I feel compelled to write further about castes here owing to the connection it has with nepotism which I wrote about in Born this way: Onnepotism. I have written about how I learnt about castes and the atrocities in the name of caste in Just Black NotDirt too. Also if you haven’t watched Paava Kathaigal on Netflix, please do (with a tissuebox by your side)!
Following recent events like the yelling of vulgarities at a security guard by Ramesh Erramalli, social media doxxing of Temasek Holdings’ Indian employees, many have started talking about Indian immigrants in Singapore – the rich ones (and CECA).
“As National University of Singapore historian John Solomon recounted in a 2016 book on the Indian diaspora, members of the Tamil community have expressed concern about the appearance of caste names in wedding and funeral announcements in Singapore’s only Tamil-language newspaper. “Whether or not new immigration from India is indeed bringing about a gradual revival in caste identities in Singapore, the growth of this perception has manifested itself in popular xenophobic stereotypes about the new Indian migrant as an exporter of atavistic and backward social ideas,” he wrote.”
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3039999/indian-community-chinese-filipinos-singapore-feels-strain
“But they (new Indians coming into Singapore) bring other bad habits with them which most of the Indians in Singapore have forgotten or got rid off. They have a very strong sense of caste. Some Indians here already have a caste problem but the new Indians have a bigger problem. In fact I’ve heard of instances where, in major American banks, an Indian was put up for promotion by a non-Indian.” – Former politician, S. Dhanabalan
https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/sinda-must-stay-focused
TL;DR: Caste identitities have been perceived to be revived owing to the influx of professionals from India. In the Singapore parliament, traditional casteism in Singapore has not been spoken about. However, casteism has been used interchangeably with classism. Some have described worries of Singapore becoming a casteist/classist society.
Sir, there are quite a few rental blocks in my constituency at Radin Mas. Residents who live in these rental blocks generally take as good care of their homes as the rest of us, though, of course, there is always the occasional black sheep who litters the estate. However,this is a common problem in all the other HDB estates. Sir, I was, therefore, disconcerted to read about the protest of residents in Tampines who are upset that the building of the rental blocks in their vicinity will bring down the value of their properties. They do not want the old and the needy in their neighbourhood.Sir, is there a sensethat some people are “untouchables”? Are we seeing acastementality developing in Singapore?
Sir, I am concerned with this incident which, I believe, if it is left unchecked, will tear our social fabric, weaken our societal foundation and threaten our national survival. If our fellow Singaporeans start to develop and embrace this newcastementality, then I fear this will be the beginning of the end for Singapore. I, therefore, argue that we ought to take a big-hearted approach to embrace Singaporeans of all walks of life into the common spaces of our society.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade and Industry and Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong)
04-03-2010
HEAD U – PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
Caste discrimination in tech industry in the US
How Indian IT workers discriminate against Non-Indian workers (Includes alleged experiences from Singapore)
The Evidence Is Clear, Caste Hurts Corporations In India And Abroad (“Emerging research suggests caste-based losses to companies are similar to those due to a lack of gender and race diversity”).
What is caste?
