Tan Tai Yong is Professor of South Asian history at the National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....

. He is currently the Vice-Provost (Student Life) and Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, an autonomous university-level research institute in NUS.

Biography

Professor Tan obtained his first two degrees - BA (Hons), 1986, and MA, 1989 - from the National University of Singapore. He then went off to Cambridge University, where he earned his doctorate in South Asian history in 1992, under the supervision of Anthony Low

Anthony Low

Anthony Low is a historian of modern South Asia, Africa, the British Commonwealth, and, especially, decolonization...

. He has been a faculty member of the Department of History at NUS since 1992 and served the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is one of the largest faculties in the National University of Singapore .- Overview :It is made up of three main divisions, Asian Studies, Humanities and Social Sciences...

 as Sub-Dean (1994-1999), Head of the History Department (2000-2003), Vice-Dean (2001-2003) and Dean (2004-2009).

Research

Professor Tan's research interests are in the areas of Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

 diaspora, civil-military relations, social and political history of colonial Punjab

Punjab region

The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...

, and the partition of South Asia. Lately, he has shifted his attention to Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

, and has been exploring issues of networks formation and the place of maritime cities in the region.

Selected Publications

• A 700 Year History of Singapore. From Classical Emporium to World City (with Kwa Chong Guan and Derek Heng), National Archives Singapore, 2009.

• Creating Greater Malaysia: Decolonisation and the Politics of Merger. Singapore: ISEAS, 2008.

• http://books.google.com/books?id=xbXYDP3qnuwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Garrison+State:+The+Military,+Government+and+Society+in+Colonial+Punjab,+1849+%E2%80%93+1947&source=bl&ots=xjbwRITXEY&sig=m3jRIIyqPnslisYmtfeiXWVeR2s&hl=en&ei=cyVzTfm8J8H88Abh-6D1Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=falseThe Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849 – 1947]. Sage Publications, 2005.

• The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia, (with Gyanesh Kudaisya), London: Routledge, 2000 and 2002.

• Beyond Degrees: The Making of the National University of Singapore (with Edwin Lee). Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1996.

• Singapore Khalsa Association. Singapore: Times Books International, 1988. (Second Edition, published by Marshall Cavendish, 2006)

External links

• Homepage at NUS