On 13 November 2015, terrorists from the Islamic State (IS) staged a series of assaults against Paris, France. The assaults involved bombings and gun attacks on innocent civilians, leaving over a hundred dead. As a result, millions around the world were left in shock and disbelief. The attacks signified the ability of IS to penetrate into the developed world and spread their destructive ideals. How could such an attack take place in a First World Nation with such openness and brutality? Where on Earth are we ever safe today? Many in the world have asked these questions.
In Singapore, we shared the same thoughts as the rest of the world. Our worries were further heightened when we recalled that about half a year earlier, IS actually shortlisted us as a target. We are now feeling as equally vulnerable as the rest of the world.
However did you know that we had such an incident very similar to the Paris Attacks? Many would cite the Macdonald House bombing by Indonesian saboteurs as the most obvious event. They are not wrong, but I feel that there is another attack on our home which was deadly an uncontrollable. This event was the Sepoy Mutiny of 1915.
This incident occurred during the First World War by Sepoys of the Imperial British Army. Sepoys are Indian conscripts from the British Raj in service of the Empire on which the Sun never sets. There was a Sepoy division which was sent to Singapore to bolster the island’s defence during the Great War. This particular division consists mainly of Muslim Indians.
The British were in conflict against the Turks of the Ottoman Empire (today Turkey). The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed V, was seen by many Muslims as their Caliph or spiritual leader. When the Sepoys landed in Singapore in October 1914, there was gossip of them being sent to Europe to fight the Ottomans which spread like wildfire. The idea of a Muslim attacking a fellow Muslim was unacceptable to them, leading to an extreme rise in paranoia. Ill-discipline and miscommunication among the ranks did not help to quell the Sepoys’ worries.
Finally in 27 January 1915, orders to be deployed to Hong Kong were translated into being sent to Europe, leading to a massive mutiny. Half of the Sepoy division ran rampant and started massive shootings around Singapore, mainly in Pasir Panjang and Keppel Harbour. They fired upon the British and locals, leaving 47 dead. It took them seven days to stop the mutineers and only with the help of nearby Allied military vessels was they able to fully quell the mutineers. However, what was left behind was a fearful island which was flabbergasted by the inability of their British colonial masters to protect us. These Sepoys were supposed to protect us, not to harm us.
This incident shows that we had experienced attacks similar to the ones in Paris before where gunmen are allowed to roam freely around our streets to inflict their rampage upon us. This served as a lesson for us to have a well-trained and strong defence force to eliminate threats against our home, regardless whether they are from home or foreign lands. And we indeed learnt well.
We now possess an excellent counter-terrorism force to defend us from such threats. The uncovering of the potential Yishun bombings, the rescue of SQ117 and the persistent arrests of Jemaah Islamiyah(JI) members both locally and abroad are a few such examples of our capabilities.
Singapore has been safe for the past few generations. It was through our awareness and lack of support for these terrors did we manage to keep ourselves safe. However, let the Sepoy Mutiny serve as a reminder for us that no land in impenetrable to attacks. They can and will come from every possible angle.
