Union Cabinet Clears Proposal to Rename Kerala as ‘Keralam’

 The Union Cabinet, chaired by Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved a proposal to officially rename the State of Kerala as “Keralam”, marking a significant procedural milestone ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Following the Cabinet’s clearance, the President of India will initiate the constitutional process under Article 3 by referring the proposed Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for its views. As mandated by the Constitution, Parliament may alter the name of a state only after seeking the opinion of the concerned state legislature.

Once the Assembly’s response is received, the Union government will move to introduce the Bill in Parliament, subject to the President’s recommendation.

The renaming proposal traces its origins to a unanimous resolution adopted by the Kerala Legislative Assembly on June 24, 2024, urging the Centre to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution to reflect the state’s name as “Keralam” — the term by which it is known in Malayalam. The resolution emphasised that the state, formed on linguistic lines on November 1, 1956 — a day observed annually as Kerala Piravi — should bear a name that aligns with its cultural and linguistic identity.

Subsequently, the Kerala government formally requested the Union government to initiate the constitutional process required for the change. The proposal was examined by the Ministry of Home Affairs and received approval from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The draft Cabinet note was also vetted by the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department under the Ministry of Law and Justice, both of which concurred with the proposal.

With the Cabinet’s approval now secured, the formal renaming of Kerala to “Keralam” advances closer to legislative completion, even as political focus intensifies in the run-up to the state Assembly polls.