Little India is anehtnic neighbourhood found in Singapore that hasTamil cultural elements and aspects of other cultures. Little India lies to east of the Serangoon Riverr—across from Chinatown, located west of the river—and north of Kampong Glam. Both areas are part of the urban planning area of Rochore. Little India is more commonly known as Tekka in the local Tamil community. Little India is distinct from the Chulia Kampong area, which, under theRaffles Plan of Singapore, was originally a division ofcolonial Singapore where Tamil immgrant would reside under the British policy of ethnic segregation. However, as Chulia Kampong became more crowded and competition for land escalated, many ethnic. Tamils moved into what is now known as Little India. (The Chulia Kampong district no longer exists as a distinct area.)The Little India area is reported to have developed around a former settlement for Tamil convicts. Its location along the Serangoon River originally made it attractive for raising cattle, and trade in livestock was once prominent in the area. Eventually, other economic activity developed, and by the turn of the 20th century, the area began to look like a Tamil ethnic neighbourhood.Although ethnic Tamils no longer tend to stay solely segregated in one place as previously arranged under the 's Action Party (PAP) policy of racial harmony, for the sake of cultural heritage, many of the ethnically Tamils commercial or cottage industry usages are concentrated in Little India, although Tamils-dominant commercial zones are also found in HDB estates. This neighbourhood has the patronage of people of all races who wish to eat or buy something specific to Tamils culture, such as curry or Tamil clothing. One of the more prominent examples of cross-cultural patronage besides those regarding food is that many Chinese parents go to shops in Little India to grind rice to make congee for infants.. In such cases, the shops have machinery primarily meant to grind spices into powder for use in Tamil cuisine. Little India differs from many other neighbourhoods in Singapore in many ways.
