Kerala to be officially called ‘Keralaam’, Union Cabinet approves proposal

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The central government on Tuesday approved a proposal to change the name of Kerala to "Keralaam." The decision was announced after a Union Cabinet meeting and described as a step toward fulfilling a long-standing demand to align the state’s official name with its local linguistic identity.

Officials stated that since the reorganization of states on linguistic lines, there has been a demand to adopt the Malayalam form “Keralaam” as the official name. The proposal aims to reflect the cultural and linguistic heritage of the state more accurately.

It was clarified that the change will follow the prescribed constitutional process and is not an immediate or unilateral step. The state government and the legislative assembly will play an important role in the procedure. After the state assembly gives its opinion, the central government will move forward with the legislative process and present the proposal in Parliament. The name change will come into effect only after completion of all formalities.

The process will begin with a bill being referred to the state legislative assembly for its views under Article 3 of the Constitution. After receiving the assembly’s response, the proposal will be introduced in Parliament for approval. Once Parliament passes the bill and other formalities are completed, the official name of the state will be changed to “Keralaam.”

Several states in the country have previously adopted names reflecting their linguistic and cultural identity, and the proposal to rename the state follows a similar approach.