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ଓଡ଼ିଆ | ENGLISH

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Published By : Pradip Subudhi
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New Delhi, February 24: The Union Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its approval to a proposal to alter the name of the state of Kerala to "Keralam."

Following this approval, the President of India will refer theKerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the Kerala State Legislative Assembly for its views, as per Article 3 of the Constitution of India. Once the Assembly’s feedback is received, the Government of India will proceed with further steps and seek the President's recommendation for introducing the Bill in Parliament.

This move comes after the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on June 24, 2024, requesting the change. The resolution states: "The name of our state is 'Keralam' in the Malayalam language. States were formed based on language on November 1, 1956, which is also Kerala Piravi Day. There has been a long-standing demand, dating back to the National Independence Struggle, for a united Kerala for Malayalam-speaking people. However, the First Schedule to the Constitution still lists the state as 'Kerala.' This Assembly unanimously appeals to the Central Government to urgently act under Article 3 of the Constitution to modify the name to 'Keralam.'"

In response, the Kerala Government has formally requested the Union Government to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution to reflect the new name.

Article 3 of the Indian Constitution provides the legal framework for altering the names of existing states. It grants Parliament the power to change a state's name by law, but only with the President's recommendation. If the change impacts a state's boundaries, area, or name, the Bill must be referred to that state’s legislature for its views before it can proceed in Parliament.

The proposal was reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, under Union Minister Amit Shah, and the draft Cabinet note for altering Kerala's name was circulated to the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department within the Ministry of Law and Justice. Both departments have endorsed the proposal.