NEW DELHI, Jan. 6 -- Like most Malayalis, I too grew up hearing a few lines from Vallathol Narayana Menon's celebrated poetic work Sahityamanjari. Let me quote: "Bharatham enna per kettal abhimana pooritam akanam antarangam,/ Keralam ennu kettal tilaykkanam chora namukku njarambukalil."

Loosely translated, the lines mean: "On hearing the word 'Bharat,' our hearts should swell with pride; on hearing 'Keralam,' the very blood in our veins should surge with passion." By the way, these lines were tweeted by the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, on January 29, 2021.

Now, my readers can imagine why I was upset by a speech made by Nitesh Narayan Rane, Maharashtra's Minister for Port Development. The occasion was the anniversary of Chhatrapat...