Why Have Indians Become a Regular Target of Hate in Singapore?

Por Asif Ullah Khan — The Diplomat

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Popular resentment toward the city-state’s Indian community and Indian nationals has been building for some time.

Shops on Serangoon Road in Singapore’s Little India quarter, Apr. 3, 2016.

When Lee Kuan Yew took Singapore out of the Malaysian Federation on August 9, 1965, he made English the new nation’s primary language of government and education, rather than Chinese, despite the fact that 75 percent of the population was ethnic Chinese. Ensuring that other ethnic minorities did not feel alienated, he also gave Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil official status.

After the race riots in 1964 that left 36 people dead, Lee dismantled the city’s deeply segregated colonial setup, where different ethnic groups lived in isolated enclaves, and introduced the Ethnic Integration Policy. This ensured that every building must have a mix of Chinese, Malay, and Indian residents that matches the country’s actual population.

These steps played a major role in remaking Singapore from a colonial city-state into a developed nation. For more than 50 years, the edifice Lee erected remained intact.

Given this background, the rise in racial attacks and derogatory slurs against the Indian community in the last few years look surprising, but the discontent against them has been simmering for a long time. The internet and social media have merely brought it to the fore. Suddenly, videos going viral about Indians littering beaches, misbehaving in public, or clashing with locals have circulated widely, sparking outrage and fueling stereotypes. For a country that prides itself on racial harmony, the intensity of this reaction is both striking and concerning.

A number of recent incidents show that things have gone a bit too far. When reports came about nine Singaporeans missing in the recent Nepal flash floods, some social media posts started that they were “not our own” because most of those missing were ethnic Indians. One post even referred to them as “ABNN,” a derogatory term for Indians.

Temasek chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, who is of Indian origin, was similarly attacked after Air India announced that it was seeking fresh capital from its shareholders. Singapore Airlines (SIA) owns about 25 percent of Air India. Social media posts claimed that since Sandrasegara is of Indian origin, he will favor Air India and put SIA money into the loss-making airline.

SIA’s net profit fell 57.4 per cent to S$1.2 billion in the year ended March 2026. Its annual report attributed the decline partly to its share of Air India’s full-year losses. This is an important issue on which the government should be questioned, not the city’s Indian population, who have no role in it.

Another catalyst was the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which has been misinterpreted online as a mechanism for “Indians taking local jobs,” despite repeated clarifications from the government that CECA does not grant automatic employment or citizenship rights. This has blurred the distinction between Indian expatriates and Singapore-born Indians, making all Indians potential targets of hostility.

For the first time in the history of Singapore, the country is facing a challenge which has the potential to tear apart the social fabric. That is why the government has come heavily down on such campaigns. In June of this year, Singapore authorities took action against 14 social media platforms targeting the Indian community and restricted access to these posts for users in Singapore.

As far as recent incidents are concerned, the government has launched an investigation. Singapore Senior Minister K. Shanmugam said that police were ”investigating ‘shameful’ and ‘totally unacceptable’ comments posted online.”

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also said that the country must never allow prejudice against any community to become accepted or normalized.

“We can and should have robust debates. But we should never use seemingly legitimate arguments as a cover to fuel prejudice against any community or hostility towards foreigners,” Channel News Asia quoted Wong as saying.

The reason why Indians have become an easy target can be traced back to Lee Kuan Yew’s philosophy that nationality should not trump ability. “We accept only immigrants who increase the average level of competence of Singaporeans,” he said in 2009. In another interview that year, defending the employment of foreigners, he said that decisions should depend on “the contribution and productivity of the worker.” This is the reason why Indians expats occupy top positions in the corporate sector, which has made them very visible.

Many times, Singapore ministers have blamed external forces for sowing tension in society. The question is why such propaganda gains the support of locals. Or is it a sign of the success of Lee’s policy that Indian expats are occupying top corporate positions which Singaporeans are not getting?

Attacks on Indians are becoming a regular feature of online life in Singapore. The Singapore government has to go to the root cause of this disease rather than merely trying to treat its symptoms.

