The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to rename the state of Kerala as Keralam, clearing a long-standing demand raised by the state government. This comes ahead of elections in the state.
With the cabinet's approval, the process for a constitutional amendment will now move to Parliament, reported India Today.
Meanwhile at the same time West Bengal, which has been trying to change its name for more than two decades, continues to wait for the Centre's approval despite passing multiple resolutions in its Assembly.
After Cabinet nod for Kerala, what next?
The Union Cabinet cleared Kerala's renaming proposal on Tuesday, February 24, just months ahead of the state Assembly elections.
The decision follows two unanimous resolutions passed by the Kerala Assembly, first in August 2023 and again in June 2024. With the Cabinet's approval in place, the proposal will now move through the formal constitutional process.
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Under this procedure, the President of India will refer the Bill to the Kerala Assembly to seek its views. After this step, the Centre will obtain the President's permission to introduce a Bill in Parliament to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution, which lists the names of states.
The Bill will need to be passed by a simple majority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Once Parliament clears it, the Bill will require the President's assent and will then be notified in the Gazette. Only after this notification will the name Keralam officially replace Kerala.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the Cabinet's decision. The BJP's Kerala unit had earlier expressed its support for the renaming move in January, according to reports cited by India Today.
Why Kerala wanted the name ‘Keralam'
The push to rename the state was formally initiated in August 2023, when the Kerala Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Speaking during the debate, Vijayan said the name of the state in Malayalam has always been Keralam, while the English name Kerala appeared in the Constitution after Independence.
He pointed out that states were reorganised on a linguistic basis on Nov. 1, 1956, and that the demand for a united Keralam for Malayalam-speaking people existed even during the freedom struggle. Vijayan argued that urgent steps were needed under Article 3 of the Constitution to amend the name listed in the First Schedule.
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The name Keralam is older than colonial rule. Historical references, cited in media reports, show that as early as the third century BCE, Ashokan edicts mentioned the region as “Keralaputra”, while ancient Tamil literature such as Akananuru also refers to the land. Scholars trace the word either to cher (to join) and alam (region), meaning land added by the sea, or to keram, the Malayalam word for coconut, which is closely associated with the state.
The anglicised form (names written in english) Kerala came into common use during British rule, a point repeatedly highlighted by the Chief Minister.
West Bengal's long standing effort for renaming
Compared to Kerala, West Bengal's attempt to change its name has remained unresolved despite repeated efforts.
The issue dates back to 1999, when the Left Front government led by former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu proposed renaming the state as “Paschim Bangla” or “Bangla”.
After Mamata Banerjee became Chief Minister in 2011, the state government renewed the demand, suggesting “Paschim Banga” as the name in both English and Bangla. The Centre did not approve this proposal.
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In 2016, the Trinamool Congress government made another attempt, proposing three different versions of the name: “Bengal” in English, “Bangla” in Bangla, and “Bangal” in Hindi. This proposal was also rejected. The Centre said it could not accept multiple names for a single state and insisted on one uniform name across languages.
Two years later, in 2018, the West Bengal Assembly passed a fresh resolution opting for a single name, “Bangla”. Even this proposal failed to receive the Centre's approval.
Will West Bengal be renamed?
According to the report, the Centre has cited several reasons for not clearing West Bengal's proposals.
One main objection was the suggestion of different names in different languages, which the union government said was not acceptable.
Another concern came from the Ministry of External Affairs, which flagged that the name “Bangla” could create confusion with Bangladesh in international forums. Similar concerns were raised earlier, including after the 2016 proposal.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, junior home minister Nityanand Rai stated that changing the name of a state requires a constitutional amendment and that all relevant factors must be taken into account before such a decision is made.
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India Today also reported that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly said that one reason behind West Bengal's push for a name change was practical. She argued that because of alphabetical order, the state was often called last in official meetings, sometimes only after attention levels had dropped.
As recently as February 2025, Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee raised the issue again in the Rajya Sabha, demanding that the Centre approve the renaming of West Bengal.
Reacting to the Union Cabinet clearing Kerala's proposal, Mamata Banerjee stated that she had no objection to any other state's decision.
“Kerala's proposal was accepted because of what she described as an understanding between the BJP and the CPM. My party would continue to press for the renaming of West Bengal and that political situations at the Centre would not remain the same forever,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by India Today.
It is worth noting that both cases underline the constitutional position that while states can initiate proposals to change their names, the final decision rests with Parliament under Article 3 of the Constitution. For now, Kerala has moved a step closer to officially becoming Keralam, while West Bengal's demand remains pending, with no clear timeline for approval.
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