To all those in the replies who feel the need to defend the legacy of Havelock, why not try to adopt the considered, respectful & sensible approach of one of his actual ancestors...
@edanderson101
@EalingCouncil
@VirendraSharma
@juliangbell
As a descendant of Henry Havelock, this news makes me really happy. My ancestor's story will always be part of British history, but his living relatives have a much different view on the world and are very happy to celebrate Sikh influences and culture in the UK.
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Havelock Road in Southall - London's 'Little India' - is finally to be renamed Guru Nanak Road. This is a big deal. Havelock Rd was named after the colonial British general who fought in the Sikh wars & later suppressed the 1857 Uprising. It is home to London's largest gurudwara.
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Here is
@EalingCouncil
's official announcement (which avoids mentioning anything about why it was called Havelock in the first place!) Great news. Congrats to
@VirendraSharma
@juliangbell
and all others involved in campaigning for & effecting this change.
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Many replies reveal not just bigotry but a worrying - and often causative - lack of understanding of two areas:
1) The history of British colonialism
2) The history of South Asian communities in Britain
This is why decolonisation must go well beyond removing & renaming things.
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This response, which I originally thought was satire, gives a sense of the problem.
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People saying that I want to remove or erase history because I support a street being renamed. I'm a historian. I have literally made it my life's work to teach people about the past. I'm sorry for you if the extent of your understanding of history is a road name or a statue.
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Here's the piece I've written on this story with the wonderful
@priyaatwal
. Thanks for comments from
@VirendraSharma
@Emily_Mckenzie
& the dude who wrote “What a load of nonsense. What if we went to India and started changing their street names.”
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@edanderson101
Absolutely agree, Ed - but I think you mean descendants ... sorry, once an English teacher, always and English teacher ....
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