Efforts by some residents of a Brisbane-based retirement village to rename a street from 'Punjab Place' to Oak Tree Place has been stalled due to stiff opposition from the Indian community who described the move as "racist".
Around 32 residents of the Oak Tree village, who had earlier lodged a petition with Logan City Council seeking to change the name from Punjab Place to Oak Tree place, have decided to withdraw the petition, the 'Courier Mail' newspaper reported after Indians protested against the move.
The Oak Tree Village management said it would withdraw its petition if it caused "unrest", the paper said.
Manjit Bopirai, who hails from Punjab, alleged that the attempt to change the street name was "clear cut racism." "It's our heritage, it's our money. We can name it whatever we like," he said, adding that he chose the name Punjab Place as he was from Punjab.
"I'm a proud Punjabi. It's just a name we like and it lets everyone know we are successful people," he said.
However, the residents said it was not a racist move and that they signed the petition because they felt Oak Tree was "prettier".
"This isn't racist," resident Ron Edmonds said. "Oak Tree is just a nicer name." Punjab Place was named in September 2005, after a request by a developer of Punjabi heritage who still lived in the street.
