Singapore as a Destination Among Trans-Border People: Migration from the Indo-Myanmar Borderland

Thanggoulen Kipgen
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Thanggoulen Kipgen: Thanggoulen Kipgen is working as Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. He received his PhD from North Eastern Hill University, Shillong in 2021. He was a recipient of the prestigious Asian Graduate Student Fellowship, National University of Singapore in 2015. His research focuses on migration, identity, social networks, and borderlands.

India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 2023, vol. 79, issue 1, 63-78

Abstract: This article analyses the significance of kinship and ethnic networks in the migration of the Kuki people from the Indo-Myanmar borderland to Singapore. In addition to facilitating the dissemination of information and the formation of collective decisions, kinship and ethnic networks are crucial in fostering a sense of community and belonging in the new destination. The article investigates the church’s function among Singapore’s Kuki population. It argues that religion deconstructs ‘otherness’ that came about when colonial rulers split the Kukis into two separate countries (India and Myanmar). The church serves as a powerful symbol of Kuki identity since it facilitates efforts for ethnic unification and allows them to revive the sense of ethnic solidarity lost for decades.

Keywords: Borderland; Kuki; domestic work; Singapore; church; social networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indqtr:v:79:y:2023:i:1:p:63-78

DOI: 10.1177/09749284221147178

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