Keralam Calling: Union Cabinet Approves Historic Name Change for God's Own Country
Keralam Calling: Union Cabinet Approves Historic Name Change for God's Own Country
New Delhi, 24 Feb : The central government has made a significant move toward a historic identity change for the southern state of Kerala. In a recent meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet officially approved a plan to rename the state to 'Keralam.'
This decision sets the stage for a formal constitutional amendment. The next step involves the President of India sending the draft Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the state’s legislative assembly to collect its official feedback, as required by Article 3 of the Indian Constitution.
The push for this name change is not new. On June 24, 2024, the Kerala state assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging New Delhi to make the change. The reasoning behind this request is straightforward and rooted in local culture: Keralam is the true name in Malayalam, the state’s native language. When the state was created along linguistic lines on November 1, 1956, Keralam was the term commonly used by freedom fighters and locals to describe the united Malayalam-speaking region.
Since that resolution in 2024, bureaucratic processes have been underway. The Ministry of Home Affairs carefully reviewed the state’s request, and both the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department approved it. The constitutional process requires that Parliament can only change a state's name after the President refers the bill to the relevant state legislature.
Once the state assembly provides its input and the President makes the final recommendation, the bill will be formally introduced in Parliament. If lawmakers pass it successfully, the First Schedule of the Constitution will be permanently amended to replace Kerala with the culturally meaningful Keralam.
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