June 2, 2022

‘NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences launches series of books and documentaries on Singapore’s minority South Asian communities’ (NUS News, May 2022)

On 28 May, the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) showcased a series of books and short documentaries that focused on Singapore’s lesser-known South Asian communities at a book launch-cum-documentary screening at the Indian Heritage Centre.

The series, titled ‘Hidden Heritage: Minority South Asian Communities in Singapore’, features the Bengali, Gujarati, Hindustani, Tamil Catholic, and Telugu communities. Part of the NUS FASS South Asian Studies Programme, it explores the everyday experiences of these communities. Beyond the homogenized imaginations that many have of Singaporean ‘Indians’, the series unveils the unique and shared historical trajectories and cultural values of the ‘Indian’ diaspora while drawing out the interactions with other ‘Indian’ and non-‘Indian’ communities in Singapore.

The series includes the following books (and documentaries with the same title):

• Sojourners and Settlers from the Gangetic Heartland: The Hindustani Diaspora in Singapore
• ‘Bhadralok’ Connection: The Bengali Diaspora in Singapore
• Being Catholic the Tamil Way or Being Tamil the Catholic Way? The Tamil Catholic Community in Singapore
• Telugus in Singapore: Re-making Diasporic Identities
• Business Connections, Culture and its Continuities: The Gujarati Diaspora in Singapore

The project is led by Associate Professor Rajesh Rai (NUS South Asian Studies) and Dr Jayati Bhattacharya (NUS South Asian Studies). It is supported by a Heritage Research Grant from the National Heritage Board.

Copies of the books will be distributed to the National Library and the documentaries will be used as a teaching aid for NUS students. The South Asian Studies Programme is planning to produce a second series in the next two years that will focus on five other minority South Asian communities.

Read the article here.