PM Lee Hsien Loong's Speech at the Opening of the Indian Heritage Centre

Friends, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to be here this evening in the heart of Little India to open our new Indian Heritage Centre (IHC). It celebrates the many contributions of the Singapore Indian community to our society. It reminds us of the importance of our heritage, which anchors our sense of place and identity in rapidly changing world. It is a timely birthday gift to Singapore during the 50th anniversary of independence, which also happens to be the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Singapore and India so I am very glad to have the Indian High Commissioner here with us today.

The Indian community adds to the richness of our multi-racial and multi-religious society. They are an important strand in the rich tapestry of Singaporean life. It is a relationship which goes back to historical times when early Indian traders established trade links with Southeast Asia, including Singapore. They Introduced Indian religions, ideas of governance and political systems, which led to the establishment of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms all over Southeast Asia, like Angkor, Srivijaya and Majapahit. Majapahit was in Central Java, Eastern Java and in fact, old Singapore, perhaps called Temasek then, was a tributary of the Majapahit Empire. Of course even the name “Temasek” or “Singapura” has Sanskrit roots.

In modern times, the Indian community has been in Singapore since Stamford Raffles. In fact when Raffles arrived in Singapore in 1819, he was accompanied by 120 sepoys. Sepoys were units of Indian soldiers led by British officers. He also had a bazaar contingent – I discovered this today looking up our National Heritage website – the bazaar contingent consisted of washermen, tea-makers (chai-wallahs), milkmen and domestic servants. So the Indians have been here from the beginning, and they have continued to arrive over the years, drawn by jobs and opportunities and sometimes necessity. They came from all different backgrounds, as builders, businessmen, artists, even a few prisoners. And they brought with them their customs, their skills and trades and left a permanent mark on Singapore. For example, much of Singapore’s early colonial architecture was built by Indian labour, in fact Indian convict labour, including the Istana and including the Catholic Cathedral.

And in our short 50 years as a nation, many notable pioneers have come from the Indian community – Mr P Govindasamy Pillai, popularly known as PGP. He came here in his teens. He worked at a department store. Later, in true enterprising spirit, he bought over the department store and established his own chain of stores called the PGP Stores! Or Navroji Mistri, one of the earliest Parsi pioneers who came in 1912. He made his fortune selling soda water and gave a large part of his wealth to charity. In 1952, the year I was born, he donated $1 million, a princely sum, to build a paediatric wing at the Singapore General Hospital – the Mistri Wing, which later became the National Heart Centre and now that it has moved out it has become the Diabetes and Metabolism Centre, which cares for patients young and old. Or Mr G Sarangapany, founder of Tamil Murasu – a champion of social causes who believed fervently in the future of Singapore. He advocated for Tamil to be recognised as one of Singapore’s official languages and encouraged Tamils to make Singapore their home. Or most eminent of all, Mr S Rajaratnam who penned our National Pledge, and was unwavering in his visionary conviction that we must be “one united people, regardless of race, language or religion”. There had been many others as well, Mr Hunmah Somapah, Rajabali Jumabhoy, etc. We might not remember their names, but their names are inscribed in many places all over Singapore.

South Asian culture is one of the most ancient and diverse cultures in the world.  There are Tamils, Malayalees, Telugus, Sindhis, Sikhs and Bengalis and many others. If you look at the faiths, there are Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and a few Buddhists, Jains and others still. If you look at it geographically, there are South Indians, North Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Kashmiris. Each slightly different and sometimes a very different identity and each with different languages, religions, dances, music, architecture and food. Many of them are represented in Singapore and have expressed their heritages and culture, traditions and life customs here in Singapore and many of them here in Little India.

But despite this rich diversity, in Singapore the Indian community comes together for the common good of the community. As they have done in building this Heritage Centre, which showcases Indian culture and arts, especially as manifested in the Singapore Indian experience. For example, I have not been inside yet, but they have told me and I am looking forward to seeing these things – The heritage centre has a late 19th century Chettinad doorway which gives an idea of how families in the Tamil Nadu region used to live.

There is another 19th century piece, a mosque façade from the Multan region in Pakistan which reflects the religion and architecture of the Indian Muslims. There are also many personal artefacts like a gold necklace with French and British influences contributed by the descendants of Gnanapragasam Pillai, an early Singapore trader from Pondicherry. Pondicherry is in India, on the East Coast and it was a French territory for nearly 300 years.

In order to distill 4,500 years of rich history, to connect the dots from India to Singapore and tell the stories of Singaporean Indians in an Indian Heritage Centre is no mean feat. So I would like to thank the Indian community for supporting this project. The storyline was the result of consultations with more than 50 Indian organizations, associations and groups, and walk-throughs by many individuals. Almost half the artefacts on display within IHC’s thematic galleries are either on loan or donated by members of the community.

I would like to thank those who have worked hard to make this a reality. Minister Iswaran and the IHC Steering Committee and Sub-Committee members and also his predecessor his Chairman Dr Balaji Sadasivan, who started this project and who was quite an expert in the subject and in fact, wrote a book on Indian history which was published after his widow completed it after he passed away. I am very happy to have Mrs Sadasivan here today. Others on the committee included the Concept and Content Sub-Committee, chaired by Ambassador Gopinath Pillai, the Fund-raising Sub-Committee chaired by Ambassador Chandra Das and the Design and Construction Sub-Committee chaired by Ambassador R Jayachandran.

I would also like to thank NHB for their curatorial and programming expertise and access to national artefacts. To all volunteers and members of the community who have chipped in in so many ways and for your hard work, support and generosity, for making this jewel of a Heritage Centre possible.

Thank you very much.

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