Kerala Legislative Assembly Passes Resolution to Rename State to ‘Keralam’

Kerala: On June 24, the Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution proposing a Constitutional amendment to change the name of the State from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan introduced the resolution, seeking to invoke Article 3 of the Indian Constitution to implement this change in the First Schedule.

This resolution follows a similar attempt from the previous year, which the Central government returned due to procedural issues. Initially, the State aimed to amend the name across all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution to ‘Keralam’. However, after receiving advice from the Union Home Ministry, the focus shifted to amending only the First Schedule. Consequently, the government revised the resolution passed on August 9, 2023.

Mr. Vijayan emphasized that while ‘Keralam’ is the Malayalam name for the State, it is officially recorded as ‘Kerala’. The resolution seeks to align the official name with the Malayalam pronunciation. During the debate, N. Samsudheen of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) proposed amendments to ensure the resolution’s acceptance by the Centre, but these were ultimately rejected by the Assembly. Samsudheen also called for accountability for the procedural oversight in the original resolution.

Presenting the resolution, Vijayan noted that the demand for a unified Kerala for Malayalam speakers has been strong since the national freedom struggle. He urged the Centre to promptly amend the First Schedule of the Constitution to rename the State as ‘Keralam’ in all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.

Members from both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) supported the resolution. Despite UDF legislator N. Shamsudeen’s suggestions for changes, the Assembly adopted the resolution unanimously, as announced by Speaker A. N. Shamseer.

Name changes for cities and states are not unprecedented in India. Uttaranchal was renamed Uttarakhand in 2007, honouring the Uttarakhand Andolan movement. Orissa became Odisha in 2011, following the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Act. Pondicherry was renamed Puducherry in 2006. Major cities have also undergone name changes, such as Bombay to Mumbai and Madras to Chennai. West Bengal has also sought a name change to Bangla, intending to move up in the alphabetical listing of Indian states.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly’s move to rename the State to ‘Keralam’ is a significant step towards aligning official nomenclature with local linguistic and cultural identities.