By Asia Samachar | Singapore |
Silat Road Sikh Temple, which holds the distinction of being the first Singapore gurdwara to be built with a dome, was bathing in shining lights as it began a celebration to mark its 100th anniversary.
On Saturday (June 15), the gurdwara had its Light Up Ceremony, the first of many events to celebrate its centenary. In fact, the light up covered part of Jalan Bukit Merah.
The guest of honour was Indranee Rajah, Minister in Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development. She is also the advisor for the Tanjong Pagar GRC Grassroot Organisations (Tanjong Pagar – Tiong Bahru).
On July 6, President Thurman Shanmugaratnam is scheduled to unveil a mural that will depict the history of the gurdwara and the Bhai Maharaj Singh Ji Memorial over the years, capturing its links with the Singapore Police Force.
Aside from providing for the usual Sikh religious activities, Silat Road Sikh Temple runs a significant community kitchen that operates 365 days a year; serving thousands of meals a day to devotees of all ethnic groups.
It was active during the Covid-19 lockdowns, particularly to help stranded foreign students and workers.
The gurdwara officials believe it is arguably the most patronised Gurdwara in Singapore and maybe even the region, not least because of the Bhai Maharaj Singh Ji Memorial that is located within its premises and is visited by Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike.
The Gurdwara has also played a role in fostering understanding of the Sikh community and its traditions as well as promoting interfaith harmony by visits from various ethnic groups, schools, religious, uniformed and other organisations. In 2013, some 1,200 participants took part in 46 visits to the gurdwara.
In 1999, the National Heritage Board declared the gurdwara a historical site.
The Silat Road Sikh Temple was officially opened in 1924 by the members of the Sikh Contingent of the Straits Settlement Police Force, two years after the purchase of the land where it stands today.
It was the first Gurdwara in Singapore whose architecture included a traditional Sikh dome.
Funding for the Gurdwara came primarily from Sikh police officers in Singapore and Malaya, with additional contributions from Sikhs in the region.
During World War II, the Gurdwara housed the widows and families of Sikh soldiers killed in action. After the war, whilst most of these families returned to India, it continued to provide accommodation to Sikhs in transit from India to the Far East and to the newly migrated local Sikhs; a role it played until 1990.
Whilst Silat Road Sikh Temple started as a Sikh Police Gurdwara; providing a place of worship for the early Sikhs brought in by the British in the late 19th century to help with law and order, it was merged with Central Sikh Temple in 1981 to form the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board.
Inter-twined with the history of Silat Road Sikh Temple is the history of Bhai Maharaj Singh Ji, a Sikh Saint Soldier and freedom fighter from Colonialism in India, who was imprisoned in Singapore by the British in India.
His memorial, earlier located at the Singapore General Hospital compound, was relocated to Silat Road Sikh Temple in 1966 and with it came the devotees of Bhai Maharaj Singh Ji.
The Gurdwara underwent a significant rebuilding in 1990s and this included the construction of the new Bhai Maharaj Singh Ji Memorial and the Sikh Centre, a seven-story building that has become a distinctive community centre for the Sikhs.
On July 3, 2021, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong opened the newly renovated gurdwara.
“It remains one of the most popular gurdwaras in Singapore. Devotees believe that an Akhand Path performed at this gurdwara, next to the Bhai Maharaj Singh shrine, will earn the devotee great merit,” he said in his inauguration speech. See here.
Bhai Maharaj, believed to be the first Sikh in Singapore, arrived in 1850 in chains as a political prisoner. Acknowledged as one of the most prominent freedom fighters of Punjab, he was arrested by the British in India – which was then a colony – and exiled to Singapore for fear that his presence in India would cause unrest there.
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