Fragmentation of the Singaporean Indian identity: the result of the state as a social engineer

• Main Author: Kambadhasan, Meenatche
• Other Authors: Walid Jumblatt Bin Abdullah
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia::Singapore
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159203
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Over 50 years of the CMIO-model has significantly influenced the transformation of the Singaporean Indian identity. It raised questions about authenticity in identity, and relationships between the Tamil-Hindu culture and the larger Singaporean Indian population. Existing literature falls short on how perceptions of the Singaporean Indian identity are disparate from the reality of the Singaporean Indian population. As such, this paper seeks to answer the research question: Why is the Singaporean Indian identity fragmented despite years of social engineering by the state? This paper argues that the homogenised ‘Indian’ racial narrative created through the state’s racialised social engineering has caused the fragmentation of the Singaporean Indian identity, as the CMIO-model is static, essentialising and contradictory to the heterogeneous Singaporean Indian community. Through literature reviews and qualitative analysis, this paper expands upon existing research and provides a comprehensive and contextual understanding of the Indian community in Singapore and its relationship with identity.