The Ealing Council of London might rename Havelock Road to Guru Nanak Road in honor of the founder of Sikhism.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that several statues, plagues and street names which celebrate slavery and other injustices will be removed or renamed.
Ealing Council Leader Julian Bell also suggested renaming Havelock Road to Guru Nanak Road in response to the Mayor of London’s announcement to focus on improving diversity in London.
In a written statement, Bell says, “We need to make sure that our public realm, our statues, road names and building reflect our diversity, and not a frozen past where colonialism, racism and the slave trade were present and celebrated.”
Havelock Road is named after a British general who fought against Indian rebellion in the first war of Indian Independence in the mid-1800s. There is also a statue in Trafalgar Square in London of Major General Sir Henry Havelock.
Havelock Road is heavily populated with Punjabi residents.
Other Ealing council members say renaming the road will symbolize the contributions from their Sikh community and celebrate unity.
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