3% of Singapore's Indian population declared themselves as Hindus, including 23.4% Muslims, 12.6% Christians, 4.6% other religions and 2.2% non-religious, as stated in
10064-399: The Indian communities of Singapore and Malaysia has endured to the present day. Scholars have identified two phases in the development of the Indian community after Singaporean independence in 1965. The first phase, from 1965 to the early 1990s, saw a decline in the proportion of the community from 9% in 1957 to a low of 6.4% in 1980. One reason was the withdrawal of British military forces in
10212-406: The Indian people was the Maurya Empire having Patliputra (currently Patna , Bihar ) as its capital, conquered the major part of South Asia in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka alongside their senior advisor, Acharya Chanakya , the world's pioneer of the fields of political science and economics. The next great ancient empire of the Indian people
10360-404: The Indian prince who founded Singapore – Sang Nila Utama – as being a descendant of Alexander the Great and an Indian Princess. Meanwhile, the royal and sacred associations of Fort Canning Hill , the seat of ancient rulers, are related to the Hindu Mount Meru concept. Archaeological digs have unearthed Hindu-Buddhist artefacts from the pre-colonial period. In 1822, John Crawfurd documented
10508-464: The Indian subcontinent and within the international borders of the modern country of India had been migrating to Southeast Asia , East Asia , Central Asia , North Africa , and even along Europe's Mediterranean coast, the Indian diaspora generally socio-politically or historically refers to those whose families or themselves migrated to other parts of the world after the British Empire established itself in India. Population estimates from 2016 vary from
10656-664: The Indians in those countries. France sent southern Indians to its colonies in the Caribbean as indentured laborers, hence there are also many residents of Indian descent in Guadeloupe , Martinique , and French Guiana , mostly of southern Indian descent. Many Indo-Caribbean people have migrated to the United States , United Kingdom , Canada , the Netherlands , and France , and few of them have even seasonally migrated to
10804-787: The Sree Narayana Mission set up a home of the destitute elderly. Another social reform movement was the Self-Respect Movement , which emerged in Tamil Nadu in the 1920s to liberate Dravidian people , and especially Adi Dravidas and lower caste Tamils from what was seen as Brahmin oppression. This movement sought inspiration from Tamil history and culture. In Singapore, groups like the Tamil Reform Association were inspired by this movement. They imported publications from India that promoted
10952-882: The Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate, where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In the east, it is bounded by Patkai , Naga , Lushai and Chin hills. The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west. Given
11100-781: The advent of European traders resulting in the establishment of British India ; and the subsequent independence movement that led to the Partition of India and the creation of the Republic of India . The Indian people established during the ancient and medieval periods to the early eighteenth century some of the greatest empires and dynasties in South Asian history like the Maurya Empire , Satavahana dynasty , Gupta Empire , Rashtrakuta dynasty , Chalukya Empire , Chola Empire , Karkota Empire , Pala Empire , Vijayanagara Empire , Delhi Sultanate , Mughal Empire , Maratha Confederacy and Sikh Empire . The first great empire of
11248-413: The basis of meritocratic ability rather than kinship or ethnicity. Consequently, "the cultivation of a Singaporean identity has been largely successful in converting Indian migrants into Indian-Singaporeans." In general, Indian social patterns and political activities became aligned and integrated within the national mainstream from the 1960s. Although the Singapore government championed public policies and
11396-636: The centuries, there has been significant integration of Hindus , Jains , and Sikhs with Muslims across India. India is the birthplace of Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism and Sikhism , collectively known as Indian religions . Indian religions, also known as Dharmic religions, are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones. Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 1 billion followers altogether, and possibly as many as 1.5 or 1.6 billion followers. Throughout India's history, religion has been an important part of
11544-490: The citizens of India are Hindus , the country has a substantial population of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and adherents of tribal faiths. Zoroastrianism and Judaism each has several thousands of Indian adherents, and also have an ancient history in India. India has the largest population of people adhering to Zoroastrianism and Baháʼí Faith in the world, even though these two religions are not native to India. Many other world religions also have
