New Delhi: The Kerala legislative assembly has passed a unanimous resolution, urging the Union government to rename the state as ‘Keralam’ in the constitution and all official records.Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution in the assembly on Tuesday, August 9, which was accepted without opposition from any of the lawmakers.“The name of our state in Malayalam is Keralam. States were formed on the basis of language on November 1, 1956. That day is also observed as Kerala formation day. The demand for a united Kerala for all Malayalam-speaking communities has been strongly raised right from the days of the freedom struggle. However, the name of our state in the First Schedule of the Constitution has been written as Kerala. This Assembly is unanimously requesting the Union Government to take immediate steps under Article 3 of the Constitution to change the name of the state to Keralam,” The Hindu quoted from the resolution.Article 3 in the constitution deals with the formation of new states and the alteration of areas, boundaries, or names of existing states.According to Indian Express, there are several theories about the origin of the name ‘Kerala’. It says 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 (Sanskrit for “son of Kerala”), and also “son of Chera” referring to the Chera dynasty.A movement for the unification of Malayalam-speaking regions had been gathering momentum since the 1920s, which called for the merger of Malabar, Kochi, and Travancore into one territory. On July 1, 1949, two princely states of Travancore and Kochi were integrated, resulting in the formation of Travancore-Cochin state. Later, on November 1, 1956, the present-day Kerala came into being, in line with the formation of linguistic states. The Syed Fazl Ali Commission recommended that states be reorganised on the basis of a common language.While the approval of the Union government is not necessary for renaming cities, however, in the case of renaming states, the Union home ministry’s nod is mandatory. A constitutional amendment is necessary for such a change to take effect, requiring parliamentary approval.Once the proposal is received from the state government, the Union government begins its process. It seeks No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from several agencies such as the Ministry of Railways, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Survey of India, and Registrar General of India to allow such change.If the proposal is accepted, the resolution, introduced as a Bill in the parliament, becomes a law and the name of the state is changed thereafter.
