President Murmu gives assent to Bill renaming Kerala to Keralam
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, officially renaming the southern Indian state as Keralam. The legislation, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament in August 2026, has now become law, marking a significant constitutional change.
The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on August 11, 2026, and the Rajya Sabha approved it the following day. The Bill provides that the State of Kerala will henceforth be known as the State of Keralam. This change requires an amendment to the First Schedule of the Constitution, in accordance with Article 3, which deals with the formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries, or names of existing states.
In the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai explained that the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution in 2024 urging the Centre to bring a law to change the name of the state to Keralam. The state government forwarded this resolution to the Centre in June 2024. Subsequently, President Murmu referred the Bill to the Kerala legislature for its views, and the Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution agreeing with the proposed change.
The Bill's statement of objects and reasons notes that it contains necessary amendments to the Constitution and consequential provisions. The key amendment modifies the First Schedule, where the name 'Kerala' will be replaced with 'Keralam'.
The name 'Keralam' is the Malayalam word for the state, while 'Kerala' has been the English transliteration used in official documents and the Constitution. The change is seen as an effort to align the official English name with the state's traditional and linguistic identity. In Malayalam, the state has always been referred to as Keralam, and the alteration formalises this usage at the national level.
The process followed the constitutional framework, under which any proposal to change a state's name must originate from the state legislature' s resolution and receive the President's recommendation before being introduced in Parliament. The Supreme Court had earlier upheld the legality of such changes, noting that Article 3 permits the modification of a state's name for the purpose of better reflecting its cultural and historical identity.
The change becomes effective after the President's assent, and official records, government documents, and correspondence will gradually adopt the new name. However, the state's administrative structure and boundaries remain unchanged. The Union government is expected to issue notifications to implement the name alteration across all ministries and departments.
While the rename is primarily symbolic, it has been welcomed by supporters who view it as a step towards preserving the state's linguistic heritage. The Kerala government had argued that the name 'Keralam' accurately represents the state's identity and historical usage. The new name will be used in all official contexts, including in Parliament, courts, and constitutional documents.
This decision follows similar renamings of other Indian cities and states, such as the change from Bombay to Mumbai and Madras to Chennai, reflecting a broader trend of reverting to indigenous names. The move is part of a larger effort to honour local languages and cultural sensibilities in official nomenclature.