11692-580: The colonial system. In contrast, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) espoused an ideology of social democracy which gained the support of Indian union workers. S. Rajaratnam was one of the founding members of the PAP, and he worked to define and champion its vision of a multi-racial country, in contrast to the Malaysian model. More left-leaning Indian leaders and intellectuals, such as C.V. Devan Nair and James Puthucheary initially supported more radically left-wing groups. They had been imprisoned by
11840-560: The community also became more settled, with several new generations born locally. A historical novel titled 'Sembawang: A Novel' explores this notion as well traces the lives of Indian migrants who lived in an Indian enclave outside the HM Naval Base in the 1960s. From the 1960s to 1980s, the People's Action Party government tried to cultivate a shared national identity and to end the historical tendency of Singaporeans to identify with
11988-546: The concept of the Non Resident Indian or NRI, which the government of the Republic of India uses to describe its citizens living abroad. In Singapore, an NRI may be statistically non-resident (in the case of work permit or pass holders) or he/she may be considered a Singapore resident (in the case of permanent residents). Indian Singaporean are grouped according to their respective ethnolinguistic backgrounds in
12136-521: The concept of zero and the Hindu–Arabic numeral system decimal system during this period. During this period Indian cultural influence spread over many parts of Southeast Asia which led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia . During the early medieval period the great Rashtrakuta dynasty governed most of the Indian subcontinent from the 8th to 10th centuries and
12284-415: The countries of Bangladesh , Bhutan , the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region, the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan , which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding
12432-481: The country's culture. Religious diversity and religious tolerance are both established in the country by the law and by custom ; the Constitution of India has declared the right to freedom of religion to be a fundamental right . Atheism and agnosticism have a long history in India and flourished within Śramaṇa movement . The Cārvāka school originated in India around the 6th century BCE and
12580-477: The current ethnic Indian party within Malaysia's ruling Barisan National coalition government. Unlike Malaysia's delicate ethno-demographic balance, Singapore had a large Chinese majority. This rendered ethnic-based politics less viable, and tended to support class-based politics instead. For example, several Indian professionals supported the more conservative pro-British parties, as they had been beneficiaries of
12728-555: The deaths of 47 soldiers and civilians at the hands of the mutineers, who were subsequently arrested and court-martialled ; those who were found guilty of capital crimes were executed by the Singapore Volunteer Corps . In general, the mutiny was restricted to Muslim soldiers, and did not involve the wider Indian population in Singapore. While the mutiny was a significant event in Singaporean history, and one of
12876-481: The difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest, the valleys of Manipur in its east, and by maritime routes . More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the Tibetans . These routes and interactions have led to
13024-537: The early 1970s, which led to the repatriation of many Indian base workers. Another factor was the retirement of older men, who chose to return to families in India. Meanwhile, post-1965 immigration restrictions ended new migration from India. Furthermore, there was a rise in the emigration of Indian Singaporeans to the West in the late 1980s. During this time, the Indian population continued to grow in absolute terms due to natural increase. Even as it grew proportionally smaller,
13172-758: The east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia (the Malay Archipelago ), the maritime region of the subcontinent ( littoral South Asia ) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere : the British Indian Ocean Territory two of the 26 atolls of the Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Historically,
13320-817: The educated professional elite (over 0.5% of the Indian community), mercantile groups (under 10%), the white collar middle class (5–7%) and the uneducated labourers (over 80%). Economic class and job functions were also aligned with the ethnic origins of immigrants. For example, Sri Lankan Tamils and Malayalees formed the core of the English educated upper middle class. Mercantile families tended to be Sindhi , Gujarati , and Tamil Muslim. South Indian upper caste Hindus tended to perform traditional skilled jobs, such as moneylenders ( Chettiars ) and priests ( Brahmins ). Sikhs were often policemen or private security guards. Most of these migrants were voluntary migrants who entered and left Singapore freely on their own resources. Unskilled coolies tended to be landless Tamil peasants from
