History of Singapore
During World War 2, Singapore was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945. When the war ended, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, culminating in Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963. However, social unrest and disputes between Singapore's ruling People's Action Party and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia. Singapore became an independent republic on 9 August 1965.
Indian National Army in Singapore
Many scholars have claimed the INA's story, is an integral part of the history of Indians in Singapore. In 1995, the Singapore government erected an Indian National Army Monument at the Esplanade Park to commemorate the 50th anniversary of World War II. It was one of the 11 monuments constructed as part of this initiative. However, there has been little focus on the INA in the post-independence historical narrative of Singapore. The INA is only very briefly mentioned as an anti-colonial force in much of Singapore's post-independence historical narrative. The Singapore government often chooses not to allow war commemorations to be along ethnic lines. These accounts often omit the information of the INA soldiers fighting for the Japanese forces, under whom the Chinese population had endured great hardship. One explanation is that In the early formation years of Singapore, the government “found themselves in a state without a nation” and at that moment they took advantage of the common suffering that the people had endured during the Japanese occupation and attempted to turn it into one of the cornerstones of nation building in Singapore. As such, in order to play up the suffering as a common thread and collective memory, the Singapore government had left out the part of history where the Indians in Singapore had joined hands with the Japanese. Instead, they proceeded to highlight that people living in Singapore from all walks of life had suffered extensively at the hands of the Japanese. Consequently, that feeling of mutual suffering contributed to them being and feeling Singaporean. This exclusion about details of the INA from the historical narrative helped to create a sense of identity and unity in a rather fragmented society at that time.