Brunei, a tiny but comparatively new nation, holds a wealth of information and a prolonged record of landmarks. From the ruler’s lengthy and elaborate official title—Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien—to his declare as one of many wealthiest rulers and the world’s longest-reigning monarch, Brunei persistently makes its mark within the file books. Nonetheless, this former British protectorate, which gained full independence in 1984, is greater than its oil riches and opulence.
Bonded By way of Language and Historical past
The nation is formally often known as Negara Brunei Darussalam in its official language, Malay, or Bahasa Melayu. The Malay time period “Bahasa” originates from the Sanskrit phrase “bhasha”, which means language, whereas “Negara” is derived from the Sanskrit phrase “Nagara/Nagari”, which means metropolis. Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, was renamed in 1970 from its earlier title, Bandar Brunei, to honour the nation’s former ruler, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III, whose title attracts from the Sanskrit time period “Shri Bhagwan”, which means Lord Almighty or ‘the Blessed One’.
Over a century in the past, a historic connection to India emerged when British soldier and sojourner James Brooke, born in Bandel, West Bengal, was granted a good portion of Brunei’s territory in 1841 by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II for quelling a rebel. Brooke later obtained the title of Rajah—derived from the Sanskrit phrase for King—of Sarawak, now a state in Malaysia, and have become often known as the White Rajah.
Not-So-Proactive Engagement
Throughout my current go to to Bandar Seri Begawan, significantly on the Royal Regalia Museum within the coronary heart of the capital, I noticed {a photograph} of an Indian instructor wearing a saree. The picture featured the present ruler from his scholar days at Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien School in 1964. Surprisingly, amidst the museum’s glittering assortment of royal regalia—showcasing beautiful state items from a number of heads of state and prime ministers from international locations like China, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, Ukraine, and the USA—the Indian reward was attributed to a former Indian Excessive Commissioner and never a minister.
PM’s Historic Go to
Linguistically and traditionally, Brunei and India share a long-standing connection. Nonetheless, their geopolitical relations require a lift, significantly as India goals to boost its function within the Indo-Pacific area. Notably, no Indian Prime Minister had visited Brunei for a bilateral dialogue earlier than Narendra Modi launched into a visit as a part of his proactive Act East coverage. Though Brunei’s Sandhurst-educated Sultan has made 4 visits to India because the institution of diplomatic ties in 1984, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the one Indian chief to go to Brunei for 2 back-to-back multilateral occasions—the eleventh ASEAN-India Summit and the eighth East Asia Summit—held in Bandar Seri Begawan in October 2013. The transition from the sooner Look East coverage to a extra lively Act East coverage started after Modi took workplace in 2014, resulting in the first-ever high-level bilateral go to to Brunei by President Hamid Ansari in 2016.
Oil-Pushed Financial Partnerships
Brunei boasts a high-income, oil-rich economic system. Regardless of the pandemic’s non permanent stagnation of its oil-driven sector, Brunei maintains a forex valued at par with Singapore’s greenback, which can also be extensively used within the nation. India’s main exports to Brunei embrace vehicles, transport gear, rice, and spices. Conversely, India is one among Brunei’s largest importers of crude oil, with annual imports valued at roughly $500-600 million. On the just lately opened Brunei Power Hub, an interactive oil and gasoline museum in Bandar Seri Begawan, the nation’s oil and gasoline growth timeline highlights India as one of many “key clients” of Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP), a three way partnership between the Authorities of Brunei and Shell, noting the primary supply of oil cargo to India in 2003, with roughly 25,000 barrels equipped every year thereafter. A good portion of Brunei’s Indian diaspora, almost 15,000, primarily works within the oil and gasoline sector, with an rising variety of unskilled Indian staff coming into the development and different unorganised sectors lately.
Eye On China
With 161 kilometres of shoreline alongside the South China Sea, Brunei, house to just about 4,50,000 folks, holds each geographical and geopolitical significance within the Indo-Pacific area. The nation is a silent claimant to this contested maritime space, sustaining a fragile steadiness in its relations with China and different ASEAN neighbours, regardless of China’s rising assertiveness within the area. In Could of this 12 months, Brunei signed a maritime cooperation settlement with the Philippines, which has just lately taken a stand in opposition to China’s aggression within the South China Sea, formally referring to the world close to its shoreline because the West Philippine Sea. Concurrently, the Islamic nation has strengthened its defence ties with India through the years. Prime Minister Modi’s go to is anticipated to solidify this relationship, particularly in mild of China’s increasing affect within the area.
Culinary Connection
Apparently, Brunei’s inhabitants contains greater than 10% Chinese language immigrants, with almost 70% of their ancestors hailing from the Taiwanese islands of Kinmen. This group fled heavy shelling by China throughout the First and Second Taiwan Strait crises within the Nineteen Fifties. Whereas having fun with conventional ‘roti kacang kahwin’ and ‘roti kuning kahwin’ (the phrase “roti” means bread in Malay, like in Hindi) at Chop Jing Chew, a historic bakery and eatery in Bandar Seri Begawan, I used to be stunned to seek out that the Chinese language-immigrant-owned institution is run totally by Indian workers. My culinary exploration additionally revealed that one among Brunei’s hottest and top-rated (by Tripadvisor) eating places, Riyaz, situated in a distinguished resort, is managed by a group of Indian cooks and hospitality workers.
Bollywood’s Smooth Energy
A go to to a different well-regarded restaurant, Soto Pabo, alongside the Brunei riverfront, highlighted Brunei’s deep-rooted cross-cultural reference to India. I encountered two aged Bruneians jamming with a guitar, who greeted me with a heat “Namaste” in fluent Hindi. After introducing myself and becoming a member of their gathering, one among them, Hajiali, advised me that he had studied in Lucknow for a 12 months within the Nineteen Seventies. The septuagenarian, collectively along with his pal and the eatery’s proprietor’s octogenarian father-in-law, entertained us with a medley of basic Bollywood songs. I used to be captivated by the nostalgic tunes of Mukesh’s “Sawan Ka Mahina,” Kishore Kumar’s “Zindagi Ek Safar,” and Mohammad Rafi’s “Jo Wada Kiya.” Slightly later, after savouring their signature Ambuyat set—a standard Bruneian meal—I took a ferry to Kampung Ayer, a standard water village close to the capital. As we sailed via the mangroves populated with long-nosed proboscis monkeys (featured within the Tintin journey, Flight 714), the boatman started singing “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” upon studying my nationality. This expertise jogged my memory of my travels to Timor-Leste and Indonesia, the place locals additionally fondly recalled the Bollywood basic. It was a profound demonstration of India’s enduring delicate energy via Bollywood.
Whereas it is heartening to see the affect of Indian tradition in Brunei even earlier than Prime Minister Modi’s go to, India should additional have interaction with this small but prosperous nation to boost its strategic place within the area.
(Suvam Pal works as a broadcast journalist with TaiwanPlus information channel in Taipei)
Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the writer
