Leading lights of Lahore including civil society members and intellectuals have unanimously blasted a Lahore District Government resolution which calls for 'Islamisation' of 58 Lahore streets.
| Yeah. That's what they need. More Islam. |
After passing a 'unanimous' resolution, the district government has advertised in the newspapers, notifying the public that it plans to change the names of city streets named after prominent Hindu personalities. The ads also call on the public to voice any objections it may have. However a city district government spokesman said that the process of changing the names had just begun and could take a long time, as the process had to be approved by several tiers of Punjab government before the new names could be announced. There are 58 proposed names. Twenty streets that don't have names will be named after prominent local personalities, while 38 streets that have established Hindu names such as Qila Gujjar Singh will have names such as Qila Shah Faisal after the late Saudi king. Durand Road is being changed to Mussadaq Ahmed Khan Road, main Rajgarh bazaar will be called Karim Bakhsh Road, Poonch Road has been renamed Chaudhry Sarwar Gujjar Road and Lake Road will be called Hakim Allah Ditta Road.
| "All of the light poles on each of those roads will be fitted with turbans. Sidewalks will be resurfaced with materials comfortable for walking in curly-toed slippers..." |
"It's amusing to say the least," said Saleema Hashmi, dean of the school of visuals, Beaconhouse University. "We are erasing history instead of making it. It looks superficial and based on prejudice rather than anything else," said Hashmi adding "the city government, it seems has nothing better to do." Prominent architect Nayyar Ali Dada also condemned the effort being launched by the city government. "We should not try to change the course of history. What are we trying to prove here?" wondered Dada. "No one can champion the cause of Islam by changing the names of streets," said Dada. |