The Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution proposing to change the state's name from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam' for linguistic alignment.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly has unanimously approved a resolution proposing a change in the state's official name from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'. This decision was put forward by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and aims to amend the First Schedule of the Indian Constitution under Article 3.
This isn't the first attempt at such a change. Last year, a similar resolution faced technical issues when it was sent to the central government. Originally, the plan was to alter the names in all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution to ‘Keralam’. However, following advice from the Union Home Ministry, the focus shifted to just amending the First Schedule. This adjustment led to modifications in the resolution passed on August 9, 2023.
Chief Minister Vijayan emphasized that 'Keralam' is the Malayalam name for the state but has not been officially recognized as such, with 'Kerala' remaining the official name. The resolution seeks to rectify this and align the state's official name with its Malayalam pronunciation.
During the assembly debate, N. Samsudheen of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) suggested amendments to the resolution to ensure it would not face rejection by the Centre. However, the assembly rejected this proposal. He also called for action against officials responsible for what he termed an "oversight" in the original resolution.
The resolution now awaits further action by the central government, which will need to approve the proposed amendment to change Kerala's official name to 'Keralam'. This step is seen as crucial in reflecting the state's linguistic identity in its official nomenclature.
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