It’s ‘Keralam’ not ‘Kerala’, Pinarayi govt urges Centre to consider name change

Kerala Assembly unanimously passes resolution to change name of State

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution with amendments, which was passed by the State Assembly unanimously on August 9, 2023, demanding that the Central government take immediate action to change the name of the State to ‘Keralam’, which was recorded as Kerala in the 1st and 8th schedule of the Constitution.

The resolution was sent to the central government and the Home Department has informed the State that the change is required only in the 1st schedule of the constitution. On the basis of that, the Chief Minister presented the resolution with amendments, and the Assembly passed the resolution.

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The resolution read that there was a demand for the formation of a state for the Malayalam-speaking people from the time of the national freedom struggle.

When the State was formed on the basis of language on November 1 1956, it was recorded as Kerala in the 1st schedule of the Constitution.

The name of the State in Malayalam is ‘Keralam’, and the State Assembly unanimously requested that the Central government make the necessary amendments under Article 3 of the constitution to change the name of the State to ‘Keralam’. All members supported the resolution and speaker declared that the resolution has been passed unanimously.

Earlier, on August 9, 2023, the Kerala Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution urging the Central government to officially change the name of the State from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam.’

CM Vijayan who moved the resolution in the Assembly, said, “In our Malayalam language, it is ‘Keralam’ while in other languages it is called Kerala.” “This Assembly unanimously requests the Union Government to take immediate steps to amend it as ‘Keralam’ under Article 3 of the Constitution and it be renamed as ‘Keralam’ in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution,” the Chief Minister further said.