Kerala to be renamed ‘Keralam’ as Union Cabinet likely to give nod

New Delhi: The bill to rename Kerala to “Keralam” is likely to be approved by the central government in a Cabinet meeting scheduled on Tuesday, February 24.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly had earlier passed a resolution to change the state’s name to Keralam in all official records. The move aims to align the state’s identity with the Malayalam culture and language.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution, citing measures under Article 3 of the Constitution, to rename the state since it’s called “Keralam” in Malayalam. The resolution similarly urged the Centre to adopt the name across all languages recognised under the Constitution’s Eighth Schedule. He highlighted that the demand for a more unified Kerala has been evident since the national struggle.

“But the name of our state is written as Kerala in the First Schedule of the Constitution. This Assembly requests the Centre to take immediate steps to amend it as ‘Keralam’ under Article 3 of the Constitution and have it renamed as ‘Keralam’ in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution,” Vijayan said.

The Union Cabinet is holding its inaugural meeting at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s new Seva Tirtha office for the first time. This follows the previous meeting held at the South Block office on February 13, just hours before the office relocated.