- Union Cabinet likely to approve renaming Kerala to Keralam soon, say NDTV sources
- Kerala Assembly passed resolutions in 2023 and 2024 for the name change
- CM Pinarayi Vijayan supports restoring the state's original name Keralam
The Union Cabinet is likely to approve a long‑pending proposal to officially change the name of Kerala to Keralam, sources told NDTV.
The proposal is expected to be taken up in an upcoming Cabinet meeting after repeated resolutions from the Kerala Legislative Assembly urging the Centre to formalise the traditional Malayalam name.
The Assembly, which first passed the resolution in 2023 and later renewed it in June 2024 due to technical issues, argued that 'Keralam' better reflects the state's linguistic heritage and historic identity.
Last month, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan supported the state government's move to rename the state as 'Keralam' in a letter to Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar. In his reply, Vijayan wrote to Chandrasekhar that the state's original name was Keralam and that the British had changed it to Kerala for their convenience. "The changes made by them are being rectified and the real name is being restored. This is in tune with the culture of the state," the Chief Minister said in the letter.
It should be noted that the state Assembly has passed a resolution to change the name of the state in official records from Kerala to Keralam.
If approved, the Cabinet decision would initiate the constitutional process required for altering the name of a state, which involves amendments under Article 3 and updates to the First Schedule of the Constitution. Importantly, the proposed change is symbolic in nature and will not alter administrative structures, governance mechanisms, or territorial boundaries.
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