“To understand what the fuss is about, we need to understand the age-old caste system in the Indian subcontinent, and its complexities. Caste is similar to a social class, but mobility is impossible and discrimination can occur among those of the same economic class. It is similar to the idea of race, but can be perpetuated by those within the same ethnic group. It originated in Hinduism, but has been absorbed by Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. The system can be traced to the Manusmriti code of Hindu laws, which suggests Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, created four categories of people from his own body: Brahmins from his head, Kshatriyas from his arms, Vysyas from his thighs, and Shudras from his feet. This origin ordained an occupational hierarchy. You inherited your caste from your father, and that determined your future. The Brahmins were the priests and advisers – and primary enforcers of the caste system. The Kshatriyas were warriors and soldiers. Then Vysyas farmers and traders. The Shudras workers and tradespeople. Beneath the Shudras were the Dalits – the “untouchables” – tasked with all menial jobs, including cleaning and disposing of the dead. The system imposed codes of conduct and rules for interaction between castes. Mixed marriages, for example, were forbidden. So too was physical contact with all Dalits, who were condemned to live away from the village and had no right to public places, such as temples. Although discrimination against Dalits was outlawed by India’s constitution in 1950, caste-based prejudices live on, and are even inflamed by Dalits asserting the right to equality.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/how-jack-dorsey-twitter-got-blindsided-by-india-caste-system-10998998
When we think of castes, we immediately think of the Brahmins. They are supposed to be the “highest’ caste, right? But in Singapore, it isn’t so straightforward. The hierarchy seems to interplay with who came first (1st gen, 2nd gen, 3rd gen, or 4th gen Singaporeans?), and the size of the community. The most prominent caste in Singapore is hands-down the Chettiars (I don’t mean it as a compliment). They have roads and buildings with their names. Hence, it makes sense for me to start the discussion on them first.
Chettiars
This is a topic that has been quite hotly debated about, especially with the recent complaint about caste discrimination in Sri Thendayuthapani Temple temple. The temple is also known as The Chettiars’ Temple. In fact, Nagarathar (aka Nattukottai Chettiars) Association, a registered society in Singapore (2003) shares the same address as the temple. I was mind blown when I read their “About Us” page.
Nagarathars also called as Nattukottai Chettiars hail from the Pandya Kingdom of Tamilnadu State, India. Nattukottai Chettiars arrived in Singapore during early 1820’s and have settled down by doing Money lending business. At present, members of the 1000 odd Nattukottai Chettiar families in Singapore can be found in civil service, banking, educational institutions, Information Technology, Construction Industry and other professions.
https://singainagarathar.com/present-team/
Scenes from Aayirathil Oruvan flashed in my head.
Pandya – Fish Idol – Reema Sen
In a time, where people are forgetting their nationality even, they are holding onto their historical roots. Intrigued, I read on about the (Nattukottai) Chettiars. Also what’s the relevance of stating the professions they are engaged in right now? The whole basis of the caste system was that people were split by the occupations that they’re supposed to do. If they’re not doing that, are they still Chettiars? Not that it matters. If one hasn’t realised, the whole point of this article is that it shouldn’t matter.
I get it that they built the temple so they call the shots. P. Karupiah, a worker in the British Royal Navy Dockyard constructed a simple altar and later the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple was built. The temple did not put imprint on the temple that it was built by [insert Karupiah’s caste group] or [insert Dockyard workers] or [Tamils] or [Hindus]. Nothing. I am pretty sure a similar history exists for other non-HEB heartlands temples and if one really dug up what the caste of the founding member was, one might find that they were [X] or [Y]. But they chose not to mark the territory. That’s how spiritual places should be right? Or maybe I am being too idealistic.
Interesting reads:
The Goddess of Old Money: The Chettiar Bankers of India and their Temples in Southeast Asia
Singapore Infopedia: Chettiars
BIBILIOASIA: Micro India: The Chettiars Of Market Street
Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India: The Nattukottai Chettiar
Pariahs
In Singapore, one wouldn’t hear of open discrimination against any caste groups. In fact, owing to the success of the self-respect movement in Singapore (Thanks to Periyar!), you would notice that many of the earlier generations of Singaporean Tamils have denounced their caste names. There are many families where caste is not discussed at all. But there are also people who try to guess people’s caste based on what they call their grandparents, or their name itself. Perhaps, it is not as stratified but they may classify into two big groups like Upper caste and Lowe caste.
Stemming from this, one might hear some people being referred to as Paraiyahs not to their face but behind their backs. Not-so-fun fact: the word pariah, used to refer an outcast, was actually a group’s name. A group that plays the drums.
