Furious residents are up in arms after their community’s lake was named after an Indian religious figure without their involvement.
Berwick Springs Lake, southeast of Melbourne, was renamed Guru Nanak Lake in honor of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith.
A renaming ceremony was held last Saturday, joined by members of the Sikh community and representatives of the state government.
Guests in attendance included ministers Ingrid Stitt and Sonya Kilkenny, along with local Labor MPs Gary Maas and Lee Tarlamis.
Ms Kilkenny praised the lake’s renaming as another way to ensure Victoria’s place names better reflect and celebrate our state’s rich diversity and history.
The Planning Minister also shared the government’s plans to rename a further 6,000 places across the state over the next three years and encouraged Victorians to submit “exceptional people to be commemorated”.
‘Remember a local, name a place!’ Ms Kilkenny posted on Facebook.
The post was quickly inundated with backlash.
Berwick Springs Lake, located southeast of Melbourne, has been renamed Guru Nanak Lake in honor of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith.
“Sorry but what an absolute joke,” one said.
Another said: ‘This is very wrong. I will fight to have it reversed.
‘This has no relevance and is creating more division. Watch this space the neighbors are furious. Appalling.’
Others questioned how Guru Nanak met the criteria for places to be renamed after those who had “a long association with the nominated area”.
‘What was Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s ‘long association’ with any part of Victoria?’ one asked.
“As a non-binary BIPOC individual, I’m interested to see why this decision was made when it doesn’t even comply with the Victorian Government’s own rules.”
Another added: ‘Guru Nanak wasn’t exactly a local: was he born in 1469?’
Mrs Kenny replied: ‘True, but for many members of the local community, Guru Nanak is a very important part of their lives.
“And also very progressive: equality, truth, compassion and service to the community.”
Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny (pictured left) said the name change would better reflect the diverse nature of Victoria.
Even some members of the Sikh community opposed the move.
‘I am a Punjabi Sikh. I’m sorry, but this name is a bad idea,’ they said.
‘In the rush to ingratiate himself with Indian Australians (something politicians of all stripes are guilty of), he has ignored that Guru Nanak is a *religious* figure.
“I don’t think we should name landmarks after religious figures (unless a landmark’s notoriety is specifically due to religion).”
The Facebook user even questioned whether such measures increased racial and cultural understanding.
“Furthermore, these gestures are cynical: everyone can see it, except the community that feels flattered,” they said.
And they are counterproductive. Instead of increasing harmony, they only increase suspicion and racism against visible minorities.’
A petition to reverse the change, led by local Michael Ball, has already gathered more than 2,000 signatures.
“As a member of the community, I wish to express my deep concern and disbelief at this change and the process by which it was brought about,” the petition reads.
‘The name Berwick Springs Lake is intrinsically linked to the identity of our Berwick Springs community.
‘It has been a defining feature of our neighborhood and has significant meaning to local residents.
‘The sudden change of this name, without proper community consultation, has caused enormous distress among residents and beyond. ‘
While the petition notes that there will be consultation on what type of signage the lake would have, “we find it deeply concerning that such consultation has not been extended to the much more fundamental issue of the name change itself.”
“Residents see the lack of community consultation as a betrayal of democratic principles and extremely poor public sector governance, totally outside of what they expect from elected representatives and public servants,” the petition said.
The petition said the objection to the change was “a matter of principle that would remain the same” regardless of the name of the religious figure that had been chosen.
“It’s not about any particular faith or community, but rather about maintaining the community identity of our area.”
The petition demanded, in addition to returning to the previous name, that the process to make the change be made public.
Along with Ms Kilkenny, the event was attended by a number of Labor figures including (left to right) South East Metropolitan MP Lee Tarlamis, Pakenham MP Emma Vulin, Multicultural Affairs Minister Ingrid Stitt, Narre South MP Warren Gary Maas
Jasbir Singh Suropada, president of the Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria, told SBS Punjabi that the group had been in talks with the Victorian government since 2018 “regarding (naming) a place after the founder of our faith”.
“Now that this lake will be called Guru Nanak Lake, our Guru’s name will be part of legal documents like Government Gazettes and will be part of history,” he said.
‘People who visit this place will look at the board, read about our Guru, (and) some might Google him and learn about Sikhism and its founder. We are trying to add a link describing Sikh history here so that anyone who wants to know more can do so.’
The Victorian Government also announced $600,000 in funding for Sikh organizations to hold ‘Langer’ events in the run-up to the 555th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birth.
Victoria is home to more than 91,000 Sikhs, making it the state with the highest representation of the community, according to the 2021 census.
However, in the town of Casey, where the lake is located, Sikhs make up only 4.1 per cent of the population, while the neighboring councils of Cardinia and Greater Dandenong make up 2.6 per cent and 2.6 per cent. 9 percent respectively.