'It's all Indian what': Chinese Singaporean accused of telling Japanese children that Hindi is one of Singapore’s official languages

SINGAPORE: A young Singaporean woman has revealed that a fellow citizen of Chinese descent once told her and others that he taught a group of Japanese schoolchildren that Hindi is one of Singapore’s official languages.

When she later pointed out that it is Tamil, not Hindi, that is one of the four languages officially recognised in Singapore, the man allegedly brushed off the correction with a laugh, telling her that “it’s all Indian”.

The account was shared by TikTok user Ramyaa (@hey_itsmyaa), who used the incident to illustrate what she sees as a deeper problem of casual and systemic racism in Singapore. Her video comes amid ongoing discussions about race following a recent controversy involving remarks about Indians made by an NUS student.

Ramyaa explained that she spent two years in Japan as part of an international programme that places participants in Japanese schools to teach students about different cultures and countries.

For many of the children she taught, she said, she was the first foreigner they had ever met. As a dark-skinned South Indian woman, she was also the first Indian person many of them had ever encountered.

“They didn’t even know that Indians can get as dark as I do,” she said, describing the experience as one of the most rewarding periods of her life.

However, one memory from the programme has stayed with her for a very different reason.

She recalled attending a pre-departure dinner where former participants presented sample lessons they had conducted while living in Japan. One Singaporean man showed slides from a lesson he had previously delivered to Japanese students about Singapore’s history, culture and racial harmony.

Ramyaa claimed that one of the slides listed Singapore’s four official languages as English, Malay, Mandarin and Hindi.

The mistake immediately stood out to her. After the presentation, she approached the man and told him that Hindi is not one of Singapore’s official languages and that Tamil is the language officially recognised alongside English, Malay and Mandarin.

What happened next shocked her even more than the mistake itself. “And he was like, ‘Oh my God. Yeah, I guess. But haha, it’s all the same. I mean it’s all Indian’,” she recounted.

Ramyaa said the comment left her furious, “That’s the point I was trying to make, which is a deeply messed-up sentiment to have, and it honestly pissed me off. I had to walk away.”

For her, the issue was not simply that someone had confused Tamil and Hindi. It was the assumption that the distinction did not matter.

“I mean, can you imagine living in a country for over 30 years?” she questioned, “Like this is your home, you were born into this country, seeing the signs day in and day out., and you’re so dense, and you’re so blind to it that you can’t even tell the difference between Tamil and Hindi.”

She also noted that the presentation was not a hypothetical classroom exercise. The lesson had already been delivered to actual students in Japan. As a result, she said, there are likely Japanese children who now believe Hindi is one of Singapore’s official languages.

“A lot of people talk about the racism in Singapore, but no one ever talks about why,” Ramyaa asserted in the lengthy video, “Racism in Singapore is systemic.”

She argued that racism is often discussed only in terms of slurs, insults and offensive remarks, while less attention is paid to how it can affect people’s opportunities and day-to-day lives.

Pointing to her own experiences after graduating from university, she said, “I graduated in the top 10% of my class. I graduated with a first, and I didn’t get a job. And it’s not for lack of trying.”

She also shared an example involving a relative who struggled to rent a home in Singapore.

Ramyaa said her cousin’s husband, who is Indian, spent months trying unsuccessfully to secure a rental property. Her cousin, who is of mixed Chinese and Indian heritage and has a Chinese name, allegedly had far more success when she made enquiries herself.

“And that’s because of racism,” she said.

The TikToker also spoke about experiencing racial abuse firsthand.

While visiting Singapore last August, she said she was shoved by a woman who allegedly called her a racial slur as she walked past. She said in the video, “I was like, what the hell, girl? I was just walking. What is your problem?”

Now based in the United Kingdom, Ramyaa said she has generally encountered fewer racial incidents there than she has in Singapore.

She said, “I feel like I belong. I feel like people accept me for who I am, and no one even bats an eye.”

Despite having moved overseas, she said Singapore remains home, which is why each new racial controversy involving Indians affects her so deeply.

“It makes me feel so defeated, and it makes me feel hurt because this is my home country. Like, I’m a Singaporean citizen.”

She added that incidents involving Indians seem to surface with troubling regularity online: “Every time I come home, there’s something new. There’s some new video of someone saying something about Indians. There’s some kind of scandal, with us being the butt of it.”

For Ramyaa, the fact that many minority Singaporeans have similar stories to tell raises uncomfortable questions about the gap between Singapore’s ideals and the lived experiences of some of its citizens.

She said, “It’s an experience that everyone has had, and that is so messed up because we’re supposed to be a multiracial, harmonious country, and yet here we are.”

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