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British historic sites get coloured in Indian hues
A survey by English Heritage shows buildings reflecting community's roots are valued as part of heritage, writes Vijay Dutt.
Some historic sites in Britain are slowly taking an ethnic hue and the communities especially from the Indian subcontinent have begun to regard them as their heritage. The textile mills of Bradford in north England and transport hubs and localities in London are among those becoming the icon of migration as having provided the first places of work in this country.
It would not be long before the sites where scenes of some popular Bollywood films have been shot here would too become "historic" sites. The British Tourism already has as part of tourism promotion, a coloured pamphlet showing places of location shootings of Bollywood films.
It provides comprehensive information of how to reach these destinations and where to stay. Madam Tussauds Wax Museum advertises for Indian tourists the "presence" of the wax model of Amitabh Bachchan. Ironically, a similar focus was never given to those of Mrs Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi.
Now, a research commissioned by English Heritage has given an insight into public attitudes towards the heritage and surveyed the opinion of different groups.
The survey showed that buildings that reflect a community's history are being highly valued as part of heritage. The buildings include places of worship, shops, barber's shops, social buildings and even pubs. A pub in Southall even accepts payments in Indian currency.
Areas like Southall, Hounslow, Wembley are regarded as bastions of the Indian community, Brick Lane in East London as the "home" of the Bangladeshis and cities like Bradford in north England are considered the "hub" of Mirpuris and Pakistanis.
Currently, English Heritage is working with the Maharaja Duleep Singh Centenary Trust to fund and develop an Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail. It will be launched in April next year and will use a website to inform the Sikh community and other communities places and monuments that represent the Anglo-Sikh heritage in Britain.
The survey found that in Bradford Asians were more likely to have visited a named heritage site than white people. Over 95 per cent of immigrant families consider it important to educate their children about heritage in this country.
