Most recently, this has surfaced in the controversy over the renaming of landmarks in Lahore. In the latest development, on November 16, the Lahore High Court (LHC) restrained the City District Government of Lahore (CDGL) from renaming Fawwara Chowk in Shadman after Bhagat Singh. Singh was a hero of the Indian independence movement, which led to the freedom from colonial rule of both India and Pakistan in 1947. Singh, aged only 23, was hanged by the British at the said chowk in 1931, for killing a British officer and for other acts aimed to rid his nation of oppression. In Pakistan, his extraordinary courage is almost never acknowledged.
Hearing a petition filed by a Tehreek-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool member, an LHC judge has stayed the name change. The petition states that it was earlier decided that the chowk would be named after Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, the man who coined the name of Pakistan. It also says that a “so-called” foundation had been established in the name of Bhagat Singh and that it has, with other “so-called” human rights associations, pressured the CDGL to name the chowk after him.
If anything, the petition illustrates our growing ignorance and sheltered approach towards other religions. Despite attempts to alter this attitude and include the story of Bhagat Singh in textbooks, this has not happened and large sections of the population have no idea about his achievements. Born near Jaranwala in Punjab and educated in Lahore, it is entirely illogical that his religion should exclude him from tribute in the land he grew up and died in. Bhagat Singh deserves to be remembered. The attempts to block this are absurd.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2012.
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