Thetford, Norfolk
Part of a river island will be renamed to commemorate the first Sikh known to have settled in the UK.
Duleep Singh, the last Maharajah of the Punjab, lived at Elveden Hall, near Thetford, Norfolk, from 1861.
Butten Island on the River Little Ouse in Thetford will be known as The Park of Maharajah Ranjit and Duleep Singh on Butten Island, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Breckland District Council approved the name change at a cabinet meeting.
Elveden Hall is at the centre of a large country estate and farm about 4.5 miles down the A11 from Thetford in Suffolk.
Having been abducted by the British, the Maharajah settled in Britain in 1854 and later moved to Elveden.
The council’s Conservative deputy leader Paul Claussen said: “Thetford has a close and highly significant connection to Duleep Singh.
“[His] second son Frederick was one of Thetford’s most prominent benefactors, giving the town’s its Ancient House as well as his personal collections.
“This connection continues today with Thetford remaining a prominent cultural site for the British Punjabi community and for Punjabi visitors from overseas.”
Independent councillor Roy Brame said the town’s Sikh community supported the name change.
“They believe that this is a merger between the Sikh cultures, our cultures. We have an ideal position in Butten Island, where [two] rivers meet,” he said.
News report from BBC. Edited by the SMI.