Kerala may soon get a new name. Yes, a resolution move by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala Assembly to rename the southern state was unanimously pass on 9th August 2023.
The House also sought an amendment in the Constitution where the state is referr to as Kerala.
What could be the Kerala’s new name?
The Legislative Assembly has propose to change the state’s official name from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam.’
As per reports, the House has urge the Central government to take “immediate steps” to amend the name under Article 3 of the Constitution that pertains to the formation of states and any alterations to areas, boundaries or names of existing States.
The resolution was present in the Assembly by Vijayan under Rule 118 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, As per reports.
As per Pinarayi Vijayan :
“A resolution under Rule 118 is being moved in this House requesting the Central Government to change the official name of our state to ‘Keralam’ in all languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India,”.
Reason for name change?
While tabling the resolution, Pinarayi Vijayan argue that Keralam is the accept usage in Malayalam, while in other languages it is refer to as Kerala.
As per Pinarayi Vijayan :
“The name of our state in Malayalam is Keralam. States were form on linguistic lines in the country on 1st November 1956. The Kerala formation day is on the same day. It was a demand during the freedom struggle to form a united Kerala state for all Malayalam-speaking people,”.
“But under the First Schedule of the Constitution, the name of our state was recorded as Kerala. The Assembly unanimously requests the Central government to make necessary amendments to change the official name of the state to ‘Keralam’ in all official languages under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution,”.
As per reports, the First Schedule of the Constitution enumerates the states and Union Territories and their territorial jurisdictions, while 8th Schedule lists the 22 official languages of India.
The resolution called for “urgent measures” under Article 3 of the Constitution, to amend the name of the state to ‘Keralam’.
After no objection from the Opposition United Democratic Front alliance led by Congress, Speaker AN Shamseer declare the unanimous adoption of the resolution.
History of Kerala Name
According to a report, the United State of Travancore and Cochin was create by merging two erstwhile princely states of Travancore and Cochin on 1st July 1949.
The next year in January, it was rename as the State of Travancore-Cochin.
In 1956, the Malabar Coast of Madras state (now Tamil Nadu) and the Kasargod taluka (administrative subdivision) of South Kanara were adds to Travancore-Cochin to form the present state of Kerala, as per Britannica.
Other Recent Name Changes
The West Bengal government wants to rename the state to ‘Bangla’ in all three languages, Bengali, English and Hindi.
Last July, the Ministry of Home Affairs told Parliament it has receive a proposal from the Mamata Banerjee-led government in this regard.
In 2011, Orissa had become Odisha and the name of its language was change from Oriya to Odia as the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2010 and the Constitution (113th Amendment) Bill, 2010 was pass in Parliament.
It is not only states but many cities have also been rename in the last few years or so.
The name of the ‘Rajahmundry’ city in Andhra Pradesh was amended to ‘Rajamahendravaram’ in 2017.
‘Nagar Untari’, a town in Jharkhand, became Shri Banshidhar Nagar in 2018.
The same year, the city of ‘Allahabad’ in Uttar Pradesh was renamed ‘Prayagraj’.
In 2021, the name of Madhya Pradesh’s ‘Hoshangabad Nagar’ city was change to ‘Narmadapuram’ and ‘Babai’ city became ‘Makhan Nagar’.
‘Shri Hargobindpur’ city in Punjab was rename to ‘Shri Hargobindpur Sahib’ in March 2022.
