Havelock Road in Southhall, West London, named after the British Army general, Sir Henry Havelock, who cruelly put down the Revolt of 1857, could be renamed after the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, as part of a wider push to recognize the UK’s diversity and address the more pernicious aspects of Britain’s colonial past.
Southall is home to a large Sikh community and Havelock Road is home to the Sri Guru Singh Sabha, which is considered the largest Gurdwara in the world outside India.
Councillor Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council said he welcomed the Mayor’s initiative to represent London’s diversity.
“I welcome the Mayor’s announcement today of a review of our public spaces across the city to make sure that they do represent London as it is today. Our diversity is our strength and we need to make sure that our public realm, our statues, our road names, our buildings, reflect our diversity and do not reflect a frozen past where colonialism, racism, and the slave trade were present and celebrated,” Bell said.
“The change of names will symbolize the huge contribution of our Sikh community in Ealing and also diversity as a borough, and also it will represent our unity as a borough too”, he added.
The long-standing MP for the area Virendra Sharma said the community should come together to decide how we rename this road, but celebrating Guru Nanak Dev Ji in his 550th anniversary, and erasing a white man who killed Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus, would be a sign of our multiculturalism and our diversity.