Paraiyar was the name of those who worked as messengers and drummers. Parai means drum, and the messengers would often spread news while beating the drum. According to scholars like Dr. V. S. Rajam, the sangam period (300 BC to 300 AD) was a time before caste entered the discourse of Tamil society, and intermarriage between different professions was common. Eventually with religious orthodoxy, it was the animal skinner and the messenger, occupations that touched and relayed death, who were shunned.
…….
For most of the English-speaking world, it’s known only as a denunciation, husked of its history. If it’s your family name, do you come to embody that condemnation?
https://catapult.co/stories/should-we-stop-using-the-word-pariah-
One can’t help but wonder if the Thaipusam ban on certain music instruments had a caste undertone to it. I am not the only one who’s considered this possibility.
Furthermore, there have been genuine efforts taken to discredit the instrument as just a funeral instrument which has no place anywhere else. For example, some priests who conduct weddings may try to dissuade families from having these instruments played as they are inauspicious.
Brahmins
The most obvious form of caste discrimination in Singapore is in the hiring of priests in temples. It appears that only Brahmins are hired as priests. Only they can be in close proximity with the idols of gods and goddesses. We have to maintain safe distance because we are….
Domestic Helpers
How Singaporean Indians treat their domestic helpers from India speaks to invisible remnants of casteism that lingers. Many a time these domestic helpers tend to be from lower caste/social class. They’re not allowed to sit at the table for meals. They don’t get a seat at the sofa; They’re to sit on the floor. Let’s not even go into the extremely inhumane behaviour that some domestic helpers have been the brunt of. No one openly talks about caste but one would be a fool to not realise that some of these beliefs have not been handed over generations after generations.
What’s in a name?
A cursory glance through a Wikipage listing prominent Indians in Singapore would indicate that some of them have caste surnames like Chettiar, Menon, Pillai, Nair. There’s even a resaurant with just a caste name. The justification for these people is that it’s just their family name. And perhaps, it is. How different is this from Chinese clan groups or ethnic groups? The difference is that unlike other groupings, this has a hierarchy: one above the other like Jenga blocks.
The tendency to form coalitions and favour our own side, even in arbitrarily constructed new and meaningless groups, exists for all humans owing to deep evolutionary roots relating to rapid threat-detection and our central adaptation to group living. This results in “ingroup love” (IL) and “outgroup hate” (OH). If there’s IL, especially with resource competition, there will always be a beaten less privileged outgroup. These disparate outcomes can lead to hostility and OH which spurs IL over time. As a result of the automatic fear, ingroups dehumanise the less fortunate outgroups and demonise the more fortunate outgroups (Read Elizabeth Culotta’s Roots of Racism).
It’s funny how the family/community name which happens to be caste names tend to be upper castes. Owing to the hierarchical nature of these groups, people of the lower castes have shedded their family/community names or decided not to include them to be seen as more human. A conscious effort towards equality for them and for others.
Owing to the group that they belong to and the negative connotations and low status attached to the group, they would not be able to openly share their community identity and membership with everyone. They would not be able to celebrate their culture, history, and heritage openly with everyone. It’s a reminder that their ancestors were the downtrodden. To be able to have the caste in your name and not be looked down upon, is a privilege.
Indeed, Casteism continues to thrive among Indians abroad – through surnames. Without caste names, finding out a person’s caste identity is a difficult task. One probably has to ask what their caste is which most normal people don’t do. Hence, by having one’s caste name as a surname, one is forcing people to be aware of one’s caste. This facilitates ingroup love as mentioned above. “Hey, you’re a menon too?”
Having caste names as surnames is like a hashtag. You have essentially tagged yourself as #chettiar, #menon, #pillai, #nair, #reddy #rao or whatever your surname is. Hence, if someone wants to work with someone of the same caste, they can very simply do a search on LinkedIn and have you pop up. Having your caste in your name is not caste discrimination. But having it in your name definitely facilitates caste discrimination intentionally or otherwise.