13468-461: The educational and social problems of the Indian community. Shortly after, a similar body was set up for the majority Chinese community. Apart from ethnic self-help groups like SINDA (which remain controversial in Singapore), the government has in the main pursued policies emphasising racial integration and national identity. It is against this backdrop that immigration policies were liberalised in
13616-437: The extent that it is treated as a religion in itself. Sports like hockey, volleyball, football are quite popular while polo, golf and tennis are preferred sports for affluent sections of the society. In recent times with government support Olympic sports like shooting, archery, wrestling, javelin throw, swimming, badminton have gained prominence in the Indian society. Although, population groups originating in different parts of
13764-551: The first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for Indian independence movement was launched, the Indian subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after the British provinces were partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the princely states all acceded to one of the new states. India is one of the world's oldest civilisations. The Indian culture, often labelled as an amalgamation of several various cultures, spans across
13912-524: The first time, the number of ethnic Indian Singapore citizens, and ethnic Indian Singapore Permanent Residents, separately – instead of combining the two. As of 2010, there were 237,473 Indian Singapore citizens, or 7.35% of the citizen population. There were 110,646 Indian PRs, or 20.45% of the PR population. In total, ethnic Indians formed 348,119, or 9.23% of the 'resident' population of citizens and PRs. Several in-depth studies have been conducted and published in
14060-490: The first wave of migration of indentured laborers, more Indians from Gujarat , Sindh , Kutch , Punjab , Bengal , and South India came to the Caribbean for business and professional occupations from the 1930s till present-day. There are more than a million Indo-Caribbean people . In Trinidad and Tobago , Guyana , and Suriname they are the largest ethnic groups. The Indians from the Bhojpuri and Awadhi-speaking areas of
14208-518: The following statistics. Based on the latest 2020 Census, 5.0% of the resident population aged above 15 years, were Hindu. Almost all Hindus in Singapore were ethnic Indians (99%), with the majority of Singapore's ethnic Indians (57.3%) being Hindu. There are approximately 35 temples serving Hindus in Singapore. Most are built in the South Indian Dravidian style. Specific communities have established their own temples. For instance,
14356-561: The former, most notably the Sikhs . The Indo–Singaporean culture has endured and evolved over 200 years. By the late 20th century, it had grown distinct from contemporary South Asian cultures, with Indian Singaporean elements becoming diffused within a broader Singaporean culture that includes other ethnic groups. Prominent individuals of South Asian descent have long made a mark in Singapore as leaders of various fields in national life. Indian Singaporeans are also collectively well represented, in areas such as politics , education , diplomacy
14504-769: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are concentrated around the city of Durban . They were classified as members of an "Indian" race under the country's defunct Apartheid system. About 40,000 people of Indian origin live in Tanzania mostly in the urban areas. According to the American Community Survey of the United States Census Bureau , the Indian American population in the United States grew from almost 1.67 million in 2000 to 3.1 million in 2010 which
14652-562: The local English dialect. At the same time, Singapore Tamil is slightly distinct from the versions spoken in India and Sri Lanka, with its closest cousin being the Malaysian Tamil spoken across the border. Local usage includes some words from English, Malay and other languages. Meanwhile, certain Tamil words or phrases that are archaic in India and Sri Lanka are still used in Singapore. Religion of Indian Singaporeans (2020) Majority of
14800-486: The locally-born and nativised second, third, fourth or even fifth generation descendants of settlers from the Indian subcontinent, many with little to no connection left with the latter. In addition, there are also many ethnic Indian immigrant workers in Singapore . Foreign citizens of the Republic of India are called 'Indian nationals', or even 'Indian Indians'. Foreign Indians may be distinguished in terms of residency status. Well educated professionals or entrepreneurs with
14948-453: The major landmass of South Asia." According to historian B. N. Mukherjee , "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity." According to geographer Dudley Stamp , "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as a region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent." This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the Indian Plate , which has been relatively isolated from
