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A junction in Kerala’s Kollam district, long known as ‘Pakistan Mukku’, is set to be renamed, following a unanimous decision by local leaders across political lines.
On May 21, the Kunnathoor Gram Panchayat in Kollam, governed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], passed a resolution to change ‘Pakistan Mukku’ (Pakistan junction) to ‘Iverkala Junction’. The move, prompted by the recent terror attack in Pahalgam of Jammu and Kashmir, saw rare agreement among panchayat members from the CPI(M), Congress, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with only one CPI(M) member opposing. A formal petition for the name change will now be submitted to the state government.
“Would you name your child after something you hate?” asked BJP member Aneeshya KG of Puthanampalam East in the Panchayat, who initiated the proposal. According to panchayat members, Pakistan Mukku has been the junction's name for years.
Kunnathoor Grama Panchayat president Valsala Kumari stated that while they have passed the resolution, the final decision rests with the state government, as the Panchayat lacks the authority for such a change. She too personally supported the proposal.
Speaking with TNM, CPI(M) member N Thulasi, the sole dissenter, cited potential local inconveniences and argued that the committee should have sought public opinion in a separate meeting. He suggested that if the name must change, ‘Nilakkal Junction’ would be preferable to ‘Iverkala Junction’ to avoid confusion, considering the possibility of confusing passengers, since Iverkala already has a lot of stops under this name.
Speaking to TNM on the issue, political activist TK Vinod said that such name changing movements coming from north India to Kerala is completely unacceptable. He argued that approving such requests reflect the “ignorant nature” of secular political parties of the state. He said, “After Prime Minister Modi came into power, there has been an effort to change history by changing the names of different important places.”
Over the years, political parties have attempted to rename ‘Pakistan Mukku’ to AKG Nagar or Priyadarshini Nagar, but these efforts failed due to a lack of public interest. “Keeping the name unchanged is disrespectful towards the local Muslim community, and we will be ready to approach the Union government to advance the proposal,” said Aneeshya KG.
Earlier in April, a BJP councillor in Palakkad municipality also moved a resolution to change the name of Jinnah Nagar, a street in the town, in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. The resolution said Jinnah Nagar was named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. However, the final decision from the Municipality council meeting is still pending.