New Delhi: A proposal to change the name of Kerala to Keralam was approved by the Union Cabinet meeting today, in a major decision before the assembly elections in the state. The state assembly has already passed a resolution to change the name in official records.
"After approval of the 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 the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution of India," Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
After receipt of the views of the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala, the Centre will take further action, and the recommendation of the President will be obtained for the introduction of the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, for the alteration of the name of the state of 'Kerala' as 'Keralam' in Parliament.
Kerala is expected to go to the polls before May to elect 140 members of the state legislative assembly. No official date has been announced by the Election Commission of India as of yet.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who moved the resolution in 2024, wanted the Union government to change the southern state's name from "Kerala" to "Keralam" in all languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of the country.
On June 25, 2024, the assembly passed the resolution for the second time because the Union Home Ministry, which reviewed the first resolution, suggested some technical changes.
The Chief Minister said the state was called 'Keralam' in Malayalam and that the demand to form a united Kerala for the Malayalam-speaking communities had emerged since the time of the national freedom struggle.
"But 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 of the Constitution and have it renamed as 'Keralam' in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution," Mr Vijayan had said.
The Union Cabinet is meeting in the new office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi - its first meeting at Seva Tirtha. The last meeting was held on February 13 in Prime Minister's Office at South Block, hours before the office shifted.
