Hi everyone! I'm posting after a long long time! Nope! I've not forgotten my child, that is my blog... :) I wanted to start this new chapter in my life, cos I'll be graduating soon from NUS, with an article review. Basically, I'm just gonna respond to an article I came across, which hurt me a little. You can read it here.
This article, in summary, is written by an Indian Poly student. He is not happy with the increasing influx of foreigners, especially Indians from India. The following are the reasons he quotes, and my responses along with them:
1) Many Singaporean students felt they were being denied the chance to be the first in the subjects and tests. Shouldn’t public schools be focusing on nurturing our own talents?
- Denying the chance to be the first? You will be the first, if you deserve the place. You are never behind in any race. All the students, regardless of whether they are from China or India or any other country, have the same brain, the same functioning capability, and the same fundamental concepts taught to them. Eventhough they come from another country, they undergo the same education under our system as all of us. But they can perform better because of their individual skills and not because they have come from China or India.
- Scholarships are also provided to the locals, mind you. Meritocracy rules here in Singapore! Nothing else!
2) Similar to the situation between PRCs and Singaporean Chinese, there is very little in common between Indian PRs and us. Little India has been all but overrun by them. Local Indians now try to stay away as far as possible. We have been crowded out from the restaurants, markets and temples.
- If "foreign" Indians have not at all been allowed into Singapore, then there would be no Little India, there would not be this many temples as they would all have to be closed down due to low incomers, as of the markets no need to say anything at all. Foreigners form an integrate part of our land. Infact, to think of it, all of us were initially foreigners. Because we had never always been in Singapore. Most of us have come from either India, Malaysia, Burma, China, etc. a few generations back. So in that case, ALL of us are foreigners...
3) Most PRs who come from India are not Tamil-speakers and generally look down on South Indians, who Tamils belong to.
- I agree to this statement to an extent only. Because this happens in India as well. Not just in Singapore. Northerners do have a certain condescendence regarding their skin colour being akin to Westerners. However, we cannot generalise and say this is true of all non-Tamil speaking Indians.
4) There is a belief among Indian PRs that they are in demand to work in Singapore because the local Indians are not as good as they are, and therefore they behave with a sense of superiority and snobbishness.
- This one, I'm not entirely sure of. Again a sweeping statement is made about the foreign Indian PRs. I am not defending anyone here. But only telling you not to speak of it, without showing proper evidence. Even if this might be true in the initial stages, Indian PRs do learn to accept and live with the rules and regulations set by fellow Singaporeans.
5) The scourge of castes has completely disappeared in Singapore. We see each other as Indians and nothing else. But these PRs are bringing in their prejudices from India and corrupting our local culture.
- Hello! Have you forgotten that you are an Indian too?? Remember that you are an Indian with a close or distant Indian origin! The caste system will never disappear completely, not in India and not in Singapore. It is a fact of life and part of life, it will exist. Nothing can be done about it. In what way are they corrupting our local culture? So are you telling that the Chettiar Temples in Tank road and the Sithi Vinayagar one have corrupted our local culture?? Please think before you pen down your thoughts to a newspaper for publication!
