Change state’s name to keralam, assembly resolution urges centre

  • August 10, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Change state’s name to keralam, assembly resolution urges centre

Subject: Polity

Section: Parliament

Context:

The Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Central government to officially change the name of the State from Kerala to Keralam.

The Resolution:

  • The Kerala Assembly, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, passed a unanimous resolution urging the Central Government to rename the state as “Keralam” in both the official records and the Constitution.
  • Remarkably, the resolution garnered unanimous support from the Assembly, with no proposed changes from the Congress-led Opposition.

Name Change Rationale:

  • While the state’s name in Malayalam is “Keralam“, it’s designated as “Kerala” in the First Schedule of the Constitution.
  • Tracing back to the days of the national freedom struggle, the resolution emphasizes the historical demand for a unified Kerala for all Malayalam-speaking communities.
  • The Assembly calls upon the Union Government to take action under Article 3 of the Constitution to align the state’s name with its linguistic identity.

Name Origins:

  • The term “Kerala” finds its historical roots in Emperor Ashoka’s Rock Edict II from 257 BC, where the local ruler is referred to as “Keralaputra“
  • On the other hand, “Keralam” is believed by scholars to have derived from “Cheram,” a perspective proposed by Dr. Herman Gundert.
  • Dr. Gundert pointed to the Kannada term “keram” which is akin to “cheram” suggesting the region between Gokarnam and Kanyakumari.

Demand for Unified Kerala:

  • Emerging during the 1920s, the Aikya Kerala movement was a fervent call for the integration of Malabar, Kochi, and Travancore into a single administrative entity.
  • The movement gained momentum due to the shared Malayalam language, cultural traditions, and historical bonds that unified the Malayalam-speaking populace.

Formation Post-Independence:

  • The integration of Travancore and Kochi on July 1, 1949, marked the initial step towards the establishment of the Travancore-Cochin State.
  • The State Reorganisation Commission’s recommendations led to the formation of Kerala, encompassing the district of Malabar and the Kasargod taluk.
  • The state of Kerala was officially inaugurated on November 1, 1956.

Process of Renaming:

  • Changing the name of a state involves obtaining approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at the Central level, necessitating a Constitutional amendment.
  • The procedure is instigated by the state government, and the MHA reviews the proposal after securing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from various governmental agencies.
  • If endorsed, the proposal is transformed into a legally binding act through a parliamentary Bill.

Steps in the Assembly’s Resolution:

  • The resolution earnestly implores the Union Government to effectuate the name change from “Kerala” to “Keralam,” necessitating an amendment to the Constitution as per Article 3.
  • Furthermore, the resolution advocates for the usage of “Keralam” across all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Significance of Article 3 and Schedule 1:

  • Article 3 of the Constitution, which governs the creation of new states and the modification of existing states’ boundaries, serves as the bedrock for altering the state’s name from “Kerala” to “Keralam.”
  • Article 3
    • Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States: Parliament may by law
    • (a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;
    • (b) increase the area of any State;
    • (c) diminish the area of any State;
    • (d) alter the boundaries of any State;
    • (e) alter the name of any State;
    • Provided that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and
    • unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views
  • Schedule 1 of the Indian constitution contains the list of states and union territories and their extent and territorial jurisdictions.
  • Schedule 1 of the Indian Constitution deals with
    • Names of the States and their territorial jurisdiction.
    • Names of the Union Territories and their extent.
  • Amendment to Schedule 1
    • Whenever there is a change in the territory of a state/UT or formation of a new state/UT or merger of states/UTs Schedule 1 gets amended.
    • The first amendment of Schedule 1 was carried out by the 7th Constitutional Amendment 1956 with the formation of the Andhra Pradesh state.

The recent amendment to Schedule 1 was by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 which deleted the Jammu and Kashmir entry from the State list and added “Jammu and Kashmir” and “Ladakh” entries in the Union Territory list of Schedule 1.

Change state’s name to keralam Polity