Silat Road Sikh Temple marks 100 years with festivities

Founded by the first wave of Sikh immigrants brought to Singapore by the British in the 1800s, the Silat Road Sikh temple later gave shelter to families of Sikh soldiers killed in battle during WWII.

The temple continued to house Sikh families until 1990, after which the grounds were rebuilt. Today, its doors are open to anyone.

In 2024, the temple or gurdwara – located off Jalan Bukit Merah opposite the sprawling grounds of Singapore General Hospital – marked 100 years with two specially commissioned murals flanking its entrance.

One depicts its beginnings, paying tribute to the Sikhs who served in the police force during Singapore’s early years.

The other is a homage to the revered saint Bhai Maharaj Singh, a soldier and Sikh revolutionary who fought for India’s independence from the British Raj.

It was unveiled and signed by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on July 6, during the official launch of centennial celebrations.

The event was also attended by Mr Tharman’s spouse Jane Itoggi, Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Workers’ Party chief and Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh.

Bhai Maharaj Singh was the first documented Sikh to arrive in Singapore as a British prisoner in 1850.

On Aug 9, devotees turned out in force at the Silat Road Sikh Temple, decked out in festive fabrics of deep red, pink and pale blue, for the city-state’s 59th birthday.

The gurdwara, the third-oldest in Singapore, was completed in 1924, and is marking its centenary with activities that began on June 15 and will last until December.

Declared a historial site by the National Heritage Board in 1999, the temple on Aug 9 held three back-to-back prayer and worships sessions, called the Sukhmani Sahib and Shabad Kirtan. Before year-end, 100 sessions of each will be held.

They are just about reaching the halfway mark, said Central Sikh Gurdwara board president Gurdip Singh Usma, as he spooned chilli sauce onto tin plates in the cafeteria’s buffet line for the daily langgar.

The langgar is the religious practice of catering food for visitors and devotees at Sikh temples.

It is excellent at Silat Road, said Ms Sharon Kaur, 64, who has been coming to the temple every week since she was a child.

On weekdays, the temple serves about 1,000 meals daily, and feeds about 2,000 people on weekends. There are about 12,000 Sikhs in Singapore.

Mr Singh said he believes the temple in Jalan Bukit Merah is the most patronised gurdwara in town, although the management prefers not to track footfall too closely.

Sikhs new to Singapore have also made friends at the temple. For instance, it was here that Mr Nirmal Singh, a Punjab native and bus driver in Singapore, met his friend of 14 years, Mr Karj Singh, 40, also a foreign worker.

When The Straits Times visited, the pair were having tea with three other compatriots, all of whom met at the gurdwara.

“This temple has our history and we do some seva whenever we can, like cooking and cleaning,” added Mr Nirmal Singh, 40. Seva is selfless community service, a key tenet of Sikhism.

There is a magic about the place, too, said Ms Kamaljit Kaur, 62.

The faithful believe that prayers made at Silat Road will be answered, if made “with a pure heart”, added Ms Kaur.

Its reputation for blessings has drawn people of all faiths and ages, said Mr Gurdip Singh.

“It is the pull of the memorial,” said Mr Singh, referring to the Bhai Maharaj Singh Memorial, which is annexed to the main temple.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily but tea is served only when sponsored.

“We serve vegetarian food so that everyone can eat without any concerns, whatever their religion or restrictions,” he said, “There is no discrimination.”

The temple runs entirely on donations, and also gives free tuition to school children, teaches Sikhism and charges a small fee for devotional music lessons.

Most of the labour required to run the institution – from the management committee to the cleaning – is also entirely voluntary, with about 40 to 50 volunteers pitching in daily.

Every now and again, a curious tourist might wander in because of the first-rate food, but the real draw of the temple is its sense of community and history, said regular visitors.

“It’s not only a spiritual place,” said Ms Sharon Kaur. “It’s where we mingle with relatives and friends and get together.”