Kerala gets Union Cabinet nod to be officially called ‘Keralam’

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution in 2024.

• Cabinet approves renaming Kerala to Keralam
• Kerala Assembly passed resolution twice seeking name change
• Bill to reach Kerala Assembly before Parliament introduction

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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved Kerala’s proposal to officially rename the state as ‘Keralam’.

The development comes months before the state heads into assembly elections, expected before May. The Election Commission has not yet announced a polling date.

After approval of Union Cabinet, the President of India will refer a Bill, namely the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala for expressing its views under proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution of India. After receipt of the views of the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala, Government of India will take further action and the recommendation of President will be obtained for introduction of the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 for alteration of name of State of ‘Kerala’ as ‘Keralam’ in Parliament.

The state Assembly has twice passed a resolution asking the Centre to amend the Constitution and replace the name ‘Kerala’ with ‘Keralam’ in official records.

The Assembly first passed the resolution in August 2023. It was taken up again on June 25, 2024, after the Union Home Ministry suggested technical corrections. The revised resolution was cleared unanimously.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution, invoking Article 3 of the Constitution, which deals with alteration of state names and boundaries, The Hindu reported.

“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,” Vijayan had said.

Reacting to the development, Thiruvananthapuram Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on X said, “All to the good, no doubt, but a small linguistic question for the Anglophones among us: what happens now to the terms “Keralite” and “Keralan” for the denizens of the new “Keralam”?”

Earlier this year, Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrashekhar also wrote a letter supporting Vijayan. “For us, #VikasitaKeralam, #SurakshitaKeralam, and #VishwasaSamrakshanam are not just slogans. They are our mission,” he wrote on X.