Indian expatriate spaces and social cohesion in Singapore

• Main Authors: Lee, Shi Ming, Ng, Dorcas Hui Xuan
• Other Authors: Laavanya Kathiravelu
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Sociology::Communities, classes and races; Social sciences::Sociology::Societies
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/172123
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Since its independence in 1965, attracting migrants, including highly skilled expatriates, has been a crucial part of Singapore’s economic strategy. Over the years, many studies have been conducted on low and middle skilled migrants, with a smaller portion focusing on highly skilled expatriates. Moreover, we found that the large majority of expatriate research examined the Western and East Asian population, missing out on other expatriate groups including Indians. Another bedrock to Singapore’s success was the emphasis on social cohesion across diverse populations, fostered through the development of mutual understanding and respect as a result of interactions between locals and foreigners in everyday life. Each expatriate group is incredibly intricate and requires in-depth studies to uncover its complexities before clues to social cohesion can be found. In this paper, we examine how Indian expatriate spaces and communities influence social cohesion in Singapore.