A Bharatiya Janata Party legislator on Wednesday demanded that Havelock Island in the Andamans be renamed, asserting that a place should not be named after someone who had fought against freedom fighters in 1857. Havelock Island is named after Sir Henry Havelock, an English general who had served in India during the British administration.
LA Ganesan said there was a statue of Sir Havelock in London’s Trafalgar Square in honour of his role in fighting against Indian patriots. “Can there be a greater insult than this to our patriots?” he asked during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP MP found support in Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, who said the government should consider the suggestion. Ganesan highlighted that the island continued to be named after the British general even after nearly seven decades since Independence.
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