Kerala Assembly unanimously passes resolution to change name of state to 'Keralam'

The Kerala Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution to change the state's name to "Keralam" in the Constitution, introduced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A similar resolution was previously passed but had to be reintroduced due to technical issues.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Legislative Assembly of Kerala unanimously passed a resolution on Monday (June 24) demanding that the state's name be officially changed to "Kerala" in the Constitution. This resolution was introduced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

A similar resolution had been passed in August last year but needed to be reintroduced due to technical issues. Initially, the resolution sought amendments in both the First Schedule and the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. However, following advice from the Central Home Department, which suggested that only the First Schedule required alteration, the resolution was modified and reintroduced.

Despite "Keralam" being a name with deep historical and literary roots, the British popularized the name "Kerala." More than sixty-five years after the state was formed, Malayalees have yet to officially reclaim the name "Keralam" in all official documents. While the state is referred to as "Keralam" in Malayalam, it continues to be written as "Government of Kerala" in English, even in government documents.

The Chief Minister last year while introducing the resolution had said, " A resolution under Rule 118 is being moved in this House requesting the Central Government to change the official name of our state to 'Keralam' in all languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India."

"But the name of our state is written as Kerala in the First Schedule of the Constitution." 

"This Assembly unanimously requests the Union Government to take immediate steps to amend it as 'Keralam' under Article 3 of the Constitution and be renamed as 'Keralam' in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution," he had said.