Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Leads Resolution to Rename State to ‘Keralam’

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], June 25, 2023: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved a resolution with amendments on Monday, which was passed by the state assembly unanimously on August 9, 2023. The resolution demands that the central government take immediate action to change the name of the state to ‘Keralam,’ as recorded in the 1st and 8th schedule of the constitution.

The Home Department informed the state that the change is required only in the 1st schedule of the constitution. Based on this, the chief minister presented the resolution with amendments, and the assembly passed it unanimously.

The resolution highlighted the historical demand for a state for Malayalam-speaking people from the time of the national freedom struggle. When the state was formed 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 requested that the central government make the necessary amendments under Article 3 of the constitution to change the name to ‘Keralam.’

All members supported the resolution, and the speaker declared it passed unanimously. Chief Minister Vijayan stated, ‘In our Malayalam language, it is ‘Keralam’ while in other languages it is called Kerala.’ He further requested the Union Government to take immediate steps to amend it as ‘Keralam’ under Article 3 of the Constitution and rename it as ‘Keralam’ in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.