Amid Indo-Sino border tension, Kerala's China junction wants to change its name

As India-China relationship worsens, a small place at Pathanamthitta district in Kerala is seeking to change its name.

'Chinamukku' (China junction) at Konni, about ten kilometres from Pathanamthitta town wants to change its name. Konni panchayat vice president Praveen Plavilayil has given a memorandum in this regard to the panchayat. He said that a major chunk of the people of Chinamukku wants a name change, even as some CPM activists seem to be unhappy with the move, said Praveen, who is a Congress activist.

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Panchayat president Rajani said that the panchayat was planning to pass a resolution in this regard and propose to the state government to change the name. "It seems there won't be much resistance from any parties, including CPM, to the proposal for a name change as the local people also share a similar mood," she said.

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It is believed that the place got the name from a remark of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru came down to the locality in the 1950s for an election campaign. The entire locality was decorated using Congress flags and festoons. But one small area in between stood apart with red flags as it was a Communist-dominated area. Nehru remarked whether it was Communist China. Thus, the area got the name China junction, said Praveen.

He added that many alternative names have come up. Nehru junction, Bharat junction and Jawan junction are some of them.