‘Renaming Southall road, a befitting tribute to Guru Nanak’

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 14

Sikh bodies have welcomed the UK authorities’ proposal to rechristen the Havelock Road in Southall as Guru Nanak Road.

SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said if this proposal was executed, it would be a befitting tribute to Guru Nanak Dev in view of the 550th Gurpurb.

“This road will be a symbol of recognition of the Sikh community’s huge contribution, be it to the UK’s economy or social service. It will also help in strengthening the anti-racism campaign on foreign soil. Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, the largest shrine in western Europe, is also located on the same street, which would further complement its significance,” he said.

In the wake of “Black Lives Matter” protests, the UK’s Ealing Council has been reviewing colonialist connects associated with its street names and statues. A survey was already being conducted on the proposed name of the road. At present, the road is named after British General Sir Henry Havelock, who was involved in the recapture of Cawnpore (now Kanpur) in Uttar Pradesh during the First War of Independence in 1857.

DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the langar tradition taught by Guru Nanak Dev, which had got acclaim world over especially during the Covid-19 crisis, had shown its impact.

“That’s why the foreign community recognised Guru Nanak’s philosophy of communal harmony in the modern materialistic world,” he said.

However, Sukhdev Singh, Punjab convener, Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said, “As a Sikh devotee, it was a matter of pride to name the UK road after the founder of Sikhism. But historically speaking, the streets and monuments signify the legacy of occurrences and their names apprise of those chapters of the past from where the community ultimately rescued. So, the original names should not be altered.”