On Wednesday, August 9, the Kerala Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution urging the Union government to officially change the state's name to ‘Keralam’. The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and passed unanimously by the Assembly, also requested that the change of name be applicable in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. ‘Keralam’, as the CM pointed out, is how the state is referred to in the Malayalam language.
The renaming of states, districts, and cities is common in India. More than 100 cities and a handful of states have undergone name changes over the past several decades, a trend that has especially been on the uptick after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance came to power in India in 2014.
Before that, notably, Uttaranchal was renamed as Uttarakhand in the year 2007, as a way of paying tribute to the state’s people who fought for the Uttarakhand Andolan — a statehood movement that ultimately resulted in the bifurcation of the state of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. The name Orissa was changed to Odisha in 2011 under Orissa (Alteration of Name) Act. For several years now, the government of West Bengal has demanded a change in the state’s name, a proposal that remains pending with the Union government.
According to advocate and constitutional expert George Poonthottam, despite the unanimous resolution, the Kerala Assembly has little more than recommendatory value when it comes to renaming the state. “States on their own cannot declare what their name should be. That power is vested in the Parliament as per the Constitution. The President also has to approve the change before it is ratified,” he said.
Indeed, as per Article 3 of the Constitution, the Parliament has the power to “alter the name of any state,” but such a Bill can be introduced in either of the Houses only based on the President’s recommendation. When the proposal comes directly from the state, the Home Ministry will prepare a note for the Union Cabinet for an amendment to the First Schedule of the Constitution, but it still has to be approved by the President, legal expert Subhash Kashyap told TNM.
Before the introduction of the Bill in the Parliament, the President should also refer its contents to the Legislature of the state that will be affected by the change, so the state can express its views for the Parliament to consider. If the state doesn’t respond within the time period mentioned in the reference, or any extension that the President may have allowed, the Parliament can table the Bill without further discussions with the state.
In the Parliament, the Bill must first be deliberated upon like any other before proceeding to voting. Since the renaming of a state will amount to an amendment to the Constitution, it will have to win a special majority of two/thirds of the votes to be passed, said Subhash Kashyap. Finally, once it is ratified by the President, it will become an Act, officially changing the state’s name.