An Indian State is Renaming the Dragon Fruit Because it Makes One ‘Think of China’

India is no stranger to having names of places changed. In recent times, Allahabad has become Prayagraj, Ross Island turned to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, and Faizabad, Ayodhya, among others. It has often been speculated that this name changing drive is a political ploy to fuel the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) goal of creating a Hindu nation, devoid of Islamic or Christian influences. But now, a state government helmed by the BJP has taken the politicisation of names a step further by renaming the dragon fruit because of the original name’s association with political rival China.

Vijay Rupani, chief minister of the state of Gujarat, told local media that the fruit will now be known as “kamalam” (Sanskrit for “lotus”), because its spiked exterior resembles the flower. The flower also happens to be BJP’s symbol, and India’s national flower.

“The name dragon fruit is not proper, and due to its name one thinks of China. So we have given it the name kamalam,” Rupani said. “Farmers say it looks like lotus and that is the reason we have named it kamalam,” he said, adding that the state government had applied for a patent to rename the fruit.

Indian troops have been locked in a months-long standoff with China at the border, and the government has been criticised for its inaction on the constantly escalating matter. Naturally, Rupani’s announcement sent Twitter into a frenzy, with many mocking the act as a “befitting reply to China”.

While the move may have been fuelled by the government’s displeasure towards China and the imagery of the Chinese dragon it supposedly evokes, the dragon fruit is in fact native to the faraway lands of central Mexico and South America. It derives its name from the dragons that its bright red skin with green scales resemble. It began to be cultivated in India only recently, with plantations coming up in many states including Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, among others. Gujarat stands out as the only one headlining the endeavour of giving the fruit a more appropriate name, though.

The development comes only a few months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised farmers for cultivating the dragon fruit in the arid region of Kutch in his home state Gujarat as part of his government’s mission to make the country “self-reliant”.

“After that, the farmers had approached me, and suggested changing the name of dragon fruit to kamalam,” Vinod Chavda, the BJP member of parliament from Kutch, told Reuters. “I am happy that the state has accepted the proposal.”

There are more than 200 farmers in the region of Kutch alone who have been growing the dragon fruit over 1,500 acres, said Haresh Thakkar, a local farmer who has been growing dragon fruit for five years. “The Indian name of the fruit will bring more happiness to us. We feel that the acceptance level of the fruit will also increase if it is looked upon as an Indian fruit,” said Thakkar.

People on Twitter saw the announcement as an opportunity to max out their meme-making potential, replete with pop culture references, many alluding to the popular Game of Thrones character Khaleesi, also known as the “mother of dragons”.

Many also questioned the fate of other fruits, wondering especially what the banana and peach would be renamed to based on their appearance.

The geopolitical connotations of the move extended much beyond Asia though, as people made memes about the newly inaugurated U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s often spoken about her partly Indian background.

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