An advertisement promoting Brent as the 'London Borough of Culture' with Shri Vallabh Nidhi Mandir picture on a Kingsbury public toilet has enraged the city's Hindu community. This was part of the borough's attempt to celebrate creativity in the capital, as a part of a new concept devised by the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. Brent was therefore named as a 'borough of culture 2020' as a part of the campaign along with Waltham Forest.
Cllr Krupesh Hirani, responsible for culture and leisure at Brent Council, told The Harrow Times, “It’s a great honour to be chosen as the London Borough of Culture 2020.
“Young people and local groups played a key role in winning the bid, so it is vital that they continue to shape the ideas for Brent’s year in the cultural spotlight.”
In Hindu culture, toilets are regarded as inauspicious and are not associated with pure and holy objects like a place of worship.
Speaking to Asian Voice, Pramod Patel, a Committee Member of the Hindu Council of Brent told Asian Voice, “People are really angry about this poster of a temple on a public toilet! This is outrageous. It is not the right place for our temples to be advertised or photos of Gods to be displayed. There are billboards for that purpose. The Brent Council should apologise to the community for the hurt they have caused.”
Nearby Harrow MPs came forward to support the Hindu community of Brent. Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East, who has many Hindus in his constituency told Asian Voice, “Advertising a place of worship on a public toilet is distasteful and disrespectful. This is a disgraceful placement of a photograph of the beautiful Kingsbury Mandir. I have no idea whom Brent Council consulted before these posters were placed on public toilets. I am aware that this has caused immense distress amongst the local Hindu community and I have requested that Brent Council remove them immediately. I would urge an apology from whomever made this ill-considered decision.”
Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West, told the newsweekly,“When I first saw where this advert was situated I was shocked at the lack of respect for one of Britain’s most important places of worship. I hope whichever agency made the mistake of placing this advert will recognise the upset they have caused and get it removed as soon as possible.”
Hindu Councillor Ameet Jogia, from Harrow Council said, “Brent prides itself on being one of the most culturally diverse boroughs in London. I was therefore surprised that Brent Council allowed such a culturally insensitive mishap to happen. Brent Council should offer an apology to Brent’s Hindu community at the very least and endeavour to update their policies so that this never happens again.
Lord Dolar Popat, one of the Hindu Peers, said, “I was shocked and saddened to hear about this insensitive incident by Brent Council. I am surprised that Brent – which has one of the largest Hindu communities in the UK – has been at the centre of the controversy. Brent Councillors and Officers should have known better. Whilst this incident may be an unfortunate oversight, I urge Brent Council to rectify this error and issue an apology to Brent’s Hindu community.”
Navin Shah AM, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow told Asian Voice, “I’m proud of the religious and cultural diversity of Brent and Harrow and the immense contribution the Hindu community makes to the success of our Boroughs. Not being a Councillor I’m not in a position to state whether Brent councillors were consulted about locations of the posters in question. However, there can be no doubt that a large number of members of Hindu community have taken a huge offence about the posters displayed on toilets.
“I had a number of residents / organisations expressing their concerns to me. Upon receiving the complaints I immediately spoke to both Cllr Butt, Leader of Brent Council and Cllr Krupesh Hirani who were very positive in their response and I’m pleased that the posters have been removed from the offensive locations. I know that no offence was intended and Brent Council and the Council Leadership have been in contact with local Temples and explained fully the situation.
“I’m absolutely delighted that Brent Council has been recognised as a Borough of Culture reflecting Brent’s cultural and religious diversity. It is important that we celebrate this but at the same time we must ensure that promotion of events and aspects of the cultural programme is done sensitively. To this end I will continue to work with the Council and our stakeholders to ensure respect and recognition of the values of all faiths. “
Cllr Muhammed, Leader of the Brent Council, told Asian Voice exclusively, “We would like to apologise sincerely for this error as we recognise that the locations of some of the JCDecaux advertising sites were not appropriate given the content of this campaign, no offence was intended. The posters, which include a range of images from across Brent were intended to promote Brent’s year as borough of culture and, as a borough which proactively celebrates diversity at every opportunity, we certainly did not want to cause any offence to anyone. As soon as we received the complaint we instructed our contractor to remove the posters and our contractors have confirmed that they have now been taken down.”
