Syllabus: GS2/Indian Polity
Context
- The Rajya Sabha has passed a Bill to change the name of Kerala to Keralam.
About
- The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 changes the name of the state to Keralam and makes the necessary amendments to the Constitution, including in the First Schedule.
- The Kerala Assembly passed a resolution in 2024, urging the Centre to bring a law to change the name of the state to Keralam.
Background
- Origin of the name: The earliest epigraphic record that mentions Kerala is emperor Asoka’s Rock Edict II of 257 BC.
- The inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra ( “son of Kerala”), and also “son of Chera” referring to the Chera dynasty.
- At present the First Schedule of the Constitution also specifies the name of the State as ‘Kerala.’
Formation of the Modern State
- The people speaking Malayalam had been ruled by various kings and princely states in the region.
- In the 1920s, the Aikya (unified) Kerala movement gathered momentum and a demand for a separate state for Malayalam-speaking people came up.
- It aimed at the integration of Malabar, Kochi and Travancore into one territory.
- After independence, merger and integration of princely states was a major step towards the formation of the state of Kerala.
- On 1 July 1949, the two states of Travancore and Kochi were integrated.
- When it was decided to reorganize states on a linguistic basis, the State Reorganisation Commission of the Union Government recommended creation of the state of Kerala.
- The state of Kerala came into being on November 1, 1956. In Malayalam, the state was referred to as Keralam, while in English it was Kerala.
Process to Rename a State in India
- Article 3 authorizes the Parliament to:
- form a new state by separation of territory from any state or by uniting two or more states or parts of states or by uniting any territory to a part of any state;
- increase the area of any state;
- diminish the area of any state;
- alter the boundaries of any state; and
- alter the name of any state.
- However, Article 3 lays down two conditions in this regard:
- a bill contemplating the above changes can be introduced in the Parliament only with the prior recommendation of the President;
- and before recommending the bill, the President has to refer the same to the state legislature concerned for expressing its views within a specified period.
- The President (or Parliament) is not bound by the views of the state legislature and may either accept or reject them.
- The IndianConstitution (Article 4) itself declares that laws made for alteration of names of existing states (under Articles 3) are not to be considered as amendments of the Constitution under Article 368.
- Such laws can be passed by a simple majority and by the ordinary legislative process.
Source: TH
