The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to rename Kerala as Keralam, setting in motion the constitutional process required to amend the state’s name under Article 3
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to change the name of Kerala to Keralam, following a long-standing demand from the state and resolutions passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the decision reflects the will of the people of the state. The announcement was made by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after a Cabinet meeting held at Sevateerth, the Prime Minister’s new office.
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What happens next under Article 3
The proposal involves introducing the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026. Under Article 3 of the Constitution, the President will refer the Bill to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for its views.
After receiving the Assembly’s opinion, the Union government will seek the President’s recommendation to introduce the Bill in Parliament. The name change will take effect only after Parliament passes the law and the President gives assent.
Article 3 empowers Parliament to alter the area, boundaries or name of a state, but requires that the concerned state legislature’s views be sought before such a change.
Background of the demand
The demand to rename Kerala as Keralam has existed since the state’s formation on November 1, 1956, when states were reorganised on linguistic lines. November 1 is observed as Kerala Piravi (Kerala Formation Day).
In June 2024, the Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to amend the Constitution and modify the state’s name from Kerala to Keralam. A similar resolution passed in 2023 had earlier been returned by the Union Home Ministry.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, stated that from the time of the freedom struggle there had been a strong demand for a unified Kerala for Malayalam-speaking people, and that the state’s name in Malayalam is ‘Keralam’. It appealed to the Union government to take urgent steps under Article 3 to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution.
The Cabinet note reportedly highlighted that people in the state had consistently demanded that the official name reflect the Malayalam usage.
In 2011, the spelling of Odisha was changed from Orissa after a constitutional amendment.
No immediate change to High Court name
Although the Cabinet has cleared the proposal to amend the Constitution to reflect the state’s name as Keralam, there will be no automatic change in the English nomenclature of the High Court of Kerala.
In Malayalam, the court is already referred to as ‘Kerala High Court’. However, if the English name were to be changed to ‘High Court of Keralam’, a separate law would have to be passed by Parliament.
Any such move would have to originate with the state government and receive the support of the High Court. It would then require consideration by the Union government, passage in Parliament, and publication in the Gazette.
A similar Bill introduced in Parliament in 2016 to rename the Madras and Bombay High Courts as the Chennai and Mumbai High Courts could not be passed before the Lok Sabha’s term ended.
Political context
The decision comes ahead of Assembly elections in the state. However, Ashwini Vaishnaw dismissed speculation that the approval was linked to the polls, stating that Cabinet decisions are taken without keeping elections in view.
The name change will only become official after the constitutional and parliamentary procedures under Article 3 are fully completed.
Published: 25 Feb 2026, 09:43 am IST
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