Muhammad a Maha Pugilistic Malay-Ali?

Kerala minister E P Jayarajan who condoled the death of the American boxing legend Muhammad Ali thinking he was a Malayali should be given the benefit of the doubt. After all, in recent times, many Indian pugilists have been gaining fame in international fora but their names may not be familiar to all those not directly concerned with or interested in their careers. Moreover, it must be conceded that a busy minister pestered to give sound bites for everything can have the occasional quote malfunction. Indeed, in most other circumstances — and had it not been for the eagle-eyed denizens of social media — his template little comment could have been cited as a model for all politicians asked to give impromptu reactions, “I came to know only now that XXX had died in America.

XXX was a prominent personality in Kerala’s sports scenario. He had won several gold medals for Kerala and had taken our state’s fame sky-high. I wish to convey Kerala’s sorrow and the sorrow of the state’s sport lovers.” That Jayarajan thought the world’s greatest boxer was a Malayali demonstrates his touching faith in his brethren. Ali had once stayed in Kerala for a week and loved the food. Perhaps this qualified him to be an honorary Malayali. Jayarajan can only be faulted for thinking a Kerala minister would be asked to comment solely on matters Malayali.