One time resident of Indonesia, the author traces the history of how Sikhs made Indonesia their home nearly a hundred years ago and how even though Sikhism is not a state-recognised religion, through sheer hard work, grit and education, the Sikh population all across the island nation has made a niche for itself.

Though not yet substantiated and authenticated by historians, local folklore and imagery makes the Sikhs settled in Indonesia say that during the course of his journeys, the First Master of the Sikh faith -Guru Nanak visited the islands of Sumatra, which is one of the major islands of Indonesia.  Though no traces of any influence on the local population have so far come to light to the best of knowledge of this author, Sikhs of Indonesia want to know more about the possibility of the visit of Guru Nanak. In his book published in 1810, historian Lt. Col Marks Wilks writes that Guru Nanak went from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka to Dhanasri Desha, which was the name, given to Sumatra and present-day Banda Aceh was its capital.

Since the foundation of Sikh religion, Sikhs have been migrating to different parts of the world -voluntarily as well fleeing in the face of persecution. Perhaps Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism is the chief motivation since he is historically the second most travelled person of his times after Huan Tsang. Also, fable has it that Guru Nanak favoured that “good people” should disperse and those who are not so may stay settled wherever they are.

Sikh migration and settlement in the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia began somewhere in late 1880’s although the exact period is not known. Some historians believe that initially Sikhs were brought to the Archipelago for policing. Another group of Punjabis arrived as part of the army brought to Indonesia by the British colonial administration. They consisted of various Indian ethnic groups, including the Sikh and Gurkha regiments. Some of these troops were sent to Indonesia for supplying arms to the Dutch who were struggling to suppress Indonesia’s demands for independence.

“The first Gurdwara in Jakarta came up at the main harbour of Tanjung Priok in north Jakarta because a majority of the Sikh workforce was employed there in 1925.”

When these soldiers, including Sikhs and others of Indian origin saw the way, the Dutch were oppressing the local populace, many of them switched sides, taking over Dutch ships and joining the locals in their fight for freedom. Many of these soldiers eventually settled on the Sumatra Island. The INA, the Indian National Army and Sikh units that came in before and after the Japanese war supplemented the Sikh settlement in Sumatra.  Therefore, Sumatra became the first port of call for Sikhs in Indonesia, which is an archipelago of 17000 islands.

To give the other side of the picture, it must be mentioned that many Sikh soldiers and their British generals protected many Dutch people from being lynched and killed when the freedom struggle for Indonesian independence reached its pitch.

In North Sumatra, the history of Punjabi existence can be traced back to Amritsar and Jalandhar. Sikhs first arrived in the 18th century through Aceh. Most of them came as traders who settled in the area and slowly dispersed throughout northern Sumatra.

Earlier on, most of the Punjabi people used to live in Kampung Keling but have now moved to more affluent areas of the city. Writer and columnist Putri Fitria describes Sikh men as tall, dark and handsome, wearing traditional turbans and long beards, while the women have sharp features and are often bright skinned.

To begin with, Sikhs settled in Medan. They were mostly into dairy farming. The Khalsa High school was founded simultaneously with the first Gurudwara at Medan in 1925 with Sirdar Bahadur Singh as its first headmaster. The medium of instruction was English.  The establishment of an English school was a far-sighted step by the founders, considering the scant knowledge of English in those days. The school has produced some of the leading Sikh figures of Indonesia, the notable students being Thakur Singh, Partap Singh Raniwala and H. S. Dillon.  H. S. Dillon rose to become the Secretary of Agriculture, Indonesia and his brother Raj Kumar Singh became the Secretary of Indonesia Hockey Federation, significantly both maintain their Sikh identity.  Another alumnus was long distance runner Gurnam Singh, who won a medal in the Asian games and was honoured by Indonesian President Soekarno.

“To begin with, Sikhs settled in Medan. They were mostly into dairy farming. The Khalsa High school was founded simultaneously with the first Gurudwara at Medan in 1925 with Sirdar Bahadur Singh as its first headmaster. The medium of instruction was English.”

