A Mahatma Gandhi district in Texas

[jha]

A Mahatma Gandhi district in Texas

HOUSTON: A part of southwest Houston, Texas, home to a large number of South Asians, including Indians, has been officially renamed Mahatma Gandhi district to honour the leader on his 141st birth year.

An ethnic conclave, Hillcroft was renamed this month, fulfilling the seven-year long demand of over 100,000 strong Indian-American population living in the Greater Houston area.

City Mayor Annise Parker announced the change of name along with Consul General of India in Houston, Sanjiv Arora.

Officials of the India Culture Centre has been working relentlessly for renaming the area that is popularly known as "Little India" due to the high concentration of south Asian shops and restaurants.

"Persistence alone paid off in the end as it was just getting no where, till the culture center and business leaders settled for adding the signs designating it a district, a USD 10,000 expense," ICC Spokesperson Manisha Mehta said.

Renaming the Hillcroft area required 75 per cent of commercial property owners on a street to sign a petition in its support, according to the municipal law. Only then the City Council can consider the change of the name.

But Indians earlier failed to gather required number of signs as it was difficult to agree the non-south Asians there.

The project was proposed during the tenure of former Mayor Bill White as the ICC and Indian merchants in the area wanted to rename Hillcroft Avenue to Mahatma Gandhi Avenue.

It was a moment of joy for the Indian-Americans in Houston as the change in name brings a feeling of recognition and they hope renaming the area would attract more tourists.

A Mahatma Gandhi district in Texas - Indians Abroad - World - The Times of India

 

[notsuperstitious]

Houston community celebrates district named for Gandhi | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Businessman Aku Patel watched as two workers installed the orange-trimmed Mahatma Gandhi District signs atop a Harwin Drive street sign.

The owner of Karat 22 Jewelers on Hillcroft Avenue and other members of the South Asian community have waited seven years for these temple-shaped signs to go up in southwest Houston.

“It's a great feeling,” Patel said proudly as he stood in the drizzling rain and watched Zane Frazar and Ron Mitchell install some of the 31 signs that will decorate street signs along Hillcroft Avenue, Harwin Drive, Fondren Road and Westpark Drive.

Leaders of the India Culture Center and Indian merchants have long wanted to rename Hillcroft Avenue Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, but municipal rules require 75 percent of commercial property owners on a street to sign a petition in support of changing the name before the City Council can consider it.

More than 76,000 people of Indian descent live in the Greater Houston area.

Even with going door-to-door, some Indian leaders were never able to get enough signatures on the petition to rename the street after the pioneer of nonviolent resistance movements.

Getting non-South Asian merchants in the area to agree to the measure was a daunting task.

“It just wasn't happening,” said Manisha Gandhi Mehta, spokeswoman for the district's opening ceremony event that will be held today and several hundred people are expected to attend.

So about a year ago, the culture center and business leaders settled for adding the signs designating it a district, a $10,000 expense. There are a few other areas of Houston that have additional signs on top of the street signs, such as in Midtown and Chinatown, said a city official. This district doesn't convert the area into a management district.

Mehta and others hope the district designation will encourage more tourists in the area.

“We have so many Asian businesses in this area, it's a feeling of recognition,” said Ramesh Lulla, who owns the sari shop Sari Sapne and vegetarian restaurant Shri Balaji Bhavan, both on Hillcroft.

Several Korean vendors in the area didn't know about the new designation but were glad organizers decided not to rename Hillcroft.

“I think it would have caused a lot of confusion,” said Jim Kim, a manager at Hillcroft Avenue Just In, a two-story fashion store filled with sparkly shoes, belts and T-shirts.

Many ideas
Merchants also had their own ideas for a district name.

Shri Krishna Center, in honor of the Hindu deity, is a more spiritual name, said Dilip Mulani, who owns Silk India, a shop stuffed with Indian purses, saris and fabrics.

“Gandhi was a very special person,” said Mulani, who added there should be a Gandhi statue in the area.

Some considered naming it after Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, said Shah Moghul, the Pakistani owner of Bismillah restaurant, with its roti rolls, beef samosas and other foods piled in its heated display case. He said the name signifies it's an Indian area but he will still refer to the area as Hillcroft so he doesn't have to pull out a map to explain to people its location.