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When Lee Kuan Yew took Singapore out of the Malaysian Federation on August 9, 1965, he made English the new nation’s primary language of government and education, rather than Chinese, despite the fact that 75 percent of the population was ethnic Chinese. Ensuring that other ethnic minorities did not feel alienated, he also gave Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil official status.

After the race riots in 1964 that left 36 people dead, Lee dismantled the city’s deeply segregated colonial setup, where different ethnic groups lived in isolated enclaves, and introduced the Ethnic Integration Policy. This ensured that every building must have a mix of Chinese, Malay, and Indian residents that matches the country’s actual population.

These steps played a major role in remaking Singapore from a colonial city-state into a developed nation. For more than 50 years, the edifice Lee erected remained intact.

Given this background, the rise in racial attacks and derogatory slurs against the Indian community in the last few years look surprising, but the discontent against them has been simmering for a long time. The internet and social media have merely brought it to the fore. Suddenly, videos going viral about Indians littering beaches, misbehaving in public, or clashing with locals have circulated widely, sparking outrage and fueling stereotypes. For a country that prides itself on racial harmony, the intensity of this reaction is both striking and concerning.

A number of recent incidents show that things have gone a bit too far. When reports came about nine Singaporeans missing in the recent Nepal flash floods, some social media posts started that they were “not our own” because most of those missing were ethnic Indians. One post even referred to them as “ABNN,” a derogatory term for Indians.

Temasek chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, who is of Indian origin, was similarly attacked after Air India announced that it was seeking fresh capital from its shareholders. Singapore Airlines (SIA) owns about 25 percent of Air India. Social media posts claimed that since Sandrasegara is of Indian origin, he will favor Air India and put SIA money into the loss-making airline.

SIA’s net profit fell 57.4 per cent to S$1.2 billion in the year ended March 2026. Its annual report attributed the decline partly to its share of Air India’s full-year losses. This is an important issue on which the government should be questioned, not the city’s Indian population, who have no role in it.

Another catalyst was the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which has been misinterpreted online as a mechanism for “Indians taking local jobs,” despite repeated clarifications from the government that CECA does not grant automatic employment or citizenship rights. This has blurred the distinction between Indian expatriates and Singapore-born Indians, making all Indians potential targets of hostility.

For the first time in the history of Singapore, the country is facing a challenge which has the potential to tear apart the social fabric. That is why the government has come heavily down on such campaigns. In June of this year, Singapore authorities took action against 14 social media platforms targeting the Indian community and restricted access to these posts for users in Singapore.

As far as recent incidents are concerned, the government has launched an investigation. Singapore Senior Minister K. Shanmugam said that police were ”investigating ‘shameful’ and ‘totally unacceptable’ comments posted online.”

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also said that the country must never allow prejudice against any community to become accepted or normalized.

“We can and should have robust debates. But we should never use seemingly legitimate arguments as a cover to fuel prejudice against any community or hostility towards foreigners,” Channel News Asia quoted Wong as saying.

The reason why Indians have become an easy target can be traced back to Lee Kuan Yew’s philosophy that nationality should not trump ability. “We accept only immigrants who increase the average level of competence of Singaporeans,” he said in 2009. In another interview that year, defending the employment of foreigners, he said that decisions should depend on “the contribution and productivity of the worker.” This is the reason why Indians expats occupy top positions in the corporate sector, which has made them very visible.

Many times, Singapore ministers have blamed external forces for sowing tension in society. The question is why such propaganda gains the support of locals. Or is it a sign of the success of Lee’s policy that Indian expats are occupying top corporate positions which Singaporeans are not getting?

Attacks on Indians are becoming a regular feature of online life in Singapore. The Singapore government has to go to the root cause of this disease rather than merely trying to treat its symptoms.

Asif Ullah Khan is a veteran journalist who has held senior editorial positions at The Times of India, Khaleej Times, The Hindustan Times, and The Brunei Times. He currently writes for The Diplomat, The Wire, The India Legal, The ASEAN Post, and other international publications.

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Fonte: The Diplomat