Today, Sumatra has a population of around 5000 Sikhs although these figures cannot be considered fully authentic as legally Sikhs are clubbed with Hindus and Sikhism is not considered a separate religion and Sikhs are not recognised as a distinct people. Founded in June 1953, Gurdwara Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji is the central Gurudwara in Medan.  Starting with a small structure, today the Gurdwara is huge enough to house the growing Indonesian Sikh community.  In June 2003, the Gurdwara celebrated 50 years of its foundation. Today there are 9 Gurdwaras in Sumatra in the cities and towns of Pematang Siantar, Palembang and several other cities around Medan.

Over a period of time, Sikhs from Sumatra started moving to greener pastures mostly to the Indonesian capital city of Batavia now known as Jakarta. In a very interesting entry, one Mr McCoy is said to have recruited 50 Sikhs for his sugar cane plantations in Australia when he passed through this region in 1836, stopped at Batavia and saw tall, well-built bearded and turbaned hard-working people working at the Batavia harbour. Many historians believe these Sikhs from Batavia were the first Sikh settlers in Australia.

By 1900, there were almost 80 Sikh families in the Tandjung area of Jakarta. The poor among them worked as security watchmen and those who had resources became money lenders. Many had horse-carts which they rented to local Indonesians for use as taxis. Sikhs sports companies such as Bir & Co; Nahar Sports and Hari Brothers came up to cater the needs of Dutch rulers who required sports equipment. When these sports companies started thriving demand for labour increased, many more Sikh families from Sumatra came to Batavia.

It is said that during the Japanese invasion of Indonesia, Sikhs prospered as they got contracts from the Japanese Navy and Army. Religious activities along with the Sindhi community already settled in Batavia also started. However, at the end of Japanese rule, the community went through a lot of uncertainty. In west Java the soldiers who had deserted the British Indian Army allegedly killed 25 Indians including a few Sikhs. As a result, most of the Sikhs moved into the safe Dutch enclave of Pasar Baru in Jakarta and stayed there till the Dutch left Indonesia and the properties were taken over by Indians, mostly Sikhs. This area came to be known as came to be known as “Little India”. Even today, it is dominated by Punjabi and Sindhi communities.

The first Gurdwara in Jakarta came up at the main harbour of Tanjung Priok in north Jakarta because a majority of the Sikh workforce was employed there in 1925.  Prasant Singh, Partap Singh, Dasunder Singh and Ajura Singh founded the Tanjung Priok Gurudwara. Over the years it was felt that as it was inconvenient for people from central Jakarta to come to Tanjung Priok every Sunday, it was decided that a Gurdwara should be constructed at Pasar Baru where a majority of the Sikhs lived. In 1954,  Pritam Singh, Karam Singh, Avtar Singh, Shiv Singh, Ajit Singh, Tarlok Singh, Partap Singh, Kulwant Singh along with many Sindhi businessmen of Pasar Baru founded the Pasar Baru Gurudwara which became the biggest Gurdwara in Jakarta.

Due to various geo-political reasons, during the latter part of Soekarno rule relations between India and Indonesia were at its lowest ebb, forcing the Sikhs to keep a very low profile. Pritam Singh, Jakarta’s noted Indian community leader, who took part in both the Indian Independence League and also Indonesia’s struggle for independence, provided valuable leadership to the entire Indian community in Indonesia liaising with the military and civil authorities constantly sorting out misunderstandings. Finally, due to his unrelenting efforts, in 1965, all the expatriate Indians were given Indonesian citizenship.

Today Jakarta has a vibrant Sikh community of more than 5000. Among the major Gurdwaras in Jakarta are Yayasan Sikh Gurdwara Mission, Pasar Baru, Sikh Temple, Antara Jakarta, Sikh Temple, Tanjung Priok and Gurudwara Guru Nanak Tanggerang Selatan.

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Gurudwara Guru Nanak was started from a rented building at Jalan Johari No:2, South Jakarta by three individuals namely Hardjan Singh Bhuller, Charanjit Singh Mesampur and Balwant Singh Rahal. In 2001 it was moved to Jalan Merpati, Ciputat Tanggerang Selatan. Recently the adjacent 9000 meters vacant land has an international school from Kindergarten to Junior High School and is a joint venture with the Gurdwara Sahib, with the complex having space of 12,000 sq meters with excellent sports facilities.

PHOTO CREDIT: All photos from Sikhs in World War II by Bhupinder Singh Holland