Kerala to Keralam: The Constitutional Procedure for State Renaming
The Union Cabinet formally approved the proposal to rename Kerala as "Keralam" — setting in motion the constitutional procedure under Article 3 of the Constitution.
The name change was initiated by the Kerala Legislative Assembly through a resolution passed on June 24, 2024; the Union Cabinet's acceptance, announced by Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, was the next procedural milestone.
Under Article 3, the President will now refer the proposed Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to the Kerala State Legislature for its views — the legislature must respond within a fixed period (set by the President's reference order).
The state legislature's views, while constitutionally required to be sought, are not binding on Parliament — Parliament may pass the Bill regardless of whether the state legislature supports or opposes it.
The Bill will be introduced in Parliament (either House) on the recommendation of the President, and requires only an ordinary majority (simple majority of members present and voting) for passage — not a special majority under Article 368.
Shashi Tharoor (Congress MP, Thiruvananthapuram) responded humorously to the announcement, questioning what demonyms residents would use — "Keralamite" or "Keralamian" — noting the linguistic complexity of name changes.
The renaming does not require the consent of any other state and does not involve boundary changes — it is a purely nomenclatural alteration under Article 3(e).
Article 3: Procedure for State Renaming in Detail
Article 3 of the Constitution provides a specific and exclusive procedure for altering the areas, boundaries, and names of states. It is the sole constitutional route for state renaming and cannot be bypassed by state legislation alone.
The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 follows Article 3(e) — a nomenclatural change that does not alter boundaries, requires no special majority, and cannot be vetoed by the state legislature.
First Schedule and Fourth Schedule: What Changes With a Renaming
The Constitution's First Schedule lists all 28 states and 8 Union Territories. The Fourth Schedule allocates Rajya Sabha seats to each state and UT. Both must be amended when a state is renamed.
Key Details
- The First Schedule currently lists the state as "Kerala" — the renaming to "Keralam" requires a formal amendment to Entry 12 (Kerala) in the First Schedule, done automatically by the renaming law under Article 4(1).
- The Fourth Schedule allocates 9 Rajya Sabha seats to Kerala — after renaming, the same 9 seats will be listed under "Keralam."
- No constitutional amendment under Article 368 is needed — the renaming law itself amends the First and Fourth Schedules, by virtue of Article 4(1).
- Other consequential changes: all central legislation that references "Kerala" (such as the Kerala Re-Organisation Act, 1956, the Kerala and Madras (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1959) would eventually need corresponding amendments or interpretive notifications.
- State laws, the state seal, letterheads, and official documents issued by the Kerala government will also require revision — a significant administrative exercise spread over months to years after the Parliamentary act.
The renaming is procedurally simple constitutionally — an ordinary majority, not a referendum or a special majority — but triggers a substantial downstream administrative adaptation process.
Language, Identity, and Linguistic States
India's states were reorganised in 1956 primarily on the basis of language, following the States Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Ali Commission) recommendation. The linguistic principle — one dominant language, one state — was adopted as the foundational principle of state boundaries.
Key Details
- The language-based reorganisation of 1956 was preceded by the Dar Commission (1948), which had rejected linguistic states; the JVP Committee (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Pattabhi Sitaramayya) also initially rejected the idea. Potti Sreeramulu's death in 1952 forced reconsideration.
- The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution lists 22 recognised languages; Malayalam (spoken by ~35 million people) has been in the Eighth Schedule since 1950.
- Malayalam was granted Classical Language status in 2013, recognising its antiquity (scripts and literature dating to the 9th century CE) and independence from Sanskrit.
- "Keralam" is the Malayalam name: "Kera" (coconut palm) + "alam" (land/place) — "Land of Coconuts." The Anglicised "Kerala" dropped the terminal "m," a common feature of transliteration-era place naming.
- Similar corrections in Indian geography: Bombay → Mumbai, Calcutta → Kolkata, Madras → Chennai (all were city name changes by state governments, not Article 3 procedures); Orissa → Odisha (Article 3 procedure, 2011).
The Keralam renaming is fundamentally a linguistic identity assertion — correcting an Anglicisation imposed during colonial-era transliteration — consistent with the broader post-Independence project of affirming Indian linguistic identities in official nomenclature.
- Article 3(e): Parliament's power to alter names of states.
- Majority required: ordinary majority (simple majority of members present and voting) — NOT Article 368 special majority.
- State legislature's role: advisory only — views sought but not binding on Parliament (Babulal Parate v. State of Bombay, 1960).
- First Schedule (Entry 12) and Fourth Schedule (9 Rajya Sabha seats): automatically updated by the renaming law under Article 4(1).
- Kerala Legislative Assembly resolution: June 24, 2024.
- Union Cabinet approval: February 24, 2026.
- Malayalam Classical Language status: 2013.
- Precedent: Orissa → Odisha (2011) — most similar name correction (Anglicised → original language form).
- "Keralam" etymology: Kera (coconut palm) + alam (land) — "Land of Coconuts."