JANUARY 20 — I am not an Indian. I am a Singaporean.
I was born here and so were my parents. Only on my father’s side can I find grandparents born in India, so yes there is a part of me connected to that vast and exhilarating subcontinent.
It’s a confused relationship. That becomes evident when I am actually in India.
Recently I was in Delhi for a friend’s wedding and well it was somewhat awkward. Everyone assumed I was Indian.
They spoke to me in Hindi (like most Indian Singaporeans I don’t speak Hindi, I speak Tamil).
Everyone expected me to understand not just the language but the culture; why do they dance in one way one minute and a completely different way the next?
How much to tip the men playing the dhols? Hilarious when you consider that I can never quite work out how many INR makes 1 SGD and so I tend to either overpay or underpay radically.
But no matter how much I explain it’s very hard for people in India to understand that I am not really one of them.
Of course, this experience is very similar to the experience most Chinese Singaporeans have in Mainland China.
But awkwardness aside, this strange and somewhat strained interaction between Indian and Singaporean and in fact the interaction between Singapore as a whole and India is important.
India is rising. I don’t travel there too often but it’s clear things aren’t what they used to be.
India has always had amazing contrasts — modernity right next to tradition. The extremes aren’t new but what is a more visible drive towards prosperity, growth and power.
Delhi’s modern Metro now stretches out to villages that must only have seen electricity a few years ago.
And even in second- and third-tier cities like Jaipur, you see infrastructure and growth on a staggering scale.
It is unmissable even for a casual tourist: The highways to Jodhpur and Agra are littered with sprawling industrial zones and Japanese restaurants (to cater to large numbers of Japanese managers now working in these zones, I assume).
Even in far flung corners of the country, roads, railways and high rises are springing up at a pace that can only be compared with one other nation: China.
India today is building and growing on the scale China has been for the last 30 years and given that the two nations now have almost equally immense populations (1.3 billion ) that is some serious growth potential.
India’s GDP will most likely overtake that of the UK and France this year — making it the world’s fifth largest economy. Just 13 years ago, China occupied the same position.
Today China’s is the second largest economy in the world behind only the US — and India is showing every sign of following a similar trajectory.
Though its speed may not match China’s, the outcome looks likely to be similar — a huge power with a regional and global foot-print.
In Singapore and Malaysia, our economies and businesses benefited hugely from China’s rise. Singapore and KL became bases for Chinese companies looking to expand across South-east Asia and beyond.
Now the same opportunity exists with India. Indian companies are looking to increase their foot-print in our region and Singapore, KL and Bangkok are all in competition for their business.
Indian businesses are looking for access to Asean markets, financial services and skilled workers.
To capitalise on India’s boom, Singaporean businesses need to work to understand India. What do its people and businesses want and what can we offer?
This goes far beyond ethnicity; it is not about Indian Singaporeans, it is about all Singaporeans and the relevant policy makers understanding what a strong and mutually beneficial relationship this can be.
Our nation’s name comes from India’s Sanskrit. We all enjoy Indian culture and its influence has always been a part of Singapore’s culture from fish head curry to roti prata and the number zero.
To use this innate connection to our advantage, Singaporeans need to go beyond an ignorance that views India as simply dirty and smelly.
Our people need to understand that India is both increasingly less dirty and increasingly full of opportunities. As we did with China, we have a chance to play a part in the rise of a power that will change the world.
To make sure we do play our part effectively, we need to understand what our relationship with this behemoth will be and that honestly means far more Singaporeans getting on planes to and stumbling around places most of us have never heard of.
Maybe out of confusion will come understanding!
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
