Outrage as Melbourne lake renamed Guru Nanak after Indian religious figure

Furious residents are up in arms after their community lake was named after an Indian religious figure without their input,

Berwick Springs Lake in Melbourne south-east has been renamed Guru Nanak Lake after Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith.

A renaming ceremony was held on last Saturday with members of the Sikh community joined by state government representatives.

Ministers Ingrid Stitt and Sonya Kilkenny, along with local Labor MPs Gary Maas and Lee Tarlamis were among the guests in attendance.

Ms Kilkenny hailed the lake renaming as another way we're ensuring 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 6000 other places across the state over the next three years and encouraged Victorians to submit 'exceptional individuals to be commemorated'.

'Remember a Local, Name a Place!' Ms Kilkenny posted on Facebook .

The post was quickly inundated with backlash.

'I'm sorry but what an absolute joke,' one said.

Another said: 'This is so wrong. I'll be fighting for it to be reverted back.

'This has no relevance whatsoever and is creating further division. Watch this space the residents are furious. Appalling.'

Others questioned how Guru Nanak met the criteria that places 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 nonbinary BIPOC individual, I'm interested to see why this decision was made when it doesn't even meet the Victorian Government's own rules.'

Another added: 'Guru Nanak wasn't exactly a local - he was born in 1469?'

Ms Kenny replied: 'True - but for many members of the local community Guru Nanak is a very significant part of their lives.

'And very progressive too - equality, truth, compassion, and service to community.'

Even some in Sikh community opposed to the move.

'I'm a Punjabi Sikh. I'm sorry, but this name is a bad idea,' they said.

'In the rush to ingratiate yourself with Indian Australians (something politicians of all stripes are guilty of), you've ignored that Guru Nanak is a *religious* figure.

'I don't think we should be naming landmarks after religious figures (unless a landmark's notability is specifically due to religion).'

The Facebook user even questioned if such moves increased racial and cultural understanding.

'Additionally, such gestures are cynical - everyone can see it, except for the community being flattered,' they said.

'And they're counterproductive. Rather than increase harmony, all they ever achieve is increased suspicion and racism against visible minorities.'

A petition to reverse the change, headed by local Michael Ball, has already gathered over 2000 signatures.

'As a member of the community, I wish to express my deep concern and disbelief about this change and the process by which it was conducted,' 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 neighbourhood and holds significant meaning for local residents.

'The sudden change of this name, without proper community consultation, has caused enormous distress among residents and beyond. '

While the petition noted there will be consultation over what type of signage the lake would have 'we find it deeply troubling that such consultation was not extended to the far more fundamental matter of the name change itself'.

'Residents find the lack of community consultation a betrayal of democratic principles and extremely poor public sector governance, totally outside what they expect of the 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 which religious figure's name had been chosen.

'This is not about any particular faith or community, but rather about maintaining the community identity of our area.'

The petition demanded along with reverting to the previous name the process for making the change be made public.

Jasbir Singh Suropada, chair of the Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria told SBS Punjabi 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, the name of our Guru will be part of legal documents such as Government Gazettes and be part of the history,' he said.

'People visiting this place will look at the board, read about our Guru, [and] some might Google it and learn about Sikhism and its founder. We are trying to add a link describing about Sikh history here so whoever wishes to know more can do so.'

The Victorian government also announced $600,000 in funding for Sikh organisations to hold 'Langer' events in the lead-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 largest representation of the community, according to the 2021 Census.

However, in the City of Casey, where the lake is located, Sikhs make up just 4.1 per cent of the population, while the neighbouring councils of Cardinia and Greater Dandenong they constitute 2.6 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively.