Consultation on Havelock Road Renaming Begins
Council want to commemorate Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism
Sri Guru Singh Sabha on Havelock Road. Picture: Google Streetview
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Ealing Council are holding a consultation on their plan to rename Havelock Road.
Following the controversy about figures from Britain’s colonial past being honoured by statues and having roads names after them, the Mayor of London announced a commission would review and try to improve diversity across London’s public realm. In Bristol, protesters pulled down a statue of slave trader and merchant Edward Colston, who donated his wealth to the city upon his death.
Ealing Council announced shortly afterwards that it was planning to rename the road in Southall.
Guru Nanak, is the founder of Sikhism, and the council say the change would symbolise the contribution of the local Sikh community to the borough’s diversity and unity.
The name of Havelock Road would be changed, between King Street and Merrick Road, to Guru Nanak Road or Guru Nanak Way.
Havelock Road is named after General Sir Henry Havelock who died in 1857 during the Indian Rebellion. He has no association in with the slave trade and there is still a street in Lucknow, where he fought three battles, named after him. There is also a statue of him in Trafalgar Square which was placed there after money was raised through public subscription. While he was Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone suggested that his statue should be replaced by that of someone ‘more relevant’.
The road is home to Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Southall, which was established in the fifties and is the largest gurdwara outside of India according to its official website.
Virendra Sharma MP for Ealing Southall said when the proposal was first raised, "I welcome the decision by Ealing Council to finally rename Havelock Road - decolonising our streets. As the Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall and a Councillor for 25 years before that I have often been ashamed the names of empire still pervade our streets. I have long campaigned for schools to teach more about our Imperial past, not just the great strides made but also the shameful thuggery and violence, names like Havelock belong in books, classrooms and museums, not on the streets to be celebrated.
"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."
A consultation document is available here and there is a short questionnaire for residents to submit their views until 7 September.
Responses to the consultation on renaming Havelock Road will be reviewed by senior council officers, the leader of the council and the portfolio holder for business and community services. The council says that results of the consultation will then be published on its website within four weeks of the consultation end date.
If you need more information or would like to request a paper questionnaire, email havelockroad@ealing.gov.uk or call 020 8825 6553.
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August 24, 2020
