Kerala: Pakistanmukku name change on cards
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the name Pakistanmukku has not evoked any issues among them, the residents of this small village near Mithrumala in Kallara grama panchayat are planning to change the name. The reason, according to the locals and citizens’ collective here, is the mention of the locality’s name, while getting immigration clearance, passport stamping and registering title deeds, evokes a quizzical expression in some quarters.
“The name Pakistanmukku was given by a bus driver in the 1950s. It was Neelakanda Pillai, driver of RKV Bus, who gave the name. There was a mosque at this place and whenever the bus reached there, there will be a group of Muslim men waiting there, to board the bus.
Pillai used to laugh, saying, ‘It seems we have reached Pakistan. That is how Nirvathumukku was became Pakistanmukku,” recalls Pushaparajan, who runs a shop at Pakistanmukku. Pakistanmukku is spread across Mithrumala, Kurichilakkad and Aruvippuram wards which account for over 1,000 voters.