The Indians of Singapore constitute a small but uniquely situated part of the larger mosaic of what once used to be called ‘overseas Indian communities’ but now come under the rubric of ‘Indian diaspora’. Their history of migration and settlement goes back to the early years of the nineteenth century, but it was for the most part seen as a segment of the Indian community in the Malay Peninsula rather than as a separate and distinct component of it. Moreover, the political and social concerns of this small community settled in a port-city in Southeast Asia did not quite resonate with the interests and concerns of Indian communities elsewhere, preoccupied as they were with issues of citizenship and political representation in colonial legislatures. The Indians of Singapore and Southeast Asia more generally were thus separated from Indian communities elsewhere by both geography as well as history (and historiography). Rajesh Rai's latest book goes a long way towards bridging this gap. He has now given us the historical evolution of the Indian community in Singapore in great detail with sober and authoritative research, and his book will remain the standard text on the subject for the foreseeable future. It is an important contribution to the literature on the Indian diaspora.

The British settlement of Singapore goes back to 1819, but Indian merchants and traders had been arriving in the region long before then, and joined later by sepoys and lascars. Convicts and political prisoners arrived after the middle of the nineteenth century along with workers who came under an unregulated system of indentured labour. With time, the community diversified as its numbers increased, factions developed and social and educational institutions emerged. In a chapter titled ‘Diasporic formations in the inter-war years’, Rai describes the social and cultural evolution of the Indian community (religion, vernacular language education, regional and subregional movements), and the impact on the Singapore Indians of political and religious tensions and frictions on the Indian subcontinent, though not to the extent of having a ‘monopolistic hold on diasporic political loyalties’ (p. 195).

Nonetheless, in contrast to other areas where Indian immigrants settled, the Indian influence on social and political developments in Singapore was far greater. Given the physical proximity of Singapore to India, it could not have been otherwise. The persistence of caste politics and prejudices among Singaporean Indians and the presence of the sectional, South Indian ‘Dravidian Movement’ among them are illustrations of this. These developments and others like them had no resonance in the more remote sugar colonies across the globe. The terms and conditions of emigration — unregulated versus regulated — and the infrequency of contact with the subcontinent were among the factors which accounted for the separate trajectories of developments. The persistence of ancient Indian customs and traditions among the Singapore Indians and their open public celebration are things that have struck this child of another Indian diaspora the most, along with the prominence of things South Indian in the broader affairs of the community.

The Second World War was a major event in the history of Southeast Asia, and the broad outlines of the story are known. Here, Rai provides a detailed and nuanced account of the experience of Singapore during the period of the Japanese Occupation. It was an ‘era of darkness, Rai writes, ‘characterized by scarcity, suffering and a fear of Japanese brutality (p. 203)’ about which much was known from other parts of the region as well (Thailand, for example). But Singapore was also caught up in the vortex of movements to gain independence for India. Of particular interest to other scholars of South Asian history will be Rai's discussion of the activities of the Indian National Army (INA) and India Independence League.

Indians in Singapore is a rich study based on primary sources and a broad acquaintance with the published literature. There are occasional nods towards the vocabulary of cultural studies and diaspora theory, but otherwise the narrative is fluent and accessible. The author grew up in Singapore, and tells us at the very beginning of his young grandfather leaving his village in Uttar Pradesh for Singapore one day before the First World War in the ‘stillness of the night’. There is a wonderful human story here, but after the first mention, Kanta Rai does not make an appearance in the book again, and the opportunity of combining history and autobiography remains unexplored. But a slightly more serious issue is the date when the book ends: 1945. Rai has a perfectly good reason to end his narrative there for the war was a critical marker of historical change in the region, and access to the archival record is probably closed for the period afterwards. But for a general reader, a short account of post-war developments: the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, the dilemmas of development of the new state, its strict political culture and the role and place of Indians in it, would have been most welcome. I hope that in a future edition, Rajesh Rai will update the contemporary history of the Singaporean Indian community. For now, though, we have a book that fills a huge gap in the modern history of Singapore. It will have a long shelf life.