In a landmark decision that honors linguistic heritage, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal to officially rename the southern state of Kerala to ‘Keralam’. The announcement was made by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday following a cabinet meeting at Seva Teerth, the new Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.
The push for this change has been a long-standing emotional and cultural demand. In the native Malayalam language, the state has always been referred to as ‘Keralam’. Following the linguistic reorganization of Indian states on November 1, 1956—a day celebrated locally as Kerala Piravi—the demand for a united ‘Keralam’ for Malayalam-speaking communities was deeply felt. However, the First Schedule of the Indian Constitution officially recorded the state’s name simply as ‘Kerala’.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been a vocal advocate for the correction, successfully moving a unanimous resolution in the Kerala Legislative Assembly on June 24, 2024. This followed an earlier attempt in 2023 that required technical modifications suggested by the Ministry of Home Affairs before it could be resubmitted and widely accepted.
According to sources at Enoxx News, the constitutional machinery is now in motion. Following the Cabinet’s nod, the President of India will refer the ‘Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026’ to the State Legislative Assembly to express its formal views, as mandated by Article 3 of the Constitution. Once the state assembly’s feedback is received, the central government will take the final step to introduce the Bill in Parliament and amend the First Schedule.
The timing of the approval is highly significant, coming just months ahead of the anticipated Kerala Assembly elections expected in April or May. The move has found rare, cross-party consensus. State BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently extended his party’s full support, emphasizing that the new name reflects a commitment to protecting local traditions while building a forward-looking economy.
While the political sphere celebrated the move, the announcement also sparked a lighthearted linguistic debate. Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, took to social media to playfully question the future English terminology for the state’s residents. “What happens now to the terms ‘Keralite’ and ‘Keralan’ for the denizens of the new ‘Keralam’?” Tharoor asked, joking that “Keralamite” sounds like a microbe and “Keralamian” like a rare earth mineral.
Ultimately, the transition from Kerala to Keralam is more than just a bureaucratic tweak; it is a profound reclamation of the state’s true identity, finally ensuring that its constitutional name resonates perfectly with the voice of its people.
