The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the long-pending proposal to change the name of the State of Kerala to ‘Keralam‘. This decision, taken during the first Cabinet meeting held at the new Prime Minister’s Office complex, ‘Seva Teerth’, aligns the official English name with the Malayalam usage, ‘Keralam‘, which has been the demand of the state for years.
The proposal follows unanimous resolutions passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly, including one on June 24, 2024, urging the Centre to alter the name in the Constitution. Kerala, popularly known as ‘God’s Own Country’, will now move towards formal recognition as ‘Keralam’ in all official contexts.
The constitutional process will now begin. The President of India will refer the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for its views under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution. Once the Assembly’s opinion is received, the Centre will introduce the Bill in Parliament. A simple majority will suffice for its passage, and the change will take effect upon receiving the President’s assent.
With Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for April, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw clarified during a press conference that the decision has no connection with the polls. He emphasised that the Cabinet has been taking several decisions without an eye on elections, recalling similar approvals for rail projects and Vande Bharat trains in Kerala during non-election periods. All actions, he said, are guided by national interest.
Political Reactions
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor took a light-hearted dig at the name change. He questioned what the people of the state should now be called in English — suggesting ‘Keralamite‘ would sound like a microorganism, while ‘Keralamian‘ would resemble a rare mineral. He quipped that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan might need to organise a competition to coin new terms for residents.