The linguistic identity and the federal nomenclature has taken a new turn of discussion in national politics again courtesy of the government of Kerala. The state government also wants to equate its official English name with its Malayalam pronunciation by the proposed formal constitutional amendment to change Kerala to Keralam. This legislative action has brought forth a lot of debate on the administrative aspects of renaming a state and has revived comparisons with the long-standing but unsuccessful effort of West Bengal to rename itself Bangla.
Although the Kerala name change proposal has unanimously passed in the state assembly and received Union Cabinet approval, it will take legal effect only after Parliament passes the Bill under Article 3 and it receives Presidential assent. The comparison between the present course of Kerala and the failed attempt of West Bengal provides a harsh examination of the legal, political, and bureaucratic obstacles which characterize the renaming of the constituent units of the Indian Union.
Historical and Cultural Context of Keralam
Keralam is a word that has a strong linguistic and cultural origin of the region. Although in English the official name of the state became Kerala as a result of the state reorganization act of 1956, the indigenous people have always spoken of the area as Keralam in the Malayalam language. It was established by amalgamating the Malabar district, the Kasargod taluk and the princely states of Travancore and Cochin, along the linguistic line of combining the Malayalam-speaking communities.
Traditionally, renaming states in India has been one of the mechanisms of getting rid of colonial remnants or restoring the native identity. The most notable case is of the conversion of United Provinces into Uttar Pradesh (1950), Madras State into Tamil Nadu (1969), Mysore into Karnataka (1973) and most recently Orissa into Odisha (2011). All these changes necessitated a fine walk between culture and the constitution.
The Current Proposal: Kerala to Keralam
The Kerala name change movement gained a lot of momentum when the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution requesting the Central Government to rename the state in all languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The theme of the resolution proposed by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was that it was a question of respecting the national character and language tradition of the Malayali people to change the name of Kerala into Keralam.
The state government, on its part, has asked the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to begin the procedure of correcting the First Schedule of the Constitution. This is unlike the case of city names change where in most cases the same may be carried out through executive reports or even state laws but to change the name of a state is a major reconstruction effort which must involve the Parliament of India.
The West Bengal Precedent: Why ‘Bangla’ Failed
In order to know the issues that the Kerala to Keralam transition encounters, one should look at the unsuccessful attempts by West Bengal. In 2018, the West Bengal Assembly adopted a resolution to rename the state to Bangla in three languages Bengali, English and Hindi. While the state government had argued administrative reasons including alphabetical positioning, the proposal stalled primarily because the Centre objected to the use of multiple names in different languages and later raised concerns — including from the Ministry of External Affairs — about possible confusion with the neighbouring country Bangladesh.
The proposal however received a lot of opposition by the Central Government. The proposal faced objections during central review, including concerns raised by the Ministry of External Affairs regarding possible confusion with Bangladesh. Moreover, the Union Government was inclined towards using one name in all languages instead of variations (meaning, -bangla, -banga and – Bengal), as it might be complex to use in administrative and legal terms. As a result, the rename of West Bengal has been languishing in legislative limbo over the years.
Legal and Constitutional Framework
Renaming of a state is a procedure that is regulated by Article 3 and Article 4 of the Constitution of India. The procedure is as follows:
- State Resolution: This is a resolution by the state assembly to request the change of name.
- Presidential Referral: After Union Cabinet approval, the President refers the proposed Bill to the concerned state legislature for its views before it is formally introduced in Parliament.
- Parliamentary Bill: It is a Bill introduced in the Parliament at the recommendation of the President.
- Simple Majority: Contrary to a regular Constitutional Amendment provided in Article 368, a Bill to change the name of a state provided in Article 3 has only the simple majority in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
- Presidential Assent: After being passed by the Parliament, the Bill is then assented by the President after which the First and Fourth Schedules of the Constitution are amended.
The Central government plays a decisive role at multiple stages, and approval by the Union Cabinet is viewed as essential before the Bill is introduced in Parliament.
Political Dynamics and Reactions
The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Kerala name change has attracted political discussion at the national level. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took the Centre to task and she claimed unequal treatment and why her states of re-naming were continuously turned down and Keralam given go ahead. She also opined that the result was affected by political insights amongst national parties.
Union ministers have refuted these claims by highlighting the processes of the constitution and the perception of the Centre that names should pass tests in regard to uniformity and administrative simplicity.
Implications of the Change
The change in Kerala to Keralam has a number of implications:
- Cultural Identity: It strengthens the linguistic pride of the Malayalam speaking people and identifies with the local use of the official state identity.
- Administrative Impact: The change of name will require a revision of all the official documents and seal, letterheads and digital databases at both state and central levels.
- Economic Branding: The Kerala brand is known all over the world especially in the tourism sector (Gods Own Country). A move to Keralam would demand a tactical rebranding exercise, to make sure that there would be awareness of the entity’s continuity in the international markets.
Conclusion: Current Status and Future Prospects
By the start of 2026, Kerala had secured Union Cabinet approval for the proposal to rename the state as Keralam; however, the change will take legal effect only after Parliament passes the Bill under Article 3 and it receives Presidential assent.
Conversely, the age-old demand of West Bengal to be renamed Bangla has not been passed at the national level and it shows the legal, administrative and geopolitical factors that have compelled the state. The difference between the pair highlights the nuances within the state renaming in the federal system of India where the cultural desires come into conflict with the condition of the Constitution and political aspects of the calculations.
