India Approves Name Change for Kerala State to Keralam

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved a proposal of Kerala government to change the name of the state to Keralam. The decision was taken at the Cabinet’s first meeting at Seva Teerth, the new PMO complex. With the approval, the demand, previously endorsed twice by the Kerala Assembly, is finally set to be fulfilled. “After approval of the Union Cabinet, the President of India will refer a Bill, namely the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala for expressing its views under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution of India,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters today. The decision of the Union Cabinet on alteration of the name of Kerala to Keralam reflects the will of the people of the state. It is in line with our efforts to strengthen the connect with our glorious culture. https://t.co/pdzsgiU1l2 The decision comes ahead of the assembly polls in the state, slated for the first half of this year. In 2023 and 2024, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had passed resolutions in the Kerala Assembly urging the Union government to amend the Constitution and change the name of the state to Keralam. Last month, state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote to Vijayan extending the party’s support to the move. The resolution passed in 2024 stated that the name of the state in Malayalam is Keralam and that states were reorganised on linguistic lines on November 1, 1956, which is observed as Kerala Piravi (Kerala Formation Day), reported The Indian Express. The resolution noted that while the state is referred to as Keralam in Malayalam, its name in the First Schedule of the Constitution is Kerala. The Assembly unanimously urged the Union government to take immediate steps under Article 3 of the Constitution to change the name from Kerala to Keralam. The resolution was reintroduced because the 2023 version failed to apply the name change from “Kerala” to “Keralam” across all Eighth Schedule languages as intended. Since the correction only appeared in the First Schedule, a fresh resolution was necessary to ensure consistency. From epigraphic reference in Rock Edict II of Ashoka to German scholar Herman Gundert, who compiled the first Malayalam-English dictionary, there are multiple theories about the origin of the name “Kerala”. As per the Indian Express report, Rock Edict II (dated to 257 BCE) mentions “Keralaputra” (Sanskrit for “son of Kerala”). German scholar Herman Gundert noted that keram is the Kannada form of cheram and described Keralam as Cheram, the region between Gokarnam and Kanyakumari. The root “cher” is understood to mean “to join”, and appears in the compound “Cheralam”, with “alam” meaning land or region. A 7-decade-long wait is over. 🥥🙏 The people of Kerala are thankful to Modi Government for officially changing the name of state to KERALAM. This is a Proud & Historic Day for Keralites. This is more than a name change; it’s an act of decolonization that honors every… pic.twitter.com/AOImDZbndn The Aikya (unified) Kerala movement gathered momentum long before India gained Independence from British rule. In the 1920s, Malayalam-speaking regions – ruled by various kings and princely states at the time – demanded a separate state for Malayalam-speaking people by integrating Malabar, Kochi and Travancore. Following Independence, Travancore and Kochi merged to form the Travancore-Cochin state on July 1, 1949. Later, the State Reorganisation Commission, headed by Syed Fazl Ali, recommended the creation of Kerala by including the Malabar district and the Kasargod taluk. The proposal came following the Union government’s decision to reorganise states on linguistic lines. The southern taluks of Travancore – that now form part of Tamil Nadu – were excluded. Changing the name of a state is much more complex than renaming of cities. Renaming a state can be initiated with a Constitutional amendment, for which a proposal must originate from the state government. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) examines the request and seeks No Objection Certificates (NOCs)from agencies such as the Ministry of Railways, the Intelligence Bureau, the Department of Posts, Survey of India, and the Registrar General of India. Once cleared, the proposal is introduced in Parliament as a Bill. Once passed and notified, the new name comes into effect. In a previous instance, a 2018 proposal to rechristen West Bengal as Bangla was not cleared after the Ministry of External Affairs raised concerns about its similarity with Bangladesh.