All Change at Southall Station

So, they want to take the Punjabi out of Southall? Who are they kidding?! The martial race has firmed engrained its official stamp across the suburb and will not let it go without a battle.

Last month, First Great Western Trains decided they would take the Punjabi train station sign out of Southall station due to complaints from other ethnic minority groups. The sign has been the suburbs treasure for over 12 years. The train authorities decided the sign is insensitive to the several other communities who have made Southall their home and the situation was going to be reviewed. Now that might mean we will have a whole collection of train station signs written in Arabic, Punjabi, Urdu and Tigrinya, or it might mean that we are stuck with English, that is to say we have a choice between chaos or standardization.

The other day I passed through the station and to my relief the sign was still there. After all, the sign is one of the most famous in London and has featured in endless films and documentaries. It’s a landmark comparable to the Sunrise Radio tower, Glassy Junction Pub, and the golden Gurduwara dome as commuters make their way to Paddington.

Punjabis arrived in Southall in the 1950s and form a fundamental part of the town’s social composition and history. Moreover, the town is a tourist destination not just for fellow Indians but for tourists alike who come to catch a glimpse of the glamorous temples and chaotic markets. Without a doubt, it is the closest the Western world is going to get to India in Europe. I have taken friends on a day trip to the tourist hot spot and they have been overwhelmed with the street music, exotic scriptures and large choice of fresh fruit and textiles.

According to the 2001 census, Southall has a 78% ethnic minority (or rather majority) population which is sure to have increased over the last six years. Of the 63% who are of Asian background, three quarters are Indian and Sikhs comprise 31% of the religious make up. Southall is changing however with new communities becoming increasingly visible (Sri Lankan, Russian, Polish, Somali and Afghan to name a few) and the community overall tends to breed and bond off its excessive non-Britishness. In terms of resources, the city is severely deprived, partly due to the excessive weight on local infrastructure from irregular migrants. The multicultural face of the city renders it a comfort zone for illegal migrants in need of employment, refuge and welfare.

Now there are two sides to this debate. One is that the landmark represents the suburb's identity; the other is the message the sign gives off - “Come to England and don’t bother to learn the language”. The latter proves true for Southall in which only the half the population has a grounded grasp of the English language. Yet it is unlikely that removing a train sign is going to change that. Either way, the Punjabis won’t let it go without a fight. A few months ago, the Dominion centre (the heart of Asian arts and community activities in the area) was under threat of closure only to be saved by petitions and protests from the Punjabi community. Today the centre is ever thriving.

First Great Western might find their attempt to change the sign has come a little too late. Southall is firmly stuck in its ways after 60 years of Punjabi settlement and to change this even in the slightest is going to prove exhausting. In this ongoing struggle to create unity amongst diversity in British society, Southall might have to be embraced as the one exception.