With caste names embedded in individual names, it’s likely that people with the same family/community names will feel familiar with others with the same family/community names. They must have similar views as us. In a similar vein, their parents might think that it would be easier if their child married within their caste group. I do hope that you know that this is complete nonsense. Or maybe they’ve been conditioned to think that their caste is superior to others, but they know that they can’t say that out aloud because the shade of bigotry doesn’t look good on them. For these reasons, the caste endogamy is perpetuated through marriage. A similar phenomenon is seen in the US. We already see separate matrimonial pages for different caste groups – IN SINGAPORE! Furthermore, exclusive caste associations like the Singapore Dakshina Bharatha Brahmana Sabha might help build networks in the Brahmin community in Singapore to facilitate caste endogamy.
Personally, I have heard of people dating, and falling in love of people of other caste and then choosing the route of arranged marriage because they would be disowned by their family if they didn’t marry within their own caste. There was also a really good shortfilm I watched on Viddsee which told the story of a man in Singapore whose parents insisted that he married a woman of the same caste as him. He eventually did after breaking up with his girlfriend. For some funny reason, I can’t find it anywhere.
History of casteism in Singapore
Mr Rowland, one of the members, drew attention to the fact that the coolies on his estate would sonner die in the lines than go to the Government hospital; he thought that something must be wrong in the way which the coolies were treated, or perhaps their caste prejudices were in some way offended in the hospitals.
Another member pointed out that the fact of the cook at the Seremban Hospital being a pariah prevented high caste coolies from going there.
… it would be folly to pamper caste coolies in impossible caste prejudices. They have to dispense with them for a while when they cross the Kala pani to Singapore, and they could just as easily do when it is necessary to go to hospital.
[The Straits Times, 5 November 1901]
But why these people, even after the Republic of India has declared the caste system illegal, should lay stress on caste titles is somthing that baffles the ordinary.
We are on the threshold of a great era and many blemishes of the part are being obliterated.
Yet we have in Singapore – in this great cosmopolitan and progressive city of ours – prominent members of political parties and Trade Union movements who are simply known by their caste titles.
Spotlight on caste titles [The Singapore Free Press, 17 March 1951]
Indian women looking for a husband here find good mean are scarce if the women are 35 to 39 years old. For one thing, some men in that age group have gone overseas to find a bride, bypassing the locals.
Further, Indian men are more prone to marry women of other races. Indian women are less likely to jump the ethnic track.
…the factors involved include the fact that the Indian ethnic group is smaller. Also, in some conservative families, marriage partners must be compatible in caste, education and wealth.
Bigger problem for some Indian women [New Paper, 9 March 1989]
I usually try to write objectively. In this topic, I don’t think the caste system has any pros for society at all. It utterly disgusts me. I hope for a world where caste only appears in a dictionary with the label ‘archaic’ or ‘obsolete’. Changing the name won’t solve the problem. Are we going to change Narayana Pillai’s name too? What about all prominent figures who have caste embedded in their names even today? But it would be the first step in dismantling the system. For it to be completely wiped out, it needs to be slowly washed out of the names, the roads, and the buildings. We should not include the caste titles in our children’s names. It might be problematic for the father and child to have different last names. Hence, it makes more sense for the parent to start by changing their last name and later to not include the caste titles in our children’s names. We should see people as distinct individuals. It is possible to practice certain cutural practices (while not harming anyone in the process) without carrying it in one’s name. Many have already done it. Try it. Even if one’s caste group, to their best knowledge, has not done any ills, by accepting the caste name and endorsing it, their caste group has extended credibility to the caste system. They have accepted a system that has worked well for them at the expense of so many others. In a country like Singapore, it’s hard to pinpoint the discrimination felt by the members of the lower caste. This is especially difficult when inherent biases are involved. But the absence of evidence is not an evidence of absence. If one chooses to retain one’s caste name and identity, they’re either willfully blind or silently ignorant. I don’t know which is worse.
