Tue Feb 24 09:58:52 UTC 2026: Headline: Kerala Set to Officially Become Keralam After Union Cabinet Approval
The Story:
The Union Cabinet has approved the renaming of Kerala to Keralam, fulfilling a long-standing demand endorsed twice by the Kerala Assembly in 2023 and 2024. The resolutions, moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, urged the Union government to amend the Constitution to reflect the state’s name as Keralam, the name used in Malayalam. The decision follows a process involving multiple stages of approval, including No Objection Certificates from various central agencies.
Key Points:
* The Kerala Assembly passed resolutions in 2023 and 2024 to rename the state from Kerala to Keralam.
* Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved both resolutions.
* The 2024 resolution highlighted that the state is referred to as Keralam in Malayalam, but the Constitution uses Kerala.
* The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) examined the request and sought NOCs from various agencies.
* A previous proposal in 2018 to rename West Bengal as Bangla was not cleared due to concerns about its similarity with Bangladesh.
Critical Analysis:
The approval of Kerala’s renaming comes amidst a flurry of other cabinet decisions on Tue Feb 24 12:33:18 UTC 2026 including approvals for housing in Manipur, airport expansion in Srinagar, and concerns raised by a Union Minister regarding unauthorized presence at a Supreme Court meeting. While seemingly disparate, the timeline suggests a concentrated effort to address various regional and national issues.
Key Takeaways:
* The renaming reflects a broader assertion of regional identity and linguistic pride.
* The process for renaming a state involves multiple levels of government approval, highlighting the complexities of federal governance.
* The historical context of the Aikya Kerala movement underscores the long-standing desire for a unified Malayalam-speaking state.
Impact Analysis:
The official renaming of Kerala to Keralam is likely to have a significant cultural and symbolic impact. It reinforces the state’s linguistic identity and could potentially influence other states to pursue similar renaming initiatives that reflect their local languages and cultural heritage. The move may also have implications for branding, tourism, and the overall perception of the state both nationally and internationally.
First Piper 