'Muslim till class five, then embraced Hinduism'; Story behind the peculiar name Salim Kumar

KOCHI: “I was a Muslim till the age of five. After that, I became a Hindu”; this used to be Salim Kumar’s response when quizzed about his peculiar name. In reality, there remains a secret behind the confusing name Salim Kumar, a mix of both Muslim and Hindu identities.

The secret behind the name is the inspiration from the casteless and revolutionary activities of social reformer Sahodaran Ayyappan. During the time when the Renaissance and progressive movements were in full swing, the Ezhava youth of Paravur, Cherai and Kodungallur areas became fans of Sahodaran Ayyappan. When Hindu youths of that time had children, they christened them as Salim, Jaleel, Jamal and Naushad to avoid identifying their caste.

Thus, Gangadharan and Kausalya's son became Salim. When he went to join Chittattupuzha LPS, the headmaster said that Salim was a Muslim name. To avoid confusion, the teacher himself added Kumar to his name and made Salim a Hindu. That is the story of his ‘conversion’ from Muslim to 'Vishala Hindu'. Salim would often add his tinge of humour when explaining this to people unaware of the history.