Little India () is an

ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

located east of the Singapore River, across from Chinatown, and north of

Kampong Glam Kampong Glam ( ; Malay language, Malay: Kampung Gelam; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: کامڤوڠ ڬلم ; ; Tamil language, Tamil: கம்போங் கிளாம்) is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Singapore. It is located north of ...

. Little India is commonly known as ''Tekka'' among the Indian Singaporean community.

History

Little India was originally a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

used by

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

for cattle trading where Indian migrant workers who specialized in cattle rearing found jobs. Its location, along the Serangoon River, originally made it attractive for raising cattle, resulting in livestock trading gaining prominence there. Eventually, the swamps that made cattle farming lucrative were drained, and the European cattle farmers and traders moved out. This migration left the neighbourhood predominantly inhabited by people of Indian origin. Little India was the site of a two-hour-long riot on 8 December 2013, following a traffic accident that resulted in a man's death. Twenty-seven people were injured, and forty people were arrested.

Culture

With the ethnicity no longer predominantly confined to specific areas under the modern People’s Action Party (PAP) policy of racial harmony, many Indian businesses and

cottage industries The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...

remain concentrated in Little India for the preservation of cultural heritage. However, Indian-dominant commercial zones can also be found in various Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates. Little India is not exclusively an Indian neighborhood. In addition to businesses serving the Indian community, the area hosts Chinese Clan Associations, places of worship for various religions, and a range of businesses, including those selling electrical supplies, hardware, second-hand goods, and traditional items such as spice grinders and groceries. Little India is the center of

Deepavali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual ...

celebrations in Singapore. Since 1989, the Deepavali light-up has taken place along Serangoon Road, covering over two kilometres with decorative lights. The Indian Heritage Centre organises the Deepavali Open House, which includes cultural performances, rangoli workshops, and bus tours of the decorated areas. A seasonal bazaar, known as the Deepavali Festival Village, sells traditional clothing, food, and household items. Celebrations typically conclude on

day, with some activities continuing into early November.

Features

Serangoon Road is the main commercial thoroughfare in Little India. It intersects Rochor Canal Road and Bukit Timah Sungei Road. Along Serangoon Road are the Tekka Centre, the Tekka Mall, the Little India Arcade, Serangoon Plaza, and the Mustafa Centre (on a side road). Farrer Park Fields is located in the district. Several

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temples, mosques, and other places of worship include Far Kor Sun

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

God Temple, Foochow Methodist Church, Kampong Kapor Methodist Church, which was completed in 1929, Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Angullia Mosque, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple, Jalan Mosque, and the Central

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Gurdwara. The Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple, along Racecourse Road, was established by a Thai monk, Venerable Vutthisasara, in 1927. Leong San See Temple was built in 1917 and is dedicated to Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Little India is also home to several art houses. In 1985, the National Arts Council launched the Arts Housing Scheme, aimed at identifying and renovating old buildings for arts and cultural activities. In Little India, a line of shophouses along Kerbau Road was determined to be suitable for the scheme. This is known as the Little India Arts Belt. In 2011, there were seven arts organizations in the Little India Arts Belt. Three were contemporary theatre companies, while the other organizations involved traditional arts such as Malay dance and Indian theatre.

Transport

The area is served by the following MRT stations:

Little India Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...

, Farrer Park on the North East line, and

Rochor Rochor ( or ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area located within the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Rochor shares boundaries with the following planning areas � ...

and Jalan Besar on the Downtown line. Bus services 23, 64, 65, 67, 131, 139, 147, and 857 pass through Little India via Serangoon Road.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Downtown Core (Singapore) Ethnic enclaves in Singapore Indian diaspora in Singapore