15096-678: The medieval Indians was the Chola dynasty . Under the great Rajaraja Chola I and his successor Rajendra Chola I the Chola dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia . The power of the Chola empire was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the Ganges which Rajendra Chola I undertook and by the occupation of cities of the maritime empire of Srivijaya in Southeast Asia , as well as by
15244-501: The most important ones specifically involving the Indian diaspora, it was somewhat distinct from the mainstream development of nationalist sentiments among the Indian population in Singapore, which emerged most prominently around the time of the Second World War . Nationalist movements in India established branch organisations in Singapore to draw on local Indian support for Indian independence. The Indian Independence League
15392-540: The movement, and they also hosted visiting leaders of the Self-Respect Movement from Tamil Nadu when they visited Singapore. The Singapore groups focussed on moral, social and religious reform. For example, they campaigned against caste distinctions and alcohol abuse. These groups also promoted the use of the Tamil language, and the development of Tamil literature in Singapore, through the establishment of Tamil newspapers and schools. They were also involved in
15540-856: The name Āryāvarta to "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern (Bay of Bengal) to the Western Sea (Arabian Sea)". While the word Indian and India is derived from Greek Ἰνδία ( Indía ), via Latin India . Indía in Koine Greek denoted the region beyond the Indus ( Ἰνδός ) river, since Herodotus (5th century BC) ἡ Ἰνδική χώρη , hē Indikē chōrē ; "the Indian land", Ἰνδός , Indos , "an Indian", from Old Persian Hinduš and medieval term Hindustani . The name
15688-683: The national self-help group for the Indian community. Singapore has the following international schools for expatriate Indians: The official languages of Singapore are English, Malay , Chinese (Mandarin) and Tamil . The national language of Singapore is Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national anthem, " Majulah Singapura ". Persons of ethnic Tamil ancestry form about 58% of Singapore's Indian residents. Minority Indian groups include Malayalees , Telugu , Punjabis , Sindhis , Gujaratis , Sinhalese , and Hindi -speaking people, among others. In terms of actual daily language use, 39% of Indian residents speak mainly English at home, and
15836-637: The national – and often nationalistic – politics of their ancestral homelands. While different ethnic groups were allowed and sometimes encouraged to retain their cultural identities, they were also pushed to integrate socially, politically and economically across ethnic lines. The government pursued policies to integrate the races in public housing estates and national schools. Young men underwent two years of compulsory national service in ethnically mixed military or police camps. Traditional family businesses were superseded by government agencies or foreign multi-national corporations, which hired multi-ethnic workforces on
15984-499: The neighboring Latin American and other Caribbean countries as migrant workers. A majority of Indo-Caribbean are Hindus , while there is significant minority of Christians and Muslims , along with smaller numbers of recently arrived Indian Jains , Sikhs , Buddhist , and Baháʼís . Indo-Caribbean people are known as the descendants of the jahajis or girmityas . Recent genome studies appear to show that South Asians are
16132-663: The north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east. It extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by large mountain barriers. Laccadive Islands , Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago are three series of coral atolls , cays and Faroes on
16280-533: The number of Indian-born people in the UK increased in size by 38% from 467,634 to around 647,000 (an increase of approximately 180,000). There are approximately 1.86 million people of Indian origin or ancestry in Canada, the majority of which live in Greater Toronto and Vancouver , with growing communities in Alberta and Quebec. Roughly 5.1% of the total Canadian population is of Indian ancestry,
16428-608: The orbitals of planets. The Mughal Empire consolidated much of the Indian sub-continent under a single realm. Under the Mughals, India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture, greatly influencing Indian society. The Mughal Empire balanced and pacified local societies through new administrative practices and had diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule. Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as
16576-450: The outfit. Men traditionally wear Angarkha , Achkan , Bagalbandi , Kurta , Kameez , Phiran , Sherwani and Koti for upper garment, lower garment includes Dhoti , Churidar , Shalwar , and Lungi . Pagri is usually worn around head to complete the outfit. In urban centres, people often wear western clothing and variety of other contemporary fashion. Indian food varies from region to region. Staple foods of Indian cuisine include
