A resolution about the name change was also voted by the Kerala legislature in 2023, but it was not approved by the Central government.
The voyage of Keralam
The 1920s Aikya Kerala movement demanded that Malayalam speakers be given their own state on the basis of language. Eventually, a state for Malayalam speakers was established in 1956. Keralam was the state’s original name in its native tongue. The Constitution’s eighth schedule changed it to Kerala.
There are several ideas on the origins of the term “Keralam.” According to P.S. Sachindev’s book Culture and Media: Ecocritical Explorations, some believe it is connected to the “Chera” dynasty, claiming that the term changed from “Chera-alam”—the territory of the Cheras—to “Kera-alam.” The book also makes the assumption that the phrase may mean “kera-alam,” or the country of coconuts, where “kera” is the term for coconuts in the local language. The language of Malayalam evolved during the Chera dynasty’s dominance over what is now Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It did this by splitting off from Tamil and fusing with a number of regional languages. As a result, the groups that spoke Malayalam developed unique cultural and linguistic linkages that eventually gave rise to the state of Kerala.
The journey from Kerala to Keralam
The present resolution is currently awaiting clearance from the Center once more. According to the eighth schedule of the Constitution and all official records, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has requested that the state’s name be altered in all official languages.
The proposal to rename the company has long been supported. Along with a number of other lawmakers, the then-chief minister, VS Achuthandan, brought up the matter in 2010, but a resolution was unable to be enacted. A name change is a complicated process that needs the consent of the Parliament. The Orissa(Alteration of Name) Bill, 2010 caused Orissa to alter its name to Odisha in 2011. In 2011 and 2016, West Bengal also attempted to rename the state “Paschim Banga,” but the Center rejected their requests in 2020. Along with members of the opposition, the ruling party has endorsed renaming the state “Keralam,” as it is known in Malayalam.
ET Muhammad Basheer, an Indian Union Muslim League MP, reportedly stated, “It is better to have Keralam instead of Kerala.” That is the appropriate phraseology.
