Union Cabinet clears proposal to rename Kerala as ‘Keralam’

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to change the name of the State of Kerala to “Keralam”, initiating the constitutional procedure required to formally alter the name in the Constitution.

The move follows a unanimous resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly requesting the Union government to amend the Constitution so that the state’s name is officially recorded as “Keralam” in the First Schedule.

Under Article 3 of the Constitution, any alteration in the name of a state requires parliamentary approval. As per the constitutional process, the proposal will be introduced in Parliament after necessary formalities are completed.

The Kerala government has maintained that “Keralam” is the name used in Malayalam and reflects the state’s linguistic and cultural identity. The Assembly resolution argued that aligning the official name with its native usage would better represent the state’s heritage.

The Union Cabinet’s approval marks the first formal step at the Centre towards implementing the change. The proposal will now move through the prescribed legislative route before any amendment to the Constitution can take effect.

During the Assembly proceedings, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had explained that the term Keralam is widely used locally and has deeper historical associations, including links to the ancient Cherā dynasty and Malayalam’s long literary tradition.

He also pointed out that earlier attempts to amend the Constitution in 2023 were revised after review by the Union Home Ministry, which suggested technical changes before the proposal was resubmitted and passed again in 2024.