Our Correspondent / New Delhi
Onam appears to have arrived early for Kerala, with the Centre set to introduce a Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday to rename the state “Keralam.”
The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, listed in the Lok Sabha’s business, will be introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid a tumultuous fortnight in Parliament, with the Opposition continuing to press for his statement over the alleged Delhi Police brutality against children on July 20.
The timing of the Bill gives the proposed name change an added political significance for the government of Kerala. If Parliament clears the legislation, the state will formally be known as Keralam from a date notified by the Central Government.
The proposal stems from a resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly on June 24, 2024, calling for the state’s name to be changed from Kerala to Keralam through an amendment to the First Schedule of the Constitution. In accordance with Article 3, the President referred the proposal to the Kerala Legislature for its views, and the Assembly subsequently unanimously endorsed the change.
The Bill also provides for consequential amendments to the Constitution and existing laws following the change in name.
For the new Kerala government, the proposed renaming could become an early constitutional and political landmark—converting a demand unanimously backed by the state Assembly into a formal change in the state’s identity.