Published Feb 06, 2026 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 06, 2026 | 7:00 AM
The car displayed a board in Malayalam saying Niyamasabhangam, which the security guard couldn't comprehend.
Former minister and veteran MLA Mathew T. Thomas has learnt — the hard way and with a smile — that love for one’s mother tongue can sometimes run into trouble with English-only reality.
On Wednesday, 4 February, Thomas drove to the Legislative Assembly in the same car he has been using since 2018, a loyal vehicle that has clocked an eye-watering 2.14 lakh kilometres and countless political memories.
Trouble struck not on the road, but at the parking area on the Assembly premises.
As Thomas eased in to park, a watch-and-ward staff member, unfamiliar with the MLA but rich in politeness, stopped him courteously.
“Only MLA vehicles are allowed to park here,” the official said.
Thinking there must be some confusion, Thomas asked whether vehicles belonging to Legislative Assembly members were permitted. The reply came swiftly and firmly: “Only MLA vehicles can.”
And there lay the problem.
The car, proudly displayed its identity in Malayalam, Niyamasabhangam (Member of the Assembly) failed to pass the ultimate bureaucratic test — English lettering.
No “MLA” sticker in English, no VIP parking.
It was then that a long-echoing comment from his driver Vishnu came back to haunt him.
Vishnu, it turns out, had repeatedly warned that an MLA is recognised as such only if it is written in English.
At the time, Mathew recalled that he dismissed it as exaggeration.
On Wednesday, it was proven as prophecy.
Rather than fuming, Thomas chose humour — and philosophy.
Taking to social media, the MLA narrated the episode with dry wit, noting that as the chairperson of the Official Language Committee of the Legislative Assembly, he would “let this go”.
The incident has since triggered amused reactions online, with many wondering whether loyalty to the mother tongue now needs subtitles — at least for parking privileges.
For now, the car remains the same, the Malayalam lettering intact, and the MLA’s commitment to the language unwavering — even if English continues to guard the gate.
Mathew later said that his intention was just to sensitize the people on using mother tongue wherever possible.
