What’s in a name? ‘Pakistan Mukku’ sparks political row in Kerala as BJP pushes for name change

A alternatively innocuous spot sanction which utilized to evoke thing much than curiosity, has present been entangled successful a taste contention dictated by larger geo-political events. For decades, a tiny portion successful Kunnathoor grama panchayat, located adjacent the borderline of Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts successful Kerala, has been known arsenic Pakistan Mukku. ‘Mukku’ means Junction successful Malayalam.

Now, aft the Public Works section (PWD) enactment up a committee indicating the spot sanction aft a roadworthy renovation work, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala State wide caput Anoop Antony Joseph has attempted to rake up a controversy.

“In today’s Kerala nether CPM rule, you can’t observe Operation Sindoor... but you tin ‘proudly’ person a colony named aft Pakistan. There’s a spot called ‘Pakistan Mukku’ (junction). When BJP moved to rename it, adjacent the communal nationalist agreed. But the Communist govt refused to change, and PWD has reinstalled the committee (sic),” helium wrote successful X (formerly Twitter).

In May 2025, in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan struggle aft the Pahalgam attack, a BJP subordinate of the Kunnathoor panchayat had raised a request to walk a solution to alteration the name.

“The panchayat committee did guardant the request to the State authorities to alteration the sanction arsenic the panchayat does not person the powers to marque sanction changes. Now, this is astir apt being made an contented due to the fact that elections are approaching,” Kunnathoor panchayat president K. Valsala Kumari told TheHindu.

N. Thulasi, a CPI(M) subordinate of the panchayat, who made the sole dissenting sentiment against the renaming, says helium had opposed the determination arsenic the sentiment of the residents of the country was not sought.

“We each person been proceeding this sanction since we were born. It is simply a spot wherever radical of each religions unrecorded peacefully. No 1 from determination has raised a request for a sanction change, nor was a survey conducted to cod their opinions. That is wherefore I took a contrarian stand. Years ago, idiosyncratic made an effort to alteration the sanction to Shanthisthan Mukku and aboriginal to Indira Nagar. But nary of these names stuck,” helium says.

Another Pakistan Mukku

The Kallara grama panchayat successful Thiruvananthapuram besides has a spot named Pakistan Mukku.

Maniyan, ward subordinate of the Aruvippuram ward successful which the spot is located, says determination has been nary request from the radical to alteration the name.

However, nary 1 successful either of these places is definite astir the origins of the name.