The Union Cabinet on 24 February 2026 approved a proposal to rename the state of Kerala as Keralam, clearing a long-standing demand raised by the state government. This development has come just a few months before the upcoming state elections.

The demand to change the name was formally started in August 2023, when the Kerala Assembly unanimously passed a resolution moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The state government has said that the name Keralam reflects the local language and cultural identity of the state more accurately.

With the Union Cabinet’s approval, the proposal will now go through the formal constitutional process. As per the procedure, the President of India will first refer the Bill to the Kerala Assembly to seek its views. After this, the Central government will take the President’s permission to introduce a Bill in Parliament to amend the Constitution, which officially lists the names of states.

The Bill will then need to be passed by a simple majority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Once Parliament approves it, the Bill will require the President’s assent and will be published in the official Gazette. Only after this final notification will the name Keralam officially replace Kerala.

This decision has once again started discussions about name changes in other parts of the country. West Bengal has been requesting a name change for a long time, but its proposal is still pending. In Delhi, a politician recently suggested renaming the city to Indraprastha, its ancient name, although this is only an idea and not an official proposal.

Across India, many places have changed their names in recent decades to move away from colonial-era names and adopt more traditional ones. Well-known examples include Mumbai (earlier Bombay) and Chennai (earlier Madras). The proposed change from Kerala to Keralam is being seen as part of this larger trend of adopting locally rooted and culturally meaningful names.

Tags

• kerala
• name change
• keralam

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