Swastik (America): There is a village named ‘Swastik’ in New York, America. Despite the opposition, its council has unanimously decided to support the change of name. ‘Swastika’ is considered a symbol of Mars in Hindu culture and is worshiped before every auspicious event, but in America people also associate it with the violence and intolerance of the Nazi regime. Due to this, a dispute arose over the name of the village.
The swastika sign consists of two straight lines intersecting each other, which later turn. After this, these lines are slightly bent at their ends. The village, known under the Black Brook town of New York, has been known as the Swastika for more than a century, but the traveler from New York City, Michael Alkamo, said that the name was located in the vicinity of World War II. The tombs of the martyrs are insulted, after which the members of the town council considered voting for the change of name.
Council members met on 14 September and unanimously decided not to change the name. “We are sorry that people outside the area who did not know the history of our community felt disrespected after seeing the name of the village,” Black Brook supervisor John Douglas wrote in an email Thursday. He said, “This was named by our forefathers.”
Many people associate the sign with the dictator Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party since the 1930s, but its history is much more ancient. The village is named after the Sanskrit word Swastik, which means welfare.
Douglas said, “There are some residents of the area who fought in World War II, but they refused to change the name only because Hitler tried to tarnish the meaning of the swastika.”
