Now, Lahore Gets A Bhagat Singh Chowk

October 1, 2012

LAHORE: Pakistani authorities have renamed a roundabout in the eastern city of Lahore after [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/freedom-fighter-Bhagat-Singh"]freedom fighter Bhagat Singh[/url] to acknowledge his revolutionary spirit and his role in the movement against the erstwhile British rulers of the subcontinent.

The Shadman [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Chowk"]Chowk[/url] of Lahore will now be known as Bhagat Singh Chowk, officials said. Bhagat Singh was hanged in March 1931 in the erstwhile Lahore Jail, which stood at the spot where the roundabout was built later.

While authorities have changed the Hindu names of several places in Lahore, the decision to rename a busy roundabout after Bhagat Singh has been hailed by residents.

District administration chief Noorul Amin Mengal directed the city district government to make arrangements for renaming within a week. Admonishing an official for considering 'Rehmat Ali' as the chowk's name, he said all Pakistani citizens, including Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians, had equal rights under the constitution and no one should object to the decision to rename the roundabout.