Kerala Assembly adopts new resolution to adopt 'Keralam' as the state name

A resolution urging the Centre to propose a constitutional modification to rename the state’s name as Keralam instead of Kerala is unanimously approved by the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

The Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan introduced the resolution, stating that although the state was known as "Keralam" in Malayalam, it was still known as Kerala in other languages. He urged the Centre to change the southern state's name in all languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of the country.

According to him, since the national independence movement, there has been a clear necessity for the Malayalam-speaking populations to unite into a single Kerala.

The name Kerala is written in the First Schedule of the Constitution. The minister said that the Assembly requests the central government to take immediate steps to change 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.

This is for the second time that the state assembly passed a resolution which demands a change in the state’s name.    

Last year in August, the House passed a similar unanimous resolution and submitted it to the Centre. However, the Union Home Ministry suggested some technical changes in it.