Jalandhar, December 14, 2025 (Yes Punjab News)
The Surjit Hockey Society, Jalandhar, has appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Bhagwant Mann to rename Jalandhar’s historic Burlton Park after former Indian captain Olympian Surjit Singh.
In a letter written to the Chief Minister today, Society CEO Iqbal Singh Sandhu, PCS (Retd.), reminded him of his previous announcement regarding the removal of symbols of British rule.
In the letter, Sandhu wrote that on June 12, 2025, when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party Convener Arvind Kejriwal laid the foundation stone for the ₹78 crore ‘Burlton Park Sports Hub,’ they made it clear that ‘Burlton Park’ was named after a British officer, representing a symbol of slavery. The Chief Minister had expressed his desire to rename it after a great player from Punjab to inspire the younger generation.
Sandhu stated that Burlton Park is known as the “Mecca of Hockey” due to the presence of the world-famous Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium and the Surjit Hockey Academy.
Mr. Sandhu informed that this very academy has produced Indian captains like Manpreet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh. Furthermore, Olympians and international stars such as Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Shamsher Singh, Varun Kumar, Dilpreet Singh, Simranjit Singh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Jarmanpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, and Sukhjit Singh are products of this very soil.
Sandhu has proposed to the government that the name of this symbol of slavery, “Burlton Park,” be changed to “Olympian Surjit Singh Sports Park.” This step would not only fulfill the Chief Minister’s dream of eliminating symbols of slavery but would also be a true tribute to the great athlete Olympian Surjit Singh, Sandhu added.
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