The district government of Lahore has decided to name Shadnam Chowk after legendary Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, reported BBC Urdu on Thursday.
According to the report, members of the civil society as well as several parties had been demanding that the chowk be renamed as it was the place where Singh was hanged to death on March 23, 1931 by the British government.
The decision was taken recently after Singh’s 105th birth anniversary was celebrated in the country on September 28. The celebrations in Lahore were organised by Bhagat Singh Memorial Society Pakistan and included a documentary screening, speeches on his life and ideology, and cutting of a cake at Shadman Chowk.
COMMENTS (51)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
someone here remarked that Bhagat Singh laid down his life for the independence of India and Pakistan. All I want to say..it was India which attained freedom..while Pakistan was createdThank you Pakistan!
bhagat singh was son of lahore who gave his life for this land. whether his path was right or wrong. he was a true freedom fighter. at least 1000 times better than zardaris and sharifs and bhuttos etc.
@sid: you are right. We have been falling into hatred for non-Muslims so much.
He was a great socialist. I don't care if he was a hindu. He served for the betterment of humanity like so many muslims. So i think its a nice decision.
@Lala Gee: Your reservations regarding new naming are quite unfounded but you do have the right to your opinion. Though there were ideological differences between Gandhiji and Bhagat Singh but both fought the British for the same objective to achieve independence and are held in high esteem in India. I congratulate the ones who took this brave decision and hope that one day anti-Hindu propaganda is removed from the education curricullum in Pakistan which is long due.
i think indians should atleast appreviate this. why always criticise pakistan..how u treat muslims in india. what did u do to babri mosque. atleast show some respect to positive developments
@Kiran:
"The Shaeed Bhagat Singh gave his life for the sake freedom of India & Pakistan not only India."
You should read the online excerpts titled "Did the ideological distance between Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi decide the young revolutionary’s fate? Was he a victim of Gandhi’s apathy? V.N. Datta’s latest book Gandhi and Bhagat Singh focuses on Bapu’s attitude towards Bhagat Singh’s trial and execution". Your Bapu definitely had some reservations about how effective his role was in the freedom fight for the sub-continent. Here is what he thought "Gandhi regarded Bhagat Singh’s mode of militant nationalism, and the extreme left-wing political activity as the most injurious to the cause of Indian independence.". Now decide who is right, Ghandhi or Bhagat Singh?
another stunt to appease liberal and indians
Bhagat Singh died for his principles. He was very intelligent with a agile way of thinking. He had great love and reverence for human life. Now a chowk in Pakistan is named after him. I appreciate this move very much. Monuments radiate the qualities of person disregard to their culture, creed and allegiance. And propel the viewers to know more about them and draw inspiration. Delhi has a road named after Nelson Mandela, South Africa erected the statue of Gandhi. This is called universal brotherhood.
Bhagat Singh was a true Lahori. He stood against the British raj. His prophecy about India was true that British rulers will be replaced by a cabal of corrupt leadership with mediocre intelligence. This leadership will keep the masses subjugated and perpetuate their rule while being enslaved by super powers.
Have we forgotten all our heroes or no Muslim was a freedom fighter? Go back to the events of 1857 and start searching onward.
Such a nice move by the pakistan government....
Great News, this should be the spirit to recognize
A breath of fresh air in my country which otherwise is clogged up in hate,intolerance and extremism.
@Naresh: dude get your history right ...bhagat singh was a sikh.
@amanat: Did Muslims not kill anyone at the time of partition? How about now? Muslims slaughtering Muslims?
After a long time, there is good news from Pakistan! I am delighted to see this news that finally we have done something that is open minded. Human being are human beings first and it does not matter what religion they belong to. This decision would have made even the Quaid proud. Bhagat Singh laid down his life for our freedom and he is being honored by his own town. Great going.
I am an Indian. I salute Pakistan & Pakistanis for this act. I wish, I will be in Lahore some day to visit this Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk,
@Zalim Singh: All humans are born atheists. It is the respective society and family which brainwashes the child and make out of him a berupia par excellence............Bhagat Singh was neither a Sikh nor an atheist, he was first and foremost an extraordinary human who sacrificed his life for his beloved motherland.
