3 weeks ago
Parliament passes Bill to rename Kerala as Keralam
In India, the national Parliament has two houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha passed a law to change the name of the state Kerala to 'Keralam'.
On Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha also passed the same law.
The law is called the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026.
The state of Kerala had asked the national government to make this change.
Its assembly passed two unanimous requests, in August 2023 and June 2024.
The national government's Cabinet approved the idea in February this year.
The Bill was passed by voice vote without a long debate, amid loud sloganeering.
A minister named Nityanand Rai presented the law.
Now that both houses of Parliament have passed it, the state's name can officially change from Kerala to Keralam.
The Lok Sabha passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 by voice vote on Tuesday, August 11, amid Opposition protests.
The Rajya Sabha cleared the Bill by voice vote on Wednesday, with Parliament passing the legislation to rename Kerala.
The Bill amends the First Schedule of the Constitution under Article 3 to change the state's name from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly passed unanimous resolutions in August 2023 and June 2024 urging the Centre to bring the law.
Moved by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, the Bill passed without debate, with the government criticizing Congress MPs from Kerala for not participating.
- Who
- Parliament, which passed the Bill in both houses, and Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, who moved it in the Lok Sabha
- What
- Passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to rename the state from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'
- Where
- Parliament in New Delhi, India
- When
- The Bill was introduced on August 10; the Lok Sabha passed it on Tuesday, August 11, and the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, August 12, 2026
- Why
- The Kerala Legislative Assembly passed unanimous resolutions in August 2023 and June 2024 urging the Centre to change the state's name under Article 3 of the Constitution
Key facts
- Bill
- Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026
- Current name
- Kerala
- Proposed name
- Keralam
- Lok Sabha vote
- Passed by voice vote on August 11, 2026
- Rajya Sabha vote
- Passed by voice vote on August 12, 2026
- Moved by
- Nityanand Rai, Union Minister of State for Home
- Constitutional basis
- Article 3 of the Constitution; amendments to the First Schedule
- Assembly resolutions
- Unanimous resolutions in August 2023 and June 2024
Sources
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