16724-628: The overseas Chinese in these territories. As these colonies progressed towards independence, Indians and Chinese in Malaya organised themselves along the lines of ethnic political parties. For instance, the Indian Association in Singapore, today a social and recreational club, was one of a network of such clubs in early 20th century Malaya which came together to form what would become the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC),
16872-408: The population. Following this, Indians slowly began to settle permanently in greater numbers and the relative size of the community in colonial Singapore became stable, fluctuating between 7.7% and 9.4%. Scholars have characterised the Indian community in colonial times as being diverse and highly stratified along class lines. According to Dr Rajesh Rai, the social hierarchy comprised four main groups:
17020-750: The recent years on the Indian communities in Singapore such as Rajesh Rai's, Indians in Singapore, 1819–1945: Diaspora in the Colonial Port City, Anitha Devi Pillai's, From Kerala to Singapore: Voices from the Singapore Malayalee Community, Mathew Mathews, The Singapore Ethnic Mosaic, S A Nathanji's Singapore: Nation Building and Indians' Legacy amongst others. Alongside other ethnic groups, Indians from all social backgrounds have achieved significant advances in their educational levels, income, life expectancy and other social indicators. Singapore's extraordinary economic growth from
17168-420: The region is referred to as South Asia. The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist. Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass , the borders between countries are often either
17316-543: The region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to a distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state (today the Republic of India). According to
17464-535: The repeated embassies to China. During the late medieval period the great Vijayanagara Empire ruled most of southern India from the 14th to 16th centuries and reached its peak during the reign of Sri Krishnadevaraya The medieval Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics flourished during this period under such well known south Indian mathematicians as Madhava ( c. 1340 – c. 1425 ), who made important contributions to Trigonometry and Calculus, and Nilakhanta (c. 1444–1545), who postulated on
17612-516: The rest of Eurasia. The Himalayas (from Brahmaputra River in the east to Indus River in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to Yarkand River in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary. In the west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush , Spīn Ghar (Safed Koh), Sulaiman Mountains , Kirthar Mountains , Brahui range, and Pab range among others, with
17760-478: The rise of sixteen oligarchic republics known as Mahajanapadas ; the rise of the Śramaṇa movement ; the birth of Jainism and Buddhism in the 6th century BCE, and the onset of a succession of powerful dynasties and empires for more than two millennia throughout various geographic areas of the subcontinent, including the growth of Muslim dynasties during the Medieval period intertwined with Hindu powers;
17908-598: The ruins of a Hindu or Buddhist temple on Fort Canning Hill . Singapore's two most important pre-colonial artefacts are the Singapore Stone , which is inscribed with an Indic script and a gold armlet bearing the motif of a Hindu 'kala' head. Following the Portuguese colonisation of Malacca ( Malaysia ) in 1511, the Portuguese government encouraged their explorers to bring their married Indian women who were converted already to Roman Catholic Christianity, under
18056-666: The second largest community, making up 7.57% of the local Indian population. Tamils and Malayalees are the two main South Indian ethnolinguistic communities in Singapore, forming two-thirds of the Indian population. Meanwhile, the three main North Indian ethnolinguistic groups in Singapore (the Punjabi , Gujarati , and Sindhi communities) constitute 7.67% of the Singaporean Indian populace. The remaining 29.68%
18204-540: The sepoys, they came from all parts of India. While some returned to India, several settled in Singapore after serving their sentences. From the 19th century, Hindu reform movements emerged in India as part of a broader cultural modernisation. These movements sought to promote what they saw as a more authentic form of Hinduism while addressing social abuses, such as the Hindu caste system . These movements spread to overseas Indian communities, including Singapore. Groups like
18352-559: The spread of Hinduism , Buddhism , architecture , administration and writing system from India to other parts of Asia through the Silk Road by the travellers and maritime traders during the early centuries of the Common Era . To the west, Greater India overlaps with Greater Persia in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains . During medieval period, Islam played a significant role in shaping Indian cultural heritage. Over
