THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union government is set to introduce a bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday to officially change Kerala’s name to Keralam. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to introduce the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to align the Constitution with the state’s native Malayalam name. The proposal is expected to pass both houses of Parliament despite limited floor debate due to opposition protests.
Lawmakers from the state expect quick passage but hold mixed views on its practical impact. “The bill will be passed without much discussion,” Kollam MP N K Premachandran told TNIE. “The name change will not make much of a difference overall, but it will involve a huge expense to update all official records.”
Rajya Sabha member V Sivadasan emphasised the cultural significance while criticising the rushed process. “Keralam is historically the most apt name since our state’s identity has been anglicised for so long,” Sivadasan said, noting that E M S Namboodiripad popularised the term in his 1948 book ‘Keralam: Malayalikalude Mathrubhumi’.
“This is a major step, but members are denied space to express their views on important bills. The home minister has not attended this session so far, so he may again delegate the bill to another minister.”
Once passed, the bill will kick off a major administrative transition. State and central authorities will need to update statutory laws, re-index digital databases, replace physical signage nationwide, and issue new legal documentation.
On August 9, 2023, the state assembly unanimously passed a resolution requesting the Centre to rename the state as Keralam in the First and Eighth Schedules of the Constitution. The house unanimously adopted a revised resolution to address procedural requirements and re-submitted the proposal to the central government on June 24, 2024.
The Union cabinet approved the proposal following no-objection certificates from key central agencies and concurrence from the Ministry of Law on February 24, 2026. Upon passage by a simple majority in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the bill will go to the President for final assent, formally amending the First Schedule of the Constitution.
Major update
Once passed, the bill will kick off a major administrative transition. State and central authorities will need to update statutory laws, re-index digital databases, replace physical signage nationwide, and issue new legal documentation