Kerala to Be Renamed ‘Keralam’, Cabinet Approves Move
President to Refer Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to State Assembly Under Article 3
- Union Cabinet clears proposal to rename Kerala as ‘Keralam’
- Bill to be referred to State Assembly before introduction in Parliament
- Kerala Assembly passed unanimous resolution in June 2024
- Change to amend First Schedule of the Constitution
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 24th Feb: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal of the Kerala government to rename the state as ‘Keralam’, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after the meeting.
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Seva Teerth, the new Prime Minister’s Office complex.
Vaishnaw stated that the Cabinet approved the proposal for altering the name of the state of Kerala to ‘Keralam’. Following the approval, the President of India will refer the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to the State Legislative Assembly for expressing its views under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution.
After the Assembly conveys its views, the Centre will seek the President’s recommendation for introducing the Bill in Parliament to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution and formally effect the name change.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution on June 24, 2024, urging the Centre to modify the state’s name to ‘Keralam’. The resolution noted that the name of the state in Malayalam is ‘Keralam’ and recalled that states were reorganised on linguistic lines on November 1, 1956, a day observed as Kerala Piravi.
It further stated that while there was a historic demand for a unified state for Malayalam-speaking people during the national movement, the First Schedule of the Constitution records the name as ‘Kerala’. The Assembly appealed to the Centre to take steps under Article 3 for altering the name.
Under Article 3 of the Constitution, Parliament may by law alter the name of any state. However, such a Bill can be introduced only on the recommendation of the President and after being referred to the concerned state legislature for its views within a specified period.
The proposal was examined by the Ministry of Home Affairs and, with the approval of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a draft Cabinet note was circulated to the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department under the Ministry of Law and Justice. Both departments concurred with the proposal.
With the Cabinet’s clearance, the constitutional process to rename Kerala as ‘Keralam’ has formally begun.
