Australia: Plan to change Punjab Place to Oak Tree Place attacked as racist
I don't suppose we are allowed to mention that some streets in Bombay which had had English names for centuries were given Hindi names instead a few decades back? OK to change English names to Indian ones but not OK to change Indian names to English ones?? OK for Indians to prefer Indian names but not OK for English-speaking people to prefer English names?
"A race row is brewing in the quiet cul-de-sac of Punjab Place at Logan in Queensland as 32 residents petition to change the street's Indian name. The retirement village at the centre of the stoush, south of Brisbane, is now considering a withdrawal of its application to the council, The Courier-Mail reports.
But yesterday residents said they still wanted the street renamed Oak Tree Place, after the Oak Tree Lifestyle Village that dominates a quarter of the streetscape. A 32-signature petition was submitted by village manager Dawn Ludlow to Cr Lynne Clarke, stating Oak Tree Place was a more suitable name for the street than Punjab - a northwest Indian state.
Residents outside the Boronia Heights village yesterday said they signed the petition because they felt Oak Tree was "prettier". "This isn't racist," resident Ron Edmonds said. "Oak Tree is just a nicer name." Further up the cul-de-sac, resident Annie Liu said Punjab was an "Indian name". "It is not against Indians but this is a beautiful street and Oak Tree is a beautiful name," she said. "Punjab isn't as much."
But Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin president Umesh Chandra said the request to rename the street was devastating. Given the controversy over attacks on Indian students in Australia, plans to remove an Indian street name would make relations worse...
SOURCE
9 comments:
If the street had 32 Million people living there, instead of 32, it's current name would be more appropriate. Multiculturalism is simply another liberal social experiment that is a failure.
"Multiculturalism is simply another liberal social experiment that is a failure."
You have facts to back up this claim?
It is racist of Mr. Bopirai to object to the wishes of Austrailians who want street names with which they are familiar. He should honor those wishes in deference to their culture. After all, multiculturalism means accepting the values of all cultures.
And did Umesh Chandra believe that renaming the city of Bombay as Mumbai, Calcutta as Kolkotta, Madras as Chennai, Burma as Myanmar, Rangoon as Yangon, etc. would make relations with the English worse?
"... Given the controversy over attacks on Indian students in Australia ...". Of course, no mention that those attacks are almost exclusively by Muslims, not whites.
The article doesn't say how many people live there. 32 out of how many?
But a little googling showed that the retirement home in question has 44 villas. Assuming that the villas are the buildings that show up on google maps, then the area is only partly developed.
One thing they could do is wait until the rest of the development is finished and people have moved in, then petition to change it.
After it's built it really doesn't matter what the developer wanted as he doesn't own it anymore.
"You have facts to back up this claim?"
If you live in the real world, the proof is all around you, all the time. Disregard if you are a liberal, since you don't live in the real world.
<<"You have facts to back up this claim?"
If you live in the real world...>>
Just what I thought, no facts. Pathetic losers.
How long has the name of Punjab Place being in use, and why was it given, are there other "international" street names in that neighbourhood?
Naming the street after a commercial development is not necessary the good solution.
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