19th century Earliest arrivals (standing) and Companion (Khurruck Singh, seated on right) in a Prison Cell. Painted in Calcutta in November 1850. Maharaj Singh and his companion were the first Sikhs in Singapore on record. Some of the first
Sikhs to migrate, albeit not voluntarily, to
Singapore were
Maharaj Singh and Khurruck Singh in 1850; Maharaj Singh was sent there as a political prisoner by the
British Empire after the
Second Anglo-Sikh War. They both arrived in Singapore on 14 June 1850 whilst other sources claim their date of arrival in Singapore to be 9 July 1850. Aside from them, there is scant evidence of a prominent Sikh presence in Singapore prior to 1881, however Tan Tai Yong speculates that some Sikhs may have been present in Singapore from the time of the earliest British settlement in the early 19th century as
sepoys, domestic servants, and convicts. When these migrants returned to their native villages in Punjab on vacation, they spread word about the prospects of Singapore for settlement, leading more of their kind to come, increasing the Sikh diaspora in Singapore. Jat Sikh recruitment into the Indian British military increased after the
Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The uprising of Singapore Societies along with the local police not deemed fit by the British lead to the recruitment of the Sikhs. This led to the eventual establishment of the Sikh Police Contingent (SPC) in Singapore in 1881, with the first batch of 54 Sikh recruits arriving in Singapore on 26 March 1881 and another 65 in August that year. At the time, Punjabis and Sikhs were not the only group of Indians in Singapore, there were also
Tamils,
Malayalis,
Telugus,
Ceylonese,
Gujaratis,
Sindhis,
Biharis, and
Bengalis. After WW1, especially in the 1920's and 1930's, a new type of Sikh commercial migrants started to arrive in Singapore, these were business-minded Sikhs who worked as petty traders, pedlars, shopkeepers, and merchants, particularly in textiles.
Present The community has been praised for its advancements made in Singaporean society whilst still holding onto its cultural and religious traditions. The
Central Sikh Temple was built to commemorate the 518th anniversary of
Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru. The temple boasts a skilful blend of modern and traditional architecture. The
Guru Granth Sahib, or holy book, is enshrined in a prayer hall which has a 13-metre wide dome. == Gurdwaras ==