Kerala or Keralam? Resolution to change state’s name passed, Centre’s approval awaited

Kerala Assembly unanimously passed a second resolution on Monday asking the Centre to officially change the state's name to 'Keralam'. 

This comes nearly a year after the state Assembly had unanimously passed a similar resolution. However, the Centre had returned it for corrections.

The resolution will again be sent to the Central government for approval.

In August last year, the Union Home Ministry reviewed the Kerala government's resolution and recommended some technical modifications after it requested "immediate steps" to change the state's name.

The resolution, proposed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, asked the union government to change Kerala's name in all the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

While presenting the resolution, the Kerala CM said the state is called ‘Keralam’ in Malayalam while adding that the demand for a united Kerala for the Malayali speakers has been strong since 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,” news agency PTI quoted Vijayan as saying.

Members from both the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF backed the resolution. UDF legislator N Shamsudeen proposed some amendments, which the government declined. Subsequently, Speaker A N Shamseer declared the assembly's unanimous adoption of the resolution.

Can the name of a state be changed?

Since independence in 1947, over a hundred Indian cities and several states have changed their names.

• Uttaranchal became Uttarakhand in 2007. The changed name is believed to honour the Uttarakhand Andolan movement, which led to the state's separation from Uttar Pradesh in 2000.
• Following the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Act, Orissa was renamed Odisha in 2011.

• In 2006, the Union Territory of Pondicherry became Puducherry. Bombay was renamed Mumbai, and Madras became Chennai.