18500-447: The spread of Buddhism. These literature's were also influential in development of One Thousand and One Nights during medieval period. Indian people have played a major role in the development of the philosophy , sciences , mathematics , arts , architecture and astronomy throughout history . During the ancient period, notable mathematics accomplishment of India included Hindu–Arabic numeral system with decimal place-value and
18648-502: The statistics about Indians in Singapore in this article are restricted to this group. Scholars have noted "(o)fficial figures for workers on temporary contracts are difficult to obtain because the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore considers the information sensitive." Consequently, there is limited information about short-term or 'non-resident' Indians in Singapore. Note that use of the term 'non-resident' Indian should not be confused with
18796-558: The subcontinent around the world e.g. " Australia's tour of the subcontinent". The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions". The Indian subcontinent was formerly part of Gondwana , a supercontinent formed during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic . Gondwana began to break up during the Mesozoic , with Insular India separating from Antarctica 130-120 million years ago and Madagascar around 90 million years ago, during
18944-465: The table refer to the proportion of each language group within the larger Resident Indian community in Singapore. The Singaporean Indian demographic is characterised by an ethnic Tamil majority (54.18%) and a large number of smaller groups. Ethnic Tamils in Singapore include the descendants of Tamil settlers from India and Sri Lanka (sometimes referred to as ' Ceylonese '). Ethnic Malayalees , tracing their heritage to Kerala in southern India, form
19092-430: The term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region. The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent", the "South Asian subcontinent", as well as "India" or " Greater India " in the classical and pre-modern sense. The sport of cricket is notably popular in India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Nepal and Bangladesh . Within a cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as
19240-540: The total population. This group includes two-year work permit holders as well as those holding renewable Employment, Dependant and Student Passes. In 2005, Dr Rajesh Rai from the National University of Singapore has observed that "independent surveys approximate the number of South Asians on work permits to be… approximately 90,000–100,000." In November 2007, a cabinet minister said "more than 20,000 Indian professionals had set up home" in Singapore, although it
19388-429: The tradition in Indian society. Marriage is considered a union of the two families rather than just the individuals, the process involved in an arranged marriage can be different depending on the communities and families. Recent survey study found that fewer marriages are purely arranged without consent and that the majority of surveyed Indian marriages are arranged with consent. The study also suggested that Indian culture
19536-449: The under-achievement of some Indians. In 2005, both the average and median monthly income for Indian Residents (S$ 3,660 and $ 2,480 respectively) exceeded those for all Residents (S$ 3,500 and S$ 2,410 respectively). In the same year, 25% of Indian Residents had a university degree as their highest qualification attained. In contrast the national average was only 17%. Other educations statistics are less positive. In 2004, 73% of Indians among
19684-464: The union activism, especially in those work sectors dominated by Tamils. Tamil-educated journalists and teachers were at the forefront of this movement. Leaders like Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani were especially instrumental in championing the rights of Tamils and Indians, by encouraging Indians to register for Singapore citizenship in the 1950s and by campaigning to make Tamil one of Singapore's official languages. The 1915 Singapore Mutiny , also known as
19832-406: The usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia. While South Asia , a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent , a term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies. Since
19980-479: The values, concepts and principals behind the religion for lay people. These groups also encouraged a more direct relationship with God, unmediated by Brahmin priests and rituals, through individual devotion (stemming from the Bhakti movement ), chanting Bhajans, or hymns, as well as through yoga . Charitable service was also promoted. The Ramakrishna Mission in Singapore set up a home for boys from troubled homes, while
20128-734: The world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole , delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east. The neighboring geographical regions around the subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to
20276-568: Was Naraina Pillai , the earliest Indian community leader and the island's first building contractor. In 1827, he also founded the Sri Mariamman Temple , Singapore oldest Hindu place of worship. The influx of Indians in the half century after 1819 led to a brief period when Indians, for the only time, overtook the Malays to become the second largest ethnic group. In 1860, they formed 16% of the population. However, their number then fell from 13,000 that year to 12,000 in 1880, or 8.7% of
