Kerala Assembly Seeks Renaming State to ‘Keralam’

June 25, 2024

On June 24, the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution asking the Indian Central Government to change the name of the state in the Constitution from “Kerala” to “Keralam.” This was the second time in a year that the resolution was passed unanimously. This plan, which is being led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, focuses on making the constitutional name match the word “Keralam” in Malayalam.

Resolution Details and Legislative Process

There are differences between the Malayalam name “Keralam” and the English name “Kerala” used in the Constitution’s first Schedule, which was brought up by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the Kerala Assembly. Article 3 of the Constitution is used to ask for a change in the move. The similar resolution from last year had to be looked at again and changed because it didn’t include enough requests for changes to the Eighth Schedule, which deals with official languages.

Etymology of ‘Kerala’

The name “Kerala” has historical and language meanings. It was first used in writing in 257 BCE by Emperor Ashoka, who called it “Keralaputra.” German scholar Dr. Herman Gundert connects the word to “Keram,” which refers to the area between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The word “cher” in this name comes from the old language Old Tamil and means “to join.”

Formation of Kerala State

In the 1920s, the Madras Presidency brought together parts of Travancore, Cochin, and the Malabar area to make a single Malayalam-speaking state. After India got its freedom, on November 1, 1956, the State Reorganisation Commission, which was led by Syed Fazl Ali, suggested that Kerala be formed based on linguistic unity, which meant that more Malayalam-speaking areas were added while some Tamil-speaking areas were left out. The goal of changing the name of the state to “Keralam” is to better reflect its language, culture, and history within the limits of the country’s law.

« Previous Post Next Post »