God’s Own Country to officially become 'Keralam': Union Cabinet approves decision to rename Kerala
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "God’s Own Country to officially become 'Keralam': Union Cabinet approves decision to rename Kerala")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Photograph: (ANI (File Photo)
The Kerala Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed resolutions for the name change twice, first in August 2023 and again on June 24, 2024.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday (Feb 24) approved the proposal to alter the name of the state of “Kerala” to “Keralam”. The decision comes after the Kerala government moved a resolution to change the state’s name under Article 3 of the Constitution of India. The development comes ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the dates for which are yet to be decided.
After the Union Cabinet’s approval, the President of India will refer the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the Kerala State Legislative Assembly to seek its views under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution of India.
Once the Assembly sends its opinion, the Government of India will take further steps. The President’s recommendation will then be obtained to introduce the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, in Parliament to change the state’s name from “Kerala” to “Keralam”.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed resolutions for the name change twice, first in August 2023 and again on June 24, 2024. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who moved the resolution, stated that while the state is called "Keralam" in Malayalam, it was recorded as "Kerala" in the First Schedule of the Constitution during the 1956 linguistic reorganisation.
“The name of our State is ‘Keralam’ in the Malayalam Language. States were formed on the basis of language on the 1st day of November, 1956. The Kerala Piravi Day is also on the 1st day of November. Since the time of the National Independence Struggle, there has been a strong demand for the formation of United Kerala for the people speaking the Malayalam language. But in the First Schedule to the Constitution, the name of our State is recorded as “Kerala’. This Assembly unanimously appeals to the Central Government to take urgent steps as per Article 3 of the Constitution for modifying the name as ‘Keralam’,” the resolutions read.
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The decision comes in a series of recent name changes by governments, including Gurgaon to Gurugram, Allahabad to Prayagraj, and Faizabad to Ayodhya.
