New Delhi: In an attempt by Britain to decolonise street names and statues following the anger sparked by George Floyd, a road in Southall, where the largest gurudwara in western Europe sits, could be renamed Guru Nanak Road.
According to report in The Times of India, Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha is situated on Havelock Road in Southall, a road named after British general Sir Henry Havelock, who was involved in the recapture of Cawnpore (now Kanpur) in UP during the First War of Independence in 1857.
The report stated that Ealing Council has begun to consult its residents on a proposed name change from Havelock Road to Guru Nanak Road, just as Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha prepares to open for private prayer on June 15. It will be the first time the gurdwara opens for individual prayer since the start of the lockdown.
The move has come in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, following which London mayor Sadiq Khan launched a commission to review the capital's memorials as Britain starts to decolonise street names and statues. Labour councils are now reviewing statues and commemorations in their areas.
"We need to make sure our public realm, our statues, road names and buildings, reflect our diversity and not reflect a frozen past where colonialism, racism and the slave trade were present and celebrated," Ealing Council leader Julian Bell was quoted as saying.
The report further stated that two years ago a radical outfit, the National Sikh Youth Federation, launched a campaign for a different name for the road — "Sant Jarnail Singh Marg" — in memory of slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. The group’s petition, addressed to Ealing Council, which is still live, has garnered just under 2,000 signatures.
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