As a previous blog explained, we have been working with the community that looks after the Dato Koyah shrine in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Penang, Malaysia. The shrine is believed to be the site of the burial of an Indian prisoner sent to Penang during the British colonial Continue Reading
The Makam Dato Koyah: working with a community in Penang
On Transfer Road, in the UNESCO world heritage site of George Town Penang, there is a fascinating place called the Makam Dato Koyah. There lies buried a man who in his lifetime was known as Syed Mustapha Idris. A shrine (keramat) grew up around him after miraculous happenings followed his Continue Reading
Remembering Indian Convicts in Southeast Asia
From the end of the eighteenth century up to the early 1860s, the East India Company transported c. 25,000 convicts to penal settlements across Southeast Asia. Most came from British India (including Burma), with smaller numbers from the Crown Colony of Sri Lanka. The earliest destinations were Bencoolen and the Continue Reading