An Indonesian journalist and an Indian poet
What did they have in common?
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Men of Letters and Journalism: Both were intellectuals who utilised journalism and newspapers as powerful platforms for expressing their ideas and critiques.
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Colonial Context and Nationalism: Living under colonial rule—Tirto in the Dutch East Indies and Bharati in British India—they emerged as pivotal figures during a period of rising nationalism.
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Multilingual Proficiency: Their command over languages enabled them to communicate effectively across cultural divides, amplifying their influence.
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Legacy of Thought Leadership: Their contributions shaped intellectual discourse in the Global South, and revisiting their works helps us understand our cultural and historical positioning in Nusantara and the Tamil world today.
Watch the full video here : Eastern Voices Against Western Colonialism by Dr Azhar Ibrahim.
Dr Azhar Ibrahim is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore.
Tirto Adhi Soerjo & Bharati
Our Projects
"Naanum Thamizhum" is a ten-part video series featuring ten experts who have excelled in their careers outside of the Tamil language. In each episode, these experts share how Tamil has played a significant role in their personal and professional lives. The goal of this series is to inspire young individuals to develop an appreciation for Tamil and to demonstrate the diverse applications of the language.
To keep Tamil a living language in Singapore, it is necessary for the younger generation of Tamils to understand and appreciate the significance of Tamil culture and tradition. This project aims to provide basic information about Tamil culture and tradition.
Digital Resource on Tamil Culture and Tradition
In commemoration of SG50, a collection of 350 Tamil literary works of Singapore from 1965 to 2015 was digitised and offered as the Indian community’s gift to the nation. The public can now appreciate 50 years of Singapore Tamil literature on NLB’s BooksSG portal, anytime and anywhere.
Media
Photos
Videos
சிங்கப்பூரின் வரலாறு, அடையாளம் குறித்த புரிதலை மேம்படுத்த உதவியுள்ள தமிழ் மரபுடைமை மின்தொகுப்பு
Radio
Speeches
It was our pleasure to join Oli 96.8FM’s early morning talk show to speak about the journey of CSTC. Dr. Elavazhagan Murugan and Jayasutha Samuthiran shared about CSTC’s objectives, projects, and plans for the future. Sushma Soma talked about her joint production with CSTC – “Naalum Oru Geetham.”
Watch this space for more updates on our upcoming projects.
The logo is made up of eight arrows and three primary colours. The big and small arrows depict the "eight directions," which in Tamil connotes all directions, from which Tamil culture has been influenced in big and small ways. Tamil culture is a distillation of such multidirectional influences. Likewise, Tamil culture has influenced others in many directions. The arrows are arranged with gaps in between to indicate the open and dynamic nature of Tamil culture, instead of being fossilised in a closed, exclusive environment. Just as the three primary colours of Red, Green and Blue, when combined, create a multitude of other colours, so are the numerous cultural manifestations based on a few fundamental values of the culture.