A petition has been filed in a Pakistani court, seeking the renaming of Lahore's Shadman Chowk – where freedom fighter Bhagat Singh was hanged 86 years ago – and installation of Singh’s statue on 21 February.
Bhagat Singh was hanged along with his two comrades, Rajguru and Sukhdev, by British authorities on 23 March, 1931, in the erstwhile Lahore Jail, which stood at the spot where the roundabout was built later.
During the hearing of the plea filed by Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation Chairman Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi on Tuesday, the Lahore High Court was informed that a similar petition was pending with it.
Justice Shahid Jamil Khan ordered clubbing of both petitions and fixed 5 March for hearing.
The petitioner stated that Bhagat Singh was a freedom fighter of the sub-continent and gave his life along with his companions for the cause of freedom.
He pointed out that founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had also paid tribute to him saying, "There had never been any brave person in the subcontinent like Bhagat Singh."
He pleaded that it would be in the interest of justice to name Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh and also install his statue at the square so as to inspire the people of Pakistan and the world.
In the plea, Qureshi said that in India there are many roads and thorough fares named after Muslim rulers like Akbar Road, Shah Jahan Road and Bahadar Shah Road.
He said India also published tickets with the image of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of Aligarh University, and his statue was also installed in Lahore.
He said an application was filed before the chief secretary and the deputy commissioner of Lahore to this effect, but no action had been taken so far.
The foundation last month also demanded that Bhagat Singh should be accorded Pakistan’s highest gallantry award ‘Nishan-e-Haider’.
Hafiz Saeed's Jammat-ud-Dawah is strongly opposing the proposal of renaming Shadman Chowk and has made threats to civil society members over this matter.
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