Encounters with the public archives & collective memory: researching the Indian community in Singapore

The Indian Heritage Centre (IHC), an upcoming heritage institution under the National Heritage Board, has been actively engaged in researching the history of the Indian community in Singapore. Attempting to overcome tangible voids in the published histories of the community, curatorial research has involved the inspection of the Public Archives and several newspaper holdings; intangible accounts on the individual, the domestic, the historical, and the socio-cultural narratives resting in the collective memory of the community have also been collected. The complex weave of the Indian community parallels the complex challenges ahead for the Indian Heritage Centre in preserving/showcasing Singapore’s Indian heritage and its social-history chronicle. This paper brings to light specific curatorial encounters and their outcomes.