'Keralamite sounds like microbe': Tharoor quips after centre gives nod for name change Kerala as 'Keralam'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Keralamite sounds like microbe': Tharoor quips after centre gives nod for name change Kerala as 'Keralam'")
File photo of Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. Photograph: (ANI)
Shashi Tharoor's remarks followed after the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a resolution twice urging the Centre to amend the Constitution so that the state's name is reflected in its Malayalam form across all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday responded after the Union Cabinet approved the renaming of Kerala as ‘Keralam’, stating 'What happens to Keralite now' and questioned what residents of the state will be called in English. Tharoor's remarks came after the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a resolution twice urging the Centre to amend the Constitution so that the state's name is reflected in its Malayalam form across all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
“All to the good, no doubt, but a small linguistic question for the Anglophones among us: what happens now to the terms “Keralite” and “Keralan” for the denizens of the new “Keralam”?, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor said in a post on social media platform X.
“Keralamite” sounds like a microbe and “Keralamian” like a rare earth mineral…!" he continued on X, tagging Kerala CMO, and adding that “might want to launch a competition for new terms resulting from this electoral zeal.”
The decision to change name was taken during cabinet meeting
Earlier in the day, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Narendra Modi, cleared the Kerala government’s proposal to officially rename the state as ‘Keralam’. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting held at Seva Teerth, the newly inaugurated Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Secretariat complex.
Commenting on the move, state BJP president Rajeev Chandrashekhar highlighted that the new name will be suitable because “we are going to be a state that is going to restore and protect our traditions and culture and also build a forward-looking state economy”. "It is clear that every Malayali wants change and wants to set aside politics of lies and fake promises and bring in politics of performance....," he said, news agency ANI reported.
The move to change the name of the Kerala was supported by all political party in the assembly, including CPM, Congress and the BJP. Previously, the Assembly had adopted a similar resolution in August 2023, but later, the decision to change name was reintroduced after the Ministry of Home Affairs suggested certain technical modifications.
While moving the resolution in the State Assembly, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan underscored that the demand to recognise the state as ‘Keralam’ was first initated during the national freedom struggle and movement for a unified state for Malayalam-speaking people. He demanded the Centre to launch the renaming process under Article 3 of the Constitution and ensuring reflection of the name across all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
Also read: God’s Own Country to officially become 'Keralam': Union Cabinet approves decision to rename Kerala
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