Kerala to become Keralam: Cabinet approves name change, what's next?

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the proposal to change the name of Kerala to 'Keralam'. This decision follows a resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly in June 2024, calling for the name alteration to reflect the state's historical, linguistic, and cultural identity. 

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Why the name change to Keralam? 

The Kerala Assembly passed a resolution in June 2024 to alter the name of the southern state to "Keralam". 

"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," the resolution stated.

"But in the First Schedule to the Constitution the name of our State is recorded as 'Kerala'. This Assembly unanimously appeal to the Central Government to take urgent steps as per Article 3 of the Constitution for modifying the name as 'Keralam'."

Cabinet clears Keralam proposal: What next? 

The proposal will now be referred to the President of India, who will forward a Bill titled the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for its views. Once the Assembly provides its feedback, the government will move forward with the necessary procedures for the introduction of the Bill in Parliament. This follows the provisions of Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, which allows for the alteration of state names after obtaining the President's recommendation.

What Constitution says on state name change? 

Article 3 of the Constitution provides for the alteration of the names of existing States. According to Article 3, Parliament may by law alter the name of any State. 

Proviso to article 3 states that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further period as the President may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired, the Cabinet said in a statement. 

The matter was considered in the Ministry of Home Affairs, and with the approval of Amit Shah, the draft Note for the Cabinet for the name change was circulated to the Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, for their comments. "The Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, have concurred with the proposal for the alteration of name of State of 'Kerala' as 'Keralam'."