20424-510: Was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organise those living outside of India to remove the British from India. Founded in 1928 by Indian nationalists Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru , the organisation was active in Singapore and Malaya following Japan's successful Malayan Campaign in the Second World War . The Indian National Army (INA) was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia , also during World War II . Their aim
20572-523: Was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states . The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors, while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal , the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance". Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that
20720-408: Was first performed in 1873. She is usually depicted as a woman clad in an orange or saffron sari holding a flag and sometimes accompanied by a lion . Sports in India are mainly in two categories: traditional sports and global sports. Traditional sports like gilli danda , kho kho , kabaddi are quite popular. On the other hand, Indians are highly enthusiastic about the game of cricket, to
20868-531: Was hoped, would be both keen and able to settle permanently. This also addressed the problem of Singapore's extremely low fertility rates. In addition to these professionals, unskilled foreign workers were recruited as low cost manual labour for construction sites and the cleaning sector, albeit without the prospect of permanent settlement. As a result of these policies, the Indian population grew faster than other groups. The proportion of Indian citizens and permanent residents rose from 6.4% in 1980 to 9.23% in 2010. This
21016-463: Was mainly due to rapid growth in the number of Indian nationals who acquired Singapore citizenship or permanent residency. For some years now, the Department of Statistics has stopped providing ethnic data about the short-term or 'non-resident' foreign citizens living in Singapore (i.e. those without Singapore Permanent Residence). As of end June 2007, there were 1,005,500 such persons, or 21.5% of
21164-622: Was part of 'Indianised Kingdoms' like Srivijaya and the Majapahit , which formed part of a cultural region known as Greater India . Prior to the spread of Islam , Singapore and the rest of the Malay world , was Hindu-Buddhist. One of the most extensive and enduring Indian influence in Malay culture is the vast number of Indian loan words in the Malay language . Indian influence is also seen in symbols and mythology associated with ancient Singapore. The Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals describe
21312-469: Was rekindled from 1819 to World War II , when both India and Singapore were under British colonial rule . Unlike earlier forms of contact, this led to mass migration and, eventually, the formation of a large, settled and distinct population. By 1824, Singapore's first census counted 756 Indian residents, or about 7% of the total population. In 1826, official figures give a total population of 13,750, of which 1,021 are Indians – 244 from Bengal and 777 from
21460-668: Was the Gupta Empire . This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or " Golden Age of India ". During this period, aspects of Indian civilisation, administration, culture, and Hinduism and Buddhism spread to much of Asia , while the Chola Empire in the south had flourishing maritime trade links with the Roman Empire during this period. The ancient Indian mathematicians Aryabhata , Bhāskara I and Brahmagupta invented
21608-413: Was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance. Many Indian soldiers and civilians were recruited in Singapore and Malaya to join the INA during the Japanese occupation. Many of them died fighting alongside the Japanese against the British in Burma during the war. Indian nationalist sentiments in Singapore and Malaya were paralleled by the rise of Chinese nationalism amongst
21756-489: Was woven around 2450 BC and 2000 BC. In the 11th century BC Rig-veda mentions dyed and embroidered garments known as paridhan and pesas respectively and thus highlights the development of sophisticated garment manufacturing techniques during this period. In the 5th century BCE, Greek historian Herodotus describes the richness of the quality of Indian textiles. By the 2nd century AD, cotton , muslins and silk textiles manufactured in India were imported by
21904-452: Was written during the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE in classical India and is traditionally attributed to the Sage Bharata . Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope. While it primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come to influence music , classical dance , and literature as well. It covers stage design , music , dance , makeup , and virtually every other aspect of stagecraft . Indian drama and theatre has
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