This is good news that Punjab is returning to honor a hero who laid down his life for freedom. The real sons of soil should be honored. The great culture of Indus civilization should be projected. Sindh Govt should also honor freedom fighter Heemu Kalani Shaheed. Sindh and Punjab has one of the oldest culture, language, heritage and civilization, why some alien culture to be superimposed upon native culture of land. I hope Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushtoo, Balochi and Siraiki to become national language of Pakistan, not just Urdu which is hardly 1st language of 5 to 7 percent peoples. Lets reconnect to our land and history.
But..But..But...
A lot of narrow minded comments on this thread. sad. try and rise up and recognize the essential human spirit that's being celebrated here.
positive move. unlike ANP who named every main street, colleges and even airport after their leaders. who didn't do anything like Bhagat Singh.
@Kiran What is all the fuss about? He was an indian freedom fighter and will always be refered to like this. And Iqbal is never mentioned as Pakistani poet, he might be the national poet of Pakistan but to the world he is indian poet because he didn't live to see Pakistan, infact Pakistan's idea was adopted by muslim league after his death.
Instead of celebrating our precious freedom in 1947 and paying homage to our heroes such as Sardar Bhagat Singh we slaughtered each other in the name of religion.....shame on all of us!
Naresh: We already have Gulabi Devi Hospital, and Sir Ganga Ram hospital too...it's great. Don't make a big deal about all things Pakistani. We know about treatment meted out to Muslims in India too. Singing and dancing In movies doesn't mean they are doing well. Just so u know our last Justice of Supreme court was a Hindu too.
Kiran....Indian freedom fighter because it was all India then. There was NO Pakistan, hence they are naming after him. He was our (Pakistani) hero too. Sid: don't take everything negatively, some Indians like u do! Appreciate what is good!
Bhagat Singh was a Sikh. But he was an atheist.
DO you think anyone in Lahore will call it this new name? We still call Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam by its original name "Mall Road"
Nice idea this tradition should be adapted strongly. changing the name can not changed the history. we got lot of place to named our heroes there is no need to change the name of Bhagat Singh to shadman chowk.
http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1569
You mean, Shaheed Bhagat Singh who wrote "Why I am an Atheist" has a space in current Islamic Pakistan? For how long would the chowk remain before it is burnt down??
It is a shameful act to name any chowk in the name of a sikh in Pakistan. Sikhs killed innumerable muslims at the time of partition and kidnapped muslim women and married with them forcibly. Those who witnessed tragic incidents can never forget their atrocities what to speak of naming any chowk in the name of a sikh. Those who have so much love with sikhs should migrate to East Punjab(India) and quit Pakistan .
u gotta be kidding me???????? Why not name it after those Pakistnis who have done good for PAK....
Good decision; hope this will be a seed for revolution
Just a doubt,How much is Bhagat Singh is projected in Pakistani history books.....
After reading many independent works,I felt that Bhagat Singh was underrated in our history books by the Pro-Congress historians after independence.....
@sid: Mr from Neighboring country what is your problem. ET is becoming a playground for RSS trouble makers from the neighboring country. Kindly ET dont approve their comments as they are the Spoiler of the highest order on all Pakistani Forums.
Very nice move to honour the hero.
The district government of Lahore has decided to name Shadnam Chowk after legendary Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, reported BBC Urdu on Thursday. Time he was hanged, nobody knew name Pakistan. All freedom fighter should be hero of both country.
Indian Freedom Fighter ?? Wow. The Shaeed Bhagat Singh gave his life for the sake freedom of India & Pakistan not only India. You guys think only the Jinnah was the freedom fighter for independence in pakistan OR Iqbal The one who never went to a Jail for the inpendence is your freedon fighter. Please what ever your ideology is please do not disrespect our beloved shaeed Bhagat Singh, Raj guru & Sukh Dev. Anyway I congrats the respective people who took the steps to change the name of the Chowk under the Great Soul
This was suppose to take place on 23rd March of this year but didn't happen. Civil societies have been crying out for years to rename this chowk. Only God knows how long are officials going to take!
great news