The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to the Kerala government’s proposal to change the name of the State from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’. The Bill, namely the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 will now be referred to the Kerala Legislative Assembly under Article 3 of the Constitution, following which Parliament will consider the amendment to the First Schedule of the Constitution. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. The Legislative Assembly of Kerala passed a resolution on 24.06.2024 to alter the name of the State of “Kerala” to “Keralam”.
The resolution said: “The name of our State is ‘Keralam’ in 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 National Independence Struggle, there has been a strong demand for the formation of United Kerala for the people speaking 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”.
Constitutional procedure for renaming a state
- Article 3 of the Constitution of India empowers the Parliament to;
- form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State.
- increase the area of any state
- diminish the area of any State
- alter the boundaries of any State
- alter the name of any State
- Steps involved:
- Proposal initiated by the state government.
- Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) examines the proposal.
- Consultation with various departments, such as Survey of India, Intelligence Bureau, Registrar General of India, Department of Ports, Ministry of Railways to ensure the name change does not conflict with existing administrative, geographical, or security records.
- Prior recommendation of President: the Bill can only be introduced in the Parliament with the prior approval of the President.
- State Legislature’s views: the President refers the bill to the State Assembly for views.
- Introduction of Bill in the Parliament: the bill requires a simple majoirty to be passed in parliament, as this is not considered a constitutional amendment under Article 368.
- Presidential assent and notification: after the assent of the President, the bill becomes a law.
Historical Background
The State Kerala was created on November 01, 1956 during the linguistic reorganisation of states on the recommendation of State Reorganisation Commission or Fazl Ali Commission. The state’s name in Malayalam is ‘Keralam’.
The earliest epigraphic evidence of the region is found in the Rock Edict II of Emperor Ashoka(257 BCE), which refers to the region as “Keralaputra“. The word ‘Keralam’ evolved from the word ‘Cheralam’ or ‘Cheram’. The word ‘cher’ means ‘to join’ and ‘alam’ means ‘land or region’. ‘Kerala Piravi Day‘ is celebrated on November 01 annually.
