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Article 3 of the Constitution Provides for the Alteration of the Names of Existing States
Legislative Assembly of Kerala passed a resolution on 24.06.2024 to alter the name of the State of “Kerala” to “Keralam”, which is as under, “The name of our State is 'Keralam' in the Malayalam Language. The proposal will now move to Parliament for further consideration under Article 3 of the Constitution.
Kerala Name Change
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, February 24, approved the proposal for the alteration of the name ‘Kerala to ‘Keralam’. After approval of the Union Cabinet, the President of India will refer a bill, namely the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala for expressing its views under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution of India.
Following the receipt of the views of the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala, the Government of India will take further action. The recommendation of the president will also be obtained for the same.
More About the Name ‘Kerala’
States were formed based on language on the 1st day of November, 1956. The Kerala Piravi Day is also on the 1st day of November. Since the time of the National Independence Struggle, there has been a strong demand for the formation of United Kerala for the people speaking the Malayalam language.
In the First Schedule to the Constitution, the name of our State is recorded as 'Kerala'. This Assembly unanimously appeals to the Central Government to take urgent steps as per Article 3 of the Constitution for modifying the name to 'Keralam'."
What is Article 3
Article 3 of the Constitution provides for the alteration of the names of existing states. According to Article 3, Parliament may by law alter the name of any state. A further proviso to article 3 states that no bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the bill affects the area, boundaries, or name of any of the states, the bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that state for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further period as the President may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired.
Closing Note
The matter regarding the alteration of the name of the State of ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’ was considered in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, and with the approval of Shri Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs, and the Union Minister of Cooperation, the draft Note for the Cabinet for the alteration of the name of the State of ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’ was circulated to the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, for their comments.
The Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, has concurred with the proposal for the alteration of the name of Kerala to ‘Keralam’.
The Chief Minister had said the state was called ‘Keralam’ in Malayalam and that the demand to form a united Kerala for the Malayalam-speaking communities had strongly emerged since the time of the national freedom struggle.