Nehru’s China Junction may be Galwan casualty

KOTTAYAM: All these years it was considered a back-handed compliment to Konni town in Kerala, conferred by someone no less than India’s first PM, but has now become an embarrassment following the bloody Galwan Valley clash last week. The Konni gram panchayat in Pathanamthitta district is demanding that one of its popular junctions called China Mukku (China Junction) be renamed.
“The name should be replaced in the wake of the warlike situation created by China and the martyrdom of Indian soldiers,” panchayat committee vice-president Praveen Plavilayil wrote on Tuesday, while serving a notice to the panchayat president for moving a resolution on the name change. “After Galwan, people here don’t feel like saying that name. Many want to change it,” he said.
Local lore says the town’s name has more to do with Jawaharlal Nehru than China. Congress MP Adoor Prakash, who has represented Konni in the assembly for 23 years, said it goes back to the campaign for the first Lok Sabha polls held in 1952. “Nehru was passing through the area in an open jeep. Congress flags were fluttering among buildings along the streets in most areas but when his jeep reached a particular area, he saw only red flags everywhere. It was a communist-dominated area. Nehru asked a person sitting next to him whether it is ‘China Junction’. Ever since, the junction has been called China Mukku,” Prakash said.
Even if the panchayat passes the resolution, it is up to the state government to take a final call. No alternative has been shortlisted yet. Congress-led UDF has a majority in the 18-member panchayat panel with 13 UDF members. The remaining five are from LDF.